{"id":2058878,"date":"2023-10-07T12:23:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T16:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-army-intel-officer-arrested-after-flight-from-china-lands-hit-with-serious-national-defense-charges\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T12:26:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T16:26:06","slug":"ex-army-intel-officer-arrested-after-flight-from-china-lands-hit-with-serious-national-defense-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-army-intel-officer-arrested-after-flight-from-china-lands-hit-with-serious-national-defense-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Army intelligence officer arrested after flight from China lands, faces severe national defense charges."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fex-army-intel-officer-arrested-after-flight-from-china-lands-hit-with-serious-national-defense-charges%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2058878&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer Arrested for Attempting to \u2062Provide Classified Information to China<\/h2>\n<p>A former U.S. Army intelligence officer, Sgt. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, has been charged with trying to share classified defense information with Chinese security services. Schmidt was apprehended\u2064 at San Francisco International Airport upon his arrival from Hong \u200cKong, where \u200che had been residing \u2062since March 2020. The charges against him include the retention and attempted delivery of national\u2062 defense information.<\/p>\n<p>The arrest followed \u2064an indictment by a federal grand jury in Seattle, \u200cwhich accused Schmidt\u200d of \u200cengaging in activities that jeopardized national security. According to an\u200b FBI declaration filed in the case, Schmidt \u2064had expressed his disagreement\u2062 with certain aspects\u200d of American policy and his concerns about the American government&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt,\u2064 who served in the Army for \u2062five years, had access to secret and \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-committee-chairmen-demand-answers-from-defense-chief-austin-after-classified-documents-leak\/\" title=\"Following the escape of classified information, House Committee chairman demand responses from Defense Chief Austin.\">top-secret defense information<\/a> during his time as a team leader\u2063 on a human intelligence squad. After leaving active duty, he traveled to Istanbul and contacted the Chinese consulate, expressing his desire to move to China\u200b and share information he acquired during his career as an interrogator. \u200bHe \u200ceven drafted a Word document titled &#8220;Important Information to Share with Chinese Government,&#8221; which contained classified information related to national defense.<\/p>\n<p>Upon returning to the U.S., Schmidt left for Hong Kong, where he continued his attempts to share information \u200dwith Chinese entities. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-army-intel-officer-arrested-after-flight-from-china-lands-hit-with-serious-national-defense-charges\/\" title=\"Former Army intelligence officer arrested after flight from China lands, faces severe national defense charges.\">emailed state-owned enterprises<\/a> in China, offering to provide \u2064an encryption key that could potentially grant access \u200dto the \u2063Army&#8217;s classified information network. Schmidt believed that this could \u2064enhance China&#8217;s ability to access the network.<\/p>\n<p>The charges against Schmidt highlight the seriousness of his actions, as he not only attempted to provide national defense information but also sought to\u2062 assist \u2063a foreign adversary in gaining\u2064 access to secure computer \u200dnetworks within the Department of Defense. \u200bIf convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story \u2062and may have\u200c altered it prior\u2062 to\u200b publication\u2064 to ensure that it meets our\u200b editorial standards.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ex-army-intel-officer-arrested-flight-china-lands-hit-serious-national-defense-charges\/\">Ex-Army \u2062Intel Officer Arrested After Flight from China Lands, Hit with Serious National Defense Charges<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How\u2063 does Schmidt&#8217;s case highlight the importance \u2064of maintaining \u2062strong counterintelligence efforts and security protocols within the U.S. military \u200cand\u200c intelligence community<\/h2>\n<p><span>  N court, Schmidt had been \u200bcommunicating with an individual whom he believed to \u2063be a Chinese intelligence officer, but \u200cwho was in fact an undercover FBI agent. During these communications, Schmidt expressed his willingness to \u2063provide classified information to the Chinese government.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation into Schmidt&#8217;s activities began\u2064 in 2019 when the FBI \u200dreceived a tip regarding a U.S. Army employee who had been making\u2062 suspicious statements about his loyalty \u2063to the United States. The FBI subsequently launched an undercover\u200b operation \u2064to gather\u200b evidence against Schmidt.<\/p>\n<p>As an Army intelligence officer, Schmidt\u200b had access to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-staffer-sentenced-for-passing-information-to-hezbollah\/\" title=\"Pentagon Staffer Sentenced for Passing Information to Hezbollah\">sensitive information related<\/a> to national defense.\u200c His attempt to share this information with \u200da foreign government is in\u2064 direct violation of the trust \u200cplaced in him by the\u2063 U.S. government and jeopardizes the country&#8217;s national security.<\/p>\n<p>The arrest of Schmidt serves as a reminder \u200bof the continuous threat posed \u2062by foreign intelligence agencies seeking to\u2063 exploit vulnerabilities within\u2062 the U.S. government\u2064 and military. \u2064The need for robust counterintelligence efforts and strict adherence \u2064to security protocols cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n<p>The case also highlights the importance of vigilance within the intelligence community. \u2062Through their diligent investigation and undercover\u2063 operation, the FBI was able to successfully identify and apprehend Schmidt before any classified information could be compromised.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 charges against Schmidt carry\u200b grave consequences. If\u2062 convicted, he could face up to life imprisonment. This serves as a strong deterrent to those\u200d who would consider betraying\u2064 their country for personal gain or ideological reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. government takes the protection of\u2063 classified information \u2064very seriously, as it is vital to the country&#8217;s national security interests. The incident involving Schmidt underscores the\u2063 need for continued efforts to safeguard and strengthen security measures within the military \u200dand intelligence community.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the arrest of\u2064 former U.S. Army intelligence officer Sgt. \u2063Joseph Daniel Schmidt for attempting to provide classified information to China is a significant development in the ongoing\u2064 battle against espionage \u2062and threats to national \u2062security. It serves as a\u2064 reminder of the \u2064importance of robust counterintelligence efforts and the need \u2062to remain vigilant in \u200ddefending\u2062 against\u2064 foreign intelligence agencies. The charges against Schmidt carry\u2064 severe consequences, reflecting the seriousness with which the U.S. government \u2062regards the protection of classified information. By apprehending Schmidt, the FBI has successfully prevented\u200c any potential harm\u2063 to national security and reinforced \u200bthe commitment to safeguarding sensitive information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former U.S. Army intelligence officer, Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport for allegedly trying to share classified defense information with Chinese security services. The evidence included a Microsoft Word document titled &#8220;Important Information to Share with Chinese Government.&#8221; Schmidt faces charges for his actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":2058879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2058878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2058878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2058879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2058878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2058878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2058878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}