WASHINGTON — A former U.S. Army sergeant was arrested on Friday for allegedly attempting to provide classified national security information to China, the Department of Justice said. Schmidt allegedly initiated efforts to provide Chinese intelligence with U.S. defense information after separating from the military in January 2020, the department said. He was part of the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion, where he had access to information classified "Secret" and "Top Secret," the DOJ said. He also is accused of reaching out to both the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and the Chinese security services via email to offer the information. "Individuals entrusted with national defense information have a continuing duty to protect that information beyond their government service and certainly beyond our borders," said Matthew Olsen, assistant Attorney General for National Security, in a statement.

---

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Joseph Daniel Schmidt, Schmidt, Schmidt's, Matthew Olsen, Tessa Gorman, Gorman Organizations: Defense, Pentagon, Washington D.C, U.S . Army, Department of Justice, DOJ, Joint, Lewis, McChord, 109th Military Intelligence Battalion, Consulate, National Security, Attorney, Western, of, of Defense Locations: Washington, United States, China, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Seattle, U.S, Turkey, of Washington