US Soldier Arrested for Attempting to Share Information with Russia

A US Army soldier was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly trying to pass on confidential information about American tanks to the Russian government, the US Department of Justice reported. According to court documents, 22-year-old Taylor Adam Lee, a soldier from Texas, faces two federal charges for attempting to transmit national defense information and export controlled technical data without a license. ‘Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking of betraying the US – especially service members who swore to protect our homeland. The FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to protect Americans and safeguard confidential information,’ said FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky from the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in a statement. Lee has not yet commented on the charges brought in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas. Prosecutors accuse Lee, who has top-secret security clearance, of trying to share information about the operation and vulnerabilities of the US’s main battle tank with the Russian government in exchange for Russian citizenship. Last month, Lee shared an SD card containing documents and information about the tank and other US military operations with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer. The documents contained technical data that Lee was not authorized to provide, and some were marked as ‘Unclassified Controlled Information,’ according to prosecutors. ‘Soldiers who violate their oath and become internal threats will absolutely be captured and brought to justice, and we will continue to protect Army personnel and equipment,’ said Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of the Army’s Counterintelligence Command.