Former US soldier is accused of trying to give classified secrets to China

WASHINGTON — A former U.S. Army soldier who fled to Hong Kong has been charged with trying to deliver classified secrets to the Chinese government, according to federal court documents unsealed Friday.

Joseph D. Schmidt, 29, who served in a military intelligence battalion in Washington state, was indicted in Seattle on two counts of violating the Espionage Act. He was arrested this week after flying from Hong Kong to San Francisco and appeared in federal court Friday. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors accused Schmidt of trying to help the Chinese government after he finished active duty with the Army in January 2020. While Schmidt was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Tacoma, Washington, he supported the Indo-Pacific Command, which includes China, giving him access to sensitive materials.

The charges against Schmidt underscore the volume of national security secrets flowing to China, which has made aggressive efforts to recruit spies and steal technology to give it an economic and military edge over the United States, its primary rival.

In August, prosecutors charged Navy sailors with giving military secrets to China. In one of the most damaging cases, a former CIA officer pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiring with Chinese intelligence agents.

The former officer, who was suspected of helping China dismantle the agency’s informant network there, was sentenced to almost two decades in prison.

During Schmidt’s time in the Army, where he rose to the rank of sergeant, he showed an interest in China and visited in 2017. In applying for his visa, he stated that he wanted “to learn as much about China’s culture and history as I can, and so I plan to travel to China annually.” He did not appear to visit again until after he left the Army in January 2020, according to court documents.

That February, during a trip to Istanbul, Schmidt tried to contact the Chinese Consulate.

“I also am trying to share information I learned during my career as an interrogator with the Chinese government,” Schmidt wrote, according to court documents. “I have a current top secret clearance, and would like to talk to someone from the government to share this information with you if that is possible.”

He added: “My experience includes training in interrogation, running sources as a spy handler, surveillance detection and other advanced psychological operation strategies.”

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