U.S. soldier charged with espionage, export violations

[brihard]

A U.S. Army specialist was just arrested and charged with passing technical information on M1A2 Abrams to the Russians and attempting to give more to who he believed was a Russian agent but looks to have been an undercover.

Active-Duty Soldier Arrested and Charged with Espionage and Export Violations

Taylor Adam Lee, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was arrested today on charges of attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license.

www.justice.gov

 

[ModlrMike]

I see a long stint in Leavenworth in his future.

 

[Remius]

I see a long stint in Leavenworth in his future.

Or a pardon…

 

[GK .Dundas]

Or a pardon…

So any idea of how much he knows about the Island?

 

[Yrys]

US soldier arrested from the BBC


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US soldier arrested for allegedly leaking tank secrets to Russia
3 hours ago
Ali Abbas Ahmadi
BBC News

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Getty Images A sand-coloured M1A2 Abrams tank manned by a US soldier from the 2nd Battalion during an exercise in Poland in 2023. The tank is standing in a slushy landscape, with a deep green tree-line visible in the distance. Getty Images
The M1A2 Abrams tank is one of the main battle tanks used by the US army
An American soldier has been arrested on charges of attempting to share secret information about the US Army's Abrams tank with Russia, prosecutors said.

The justice department accused Taylor Adam Lee, an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, of passing an SD card with sensitive information to a Russian official.

Mr Lee - who held a top secret security clearance - has been charged under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors allege he sought to exchange the classified information in return for Russian citizenship.

"This arrest is an alarming reminder of the serious threat facing our U.S. Army," Brigadier General Sean F Stinchon of Army Counterintelligence Command said in a statement.


Mr Lee, 22, who was taken into custody on Wednesday morning, appeared in a federal court the same day. In addition to espionage charges, he is also facing charges under the US Arms Export Control Act.

Prosecutors allege Mr Lee met a representative of the Russian government in July, and sought to share US defence information.

Mr Lee allegedly stated, "the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses". "At this point I'd even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I'm there in any way."

He allegedly discussed obtaining and providing Moscow with a specific piece of hardware used inside the Abrams tank, and then on 31 July allegedly delivered the hardware to a storage unit in El Paso, Texas.

The justice department stated that he then sent a text message saying "Mission accomplished" to the Russian representative.

It is unclear if he is being represented by an attorney, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

 

[KevinB]

Still a little fuzzy on why a 22 yr old apparently Armored Crewman Spc4 has a TS/SCI

 

[The Bread Guy]

Still a little fuzzy on why a 22 yr old apparently Armored Crewman Spc4 has a TS/SCI

Wouldn’t the Russians be interested in lower-level stuff buddy may have had access to?

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Wouldn’t the Russians be interested in lower-level stuff buddy may have had access to?

Yes, but KevinB’s question is a valid one. That is a pretty rarified security clearance for anyone, let alone a tank crew member.

 

[KevinB]

Wouldn’t the Russians be interested in lower-level stuff buddy may have had access to?

Problem is with that clearance, he cleared had some special access program access and was apparently downloading it (I mean why not have non secure access to a high side system ).

So it wasn’t just lower level stuff. He seems to have downloaded a lot of Abrams technical data - probably (a guess on my end) armor penetration studies and assessments of threats) as well as some other things.

We do classify a lot of stuff beyond what it should be, which results in clearance inflation, but SCI’s really do need to be limited.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Problem is with that clearance, he cleared had some special access program access and was apparently downloading it (I mean why not have non secure access to a high side system ).

So it wasn’t just lower level stuff. He seems to have downloaded a lot of Abrams technical data - probably (a guess on my end) armor penetration studies and assessments of threats) as well as some other things.

We do classify a lot of stuff beyond what it should be, which results in clearance inflation, but SCI’s really do need to be limited.

I can guess why a young crewmember might get that kind of a clearance, but it is only guess and even then, a bit of a stretch.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Problem is with that clearance, he cleared had some special access program access and was apparently downloading it (I mean why not have non secure access to a high side system ).

So it wasn’t just lower level stuff. He seems to have downloaded a lot of Abrams technical data - probably (a guess on my end) armor penetration studies and assessments of threats) as well as some other things.

We do classify a lot of stuff beyond what it should be, which results in clearance inflation, but SCI’s really do need to be limited.

Thanks for that - missed the SCI reference earlier on, but spotted it in the DOJ info-machine piece (highlights mine) ....

... In July, at an in-person meeting between Lee and who he believed to be a representative of the Russian government, Lee allegedly passed an SD card to the individual. Lee proceeded to provide a detailed overview of the documents and information contained on the SD card, including documents and information on the M1A2 Abrams, another armored fighting vehicle used by the U.S. military, and combat operations. Several of these documents contained controlled technical data that Lee did not have the authorization to provide. Other documents on the SD card were marked as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and featured banner warnings and dissemination controls. Throughout the meeting, Lee stated that the information on the SD card was sensitive and likely classified.

During and after the July meeting, Lee discussed obtaining and providing to the Russian government a specific piece of hardware inside the M1A2 Abrams tank. On July 31, 2025, Lee delivered what appeared to be the hardware to a storage unit in El Paso, Texas. After doing so, Lee sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government stating, “Mission accomplished.” ...

 

[brihard]

Thanks for that - missed the SCI reference earlier on, but spotted it in the DOJ info-machine piece (highlights mine) ....

Sounds like he had SCI clearance but that wasn’t necessarily the level of material he leaked, which absolutely still is reasonable. Having the clearance doesn’t mean having broad unfettered access to data, and SCI can mean a lot of different things depending on the compartments in question.

 

[KevinB]

Sounds like he had SCI clearance but that wasn’t necessarily the level of material he leaked, which absolutely still is reasonable. Having the clearance doesn’t mean having broad unfettered access to data, and SCI can mean a lot of different things depending on the compartments in question.

Unfortunately a lot of data is online (albeit non public) that with the right clearance - you can go surfing.
While someone surfing for SAP stuff will get lit up if they don't have access, someone with an SCI can get a lot of S and TS stuff without raising waves - and depending on the site they are at the SCIF may or may not be operating in accordance to policy - so individuals may be able to remove data unobserved - like putting a non secure storage device into a secure computer - and transferring information to it.

Sadly the lessons from the various other leakers haven't been totally corrected, and our current administration isn't very effective in finding a solution.

 

[brihard]

Sadly the lessons from the various other leakers haven't been totally corrected, and our current administration isn't very effective in finding a solution.

Yup. I’ll buy that.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Likely looking for technical data to assist in their studies of the M1's they have captured.

 

[KevinB]

Likely looking for technical data to assist in their studies of the M1's they have captured.

Keep in mind the M1A1's that Ukraine has do not have the DU armor panels.
I would believe that Russia is much more interesting in penetration and blast data info on the M1A2's in the US Army inventory, as well as working group concepts on the M1A3 with it's mitigation methods for UAS.