A 22-year-old US soldier, Taylor Adam Lee, has been charged with attempting to transmit sensitive information about the US Army’s main battle tank to the Russian government. Lee, who is stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, allegedly sought to “transmit sensitive national defense information to Russia” regarding the operation of the M1A2 Abrams tank. According to the Justice Department, Lee went online in June and offered to assist Russian authorities in exchange for Russian citizenship.
During an in-person meeting in July, Lee allegedly shared a memory card containing documents and information about the tank and other US military operations with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer.
Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, emphasized that “today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the US – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland”.
The documents contained technical data that Lee was not authorized to provide, with some marked “Controlled Unclassified Information”. Prosecutors said that Lee stated the information on the memory card was sensitive and likely classified. Lee also allegedly attempted to provide the Russian government with a piece of hardware from the M1A2 Abrams tank at a July 31 meeting in El Paso, Texas. After doing so, Lee sent a message saying, “Mission accomplished”.
The charges against Lee highlight the seriousness of national security breaches and the consequences of attempting to betray the United States. John A Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, emphasized the importance of protecting sensitive national defense information.