 "Lee, an active-duty personnel, reportedly met in person with someone he thought was a representative of the Russian government. Image courtesy: Fort Bliss")
A 22-year-old US Army soldier has been arrested for allegedly trying to leak over sensitive information about American battle tanks to the Russian government, as per authorities.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Taylor Adam Lee, who is an active-duty service member stationed at Fort Bliss and possesses a very high, top-secret clearance, passed on sensitive information to a person he believed was a Russian Ministry of Defence representative. In exchange, he wanted Russian citizenship.
Federal authorities said Lee was arrested on Wednesday in El Paso. He now faces serious federal charges, including the attempted transmission of national defence information to a foreign adversary and the attempted export of controlled technical data.
So who exactly is Taylor Adam Lee? How did he allegedly share the top-secret details with Russia? And how was he caught?
Here’s what we know so far.
‘USA is not happy with me’
Lee’s alleged attempts to share classified military information with Russia began earlier this year, around May, according to the Department of Justice.
By June, officials say he had already expressed frustration with the US government in a message to someone he believed was a Russian official. “The USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,” he allegedly wrote, before adding: “At this point I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I’m there in any way.”
In July, Lee reportedly met in person with someone he thought was a representative of the Russian government. During that meeting, authorities say he handed over an SD memory card and explained the sensitive information on US military capabilities.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe documents on the card included technical details about the M1A2 Abrams, the US Army’s main battle tank, as well as data on another armoured vehicle and broader combat operations.
Later in the same month, after a conversation about a particular component used inside a tank, Lee allegedly dropped off the physical part at a storage unit in El Paso. Once the handoff was complete, he sent a follow-up message to his supposed Russian contact, “mission accomplished.”
Lee accused of ‘betraying’ US
After a warrant for Taylor Lee’s arrest was filed in the El Paso federal court on Tuesday, the 22-year-old made his first appearance before the court the next day.
Investigators accused Lee of ‘betraying" the US and have used his arrest to send a warning to anyone else considering leaking military intelligence.
“Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the US – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,” Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counter-intelligence division, told The Telegraph.
Brigadier General Sean F Stinchon, who leads the Army Counterintelligence Command, echoed the warning, calling the case “an alarming reminder of the serious threat” the US Army faces from within.
“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,” Stinchon said in a statement.
Rise in military espionage cases in the US
Lee’s case comes at a time when the US military is dealing with a growing number of insider threats and digital espionage cases.
Earlier this year, Chinese intelligence agents had been approaching US service members online, trying to persuade them to hand over sensitive information about military exercises and radar technology in return for thousands of dollars.
In another high-profile case, former Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year after he leaked classified documents related to the Russia-Ukraine war on Discord, a messaging app popular with gamers.
More recently, a retired Army officer who had been working as a civilian Air Force employee pleaded guilty to sharing Russia-Ukraine war details on a dating app.
“These incidents show just how serious the threat is,” Brigadier General Stinchon said. “Soldiers who violate their oath and become insider threats will absolutely be caught and brought to justice.”
With input from agencies