'Mission accomplished:' Fort Bliss soldier accused of spying for Russia
Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A 22-year-old Army soldier at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempting to provide Russia with information on military combat operations obtained with top-secret security clearance.
"Mission accomplished," Taylor Adam Lee wrote in an online message he believed was to a representative of the Russian government, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. The information involved the M1A2 Abrams tank.
In El Paso, Lee made his first appearance in federal court after his arrest.
Lee was a tank crewman assigned to the 1st Armored Division, which includes tanks, an official told KVIA-TV, and included a photo of him.
Fort Bliss, with more than 20,000 military personnel and 7,200 civilians, is the second-largest U.S. installation with 1.1 million acres that stretch into New Mexico.
The specific charges are attempting to transmit national defense information to a foreign adversary and exporting controlled technical data without a license, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said. He is accused of giving information about the M1A2, "our Nation's main battle tank," John A Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general for National Security, said in a statement.
"This arrest is an alarming reminder of the serious threat facing our U.S. Army," Brig. Gen. Sean F. Stinchon, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command, said. "Thanks to the hard work of Army Counterintelligence Command Special Agents and our FBI partners, Soldiers who violate their oath and become insider threats will absolutely be caught and brought to justice, and we will continue to protect Army personnel and safeguard equipment. If anyone on our Army Team sees suspicious activity, you must report it as soon as possible."
Lee allegedly attempted to provide classified information on Abrams' vulnerabilities to someone he believed was a Russian intelligence officer in exchange for Russian citizenship, Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division said.
"Today's arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the U.S. -- especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland. The FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to protect Americans and safeguard classified information," Rozhavsky said.
As an active-duty member in the U.S. Army, Lee held a top-secret security clearance.
Since May, he sought to send information to the Russian Ministry of Defense, DOJ said.
In June, he allegedly transmitted export-controlled technical information on the tank online.
"The USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses," he wrote, according to prosecutors. "At this point I'd even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I'm there in any way."
In July, he met a person he thought was representing the Russian government and gave them an SD card, which included information not only about the tanks but another armored fighting vehicle used, as well as combat operations.
The DOJ didn't say who the person actually was.
Lee did not have authorization to provide some of this information, which was marked as Controlled Unclassified Information with banner warnings and dissemination controls.
Lee frequently said he knew the information was sensitive and likely classified.
He also talked about obtaining and providing the Russian government with a specific piece of hardware inside the Abrams' tank.
On Thursday, he delivered what appeared to be the hardware to a storage united in El Paso, the DOJ said.
The FBI Washington and El Paso field offices investigated with the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.
"Lee allegedly violated his duty to protect the United States in favor of providing national defense information to the Russian government," Assistant Director in Charge Steven Jensen of the FBI's Washington Field Office said. "The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to protect U.S. national security and bring to justice those who seek to undermine it."
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