Army Intelligence Analyst Pleads Guilty to Sending Controlled Defense Data to China

U.S. Army intelligence analyst Korbein Schultz pleaded guilty Aug. 13 to conspiring to "obtain and disclose national defense information," illicitly exporting data related to defense articles to China, and conspiring to illegally export defense articles and bribery, DOJ announced. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each export-related charge.

Schultz was charged in March for allegedly working with an unnamed "conspirator" to disclose U.S. military information, including data on U.S. weapons systems pertaining to U.S. plans in the event Taiwan was invaded (see 2403080011). He sent "a document discussing the lessons learned by the U.S. Army from the Ukraine/Russia war that it would apply in a defense of Taiwan," an "operations order outlining the deployment of the defendant’s unit to Eastern Europe in support of NATO operations" and various manuals relating to different U.S. weapons systems and aircraft, DOJ said. Schultz received around $42,000 in exchange.