A U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst, Korbein Schultz, has pleaded guilty to all charges related to the unauthorized disclosure of national defense information to China, the Department of Justice announced on August 12.
Schultz, who held a top-secret security clearance, is accused of conspiring with an individual in Hong Kong to transmit sensitive U.S. military data to the Chinese government in exchange for financial compensation.
According to Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, "The defendant abused his access to restricted government systems to sell sensitive military information to a person he knew to be a foreign national." Schultz allegedly collected and transmitted dozens of classified documents, including technical data related to U.S. military weapons systems and strategies, to a foreign contact in exchange for $42,000.
The materials Schultz provided included a wide range of sensitive information, such as U.S. military tactics, deployment orders, and documents discussing lessons learned from the Ukraine-Russia war that could be applied to the defense of Taiwan. Other classified documents included information on the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, Chinese military tactics and preparedness, U.S. military exercises, and operations involving U.S. forces in the Republic of Korea and the Philippines.
Schultz was arrested in March of this year and faces multiple severe charges. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to obtain and transmit national defense information, 20 years for exporting technical data related to defense articles to China without a license, 20 years for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and 15 years for bribery of a public official.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 23, 2025, where a U.S. federal district court judge will determine Schultz’s sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command. Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, "Governments like China are aggressively targeting U.S. military personnel and national security information, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that information is safeguarded from hostile foreign governments."
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Adam Barry and Christopher Cook from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
