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By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
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Federal prosecutors have arrested and charged a U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst, accusing him of selling national defense information to a foreign national living in China.
Korbein Schultz was detained at Kentucky's Fort Campbell on Thursday and indicted on six counts, including conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information and bribery of a public official. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Schultz accepted at least 14 payments totaling $42,000 from an unnamed conspirator, beginning in June 2022. The conspirator, described as a "foreign national" in the indictment, resides in Hong Kong.
The documents that Schultz is accused of selling had top-secret security clearance, include writings, maps and photographs related to national defense. Prosecutors said that Schultz "had reason to believe [the documents] could be used to injure the United States or used to the advantage of a foreign nation."
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The Context
According to the indictment, Schultz, a sergeant, was assigned to the Army's 506th Infantry Battalion. His primary duties included "developing mission analysis products," gathering information to "assist with mission-oriented decisions" and "assessing enemy composition, disposition, and capabilities."
Prosecutors said that many of the documents to which Schultz had access included classified information and were "subject to export controls." Communication between him and the unnamed conspirator reportedly took place through "multiple internet-based encrypted methods."
It is not known if the conspirator who received information from Schultz is connected to the Chinese government, but investigators said that the Hong Kong resident worked for a geopolitical consulting firm that is based overseas.
What We Know
Schultz was specifically tasked by the conspirator to gather information related to U.S. military weapons systems and defense planning information in the event that Taiwan came under attack, according to the DOJ. Some of the documents sent by Schultz included information related to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), hypersonic equipment and studies on the future development of the U.S. military, the indictment read.
In August 2022, prosecutors said, Schultz began sending the conspirator information and documents regarding studies by the U.S. military on major countries, including China. The Army sergeant is also accused of providing documents pertaining to U.S. Navy exercises in the Philippine Sea and China's observations of such endeavors.
According to the indictment, the conspirator told Schultz that materials pertaining to China would receive "high compensation" and that he should "look for and prioritize" such documents. Prosecutors tracked communications between Schultz and the conspirator from June 2022 to October 2023.
The FBI and U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command led the investigations.
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U.S. Brigadier General Rhett Cox, commander of the Army Counterintelligence Command, touted Schultz's arrest as proof of the division's commitment to "safeguarding our nation's secrets."
"We cannot tolerate any betrayal of trust, and we remain vigilant in our mission to protect national defense information crucial to our security," Cox added in a press release shared by the DOJ. "We encourage all members of the Army team, past or present, to remain vigilant and report any potential suspicious activity."
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen also said in the release that Schultz's actions placed "personal profit above the security of the American people."
"Today's arrest shows that such a betrayal does not pay—the Department of Justice is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who would break their oath to protect our nation's secrets," Olsen said.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ's press office for additional information on Thursday.
What's Next?
According to court documents, Josh Kurtzman, assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, is leading the prosecution of Schultz, alongside trial attorneys Adam Barry and Christopher Cook of the DOJ's National Security Division.
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