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one US Army Texas soldiers, who have the highest security permit, have been accused of handing over sensitive information about the military’s main combat vehicles in exchange for Russian citizenship.
Taylor Adam Lee, 22, was arrested Wednesday on charges of trying to transmit defense information to foreign opponents and attempting to export controlled technical data without permission.
“This arrest is a shocking reminder of the serious threats facing the U.S. Army’s Counterintelligence Command,” said Sean F. Stinchon, commander-in-chief of the Army.
On Tuesday, February 12, 2019, the U.S. Army Fortress Base is located in El Paso, Texas, USA. (Adria Malcolm/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Federal prosecutors said Lee tried to hand over the information to a Russian intelligence official he believed was in exchange for Russian citizenship.
The Justice Department said Lee is stationed in Fort Bliss in El Paso, where he has a Top Secret (TS)/Sensitive Component Information (SCI) security permit.
In June, he It is said to be transmitted Information about the M1A2 Abrams tank online and provided assistance to Russia, noting: “The United States is not satisfied with my attempt to expose their weaknesses.”
“At this point, I even volunteered to assist the Russian Federation there in any way,” he said.
Prosecutors said that at a meeting between Lee and someone he believed to be the representative of the Russian government, Lee allegedly passed an SD card containing documents and information about the Abrams tank, another armored tank used by the U.S. military, as well as combat operations.
Government employees who have been held after trying to share confidential information abroad
The entrance to the Fort Bliss and M1A2 Abrams tanks. A soldier at the base was accused of revealing sensitive data on the tank to people he believed to be working in the Russian government. (Getty Image)
Prosecutors said several documents contained technical data that Lee did not authorize.
Other documents on the SD card are marked as controlled unclassified information (CUI) and have banner warnings and propagation controls. At the meeting, Lee said that the information on the SD card was sensitive and could be classified.
Lee also discussed specific hardware inside the M1A2 Abrams tank and provided specific hardware to the Russian government. On July 31, he delivered what appeared to be the hardware to the storage unit step.
He then sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government: “The mission has been completed.”
Fox News Digital has contacted the military.
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“The arrest today is information to anyone who wants to betray the United States, especially the service members who have sworn to protect our hometown,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and our partners will do everything they can to protect Americans and protect classified information.”
Lee was arrested when a soldier shot five more soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Quornelius Radford, 28, fired five soldiers in the second Armored Brigade Force (ABCT) area of the facility, sergeant authorities said.
All soldiers were treated on site and then transported to Winn Army Community Hospital, according to Fort Stewart officials. Arrested Radford serves as Automatic Logistics Sgt. Assigned to ABCT.
Greg Wehner of Fox News Digital contributed to the report.
