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A soldier in Texas with high-level security clearance is facing charges for allegedly sharing classified information about the military’s top battle tank in pursuit of obtaining Russian citizenship.
Taylor Adam Lee, 22, was apprehended on Wednesday, accused of attempting to transmit national defense secrets to a foreign enemy and attempting to illegally export controlled technical information.
“This arrest serves as a stark warning of the significant dangers confronting our U.S. Army,” stated Brigadier General Sean F. Stinchon, leader of the Army Counterintelligence Command.
The entrance to Fort Bliss and an M1A2 Abrams tank. A soldier at the base is charged with disclosing sensitive data of the battle tank to someone he believed to be working for the Russian government. (Getty Images)
Several documents contained technical data that Lee wasn’t authorized to provide, prosecutors said.
Additional documents on the SD card were labeled as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and included warnings and restrictions on sharing. During the encounter, Lee reportedly indicated that the SD card content was sensitive and likely classified.
Authorities revealed that Lee also discussed acquiring and providing a specific component inside the M1A2 Abrams tank to the Russian government. On July 31, he allegedly delivered what appeared to be this component to a storage facility in El Paso.
He then sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government stating: “Mission accomplished.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Army.
“Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the U.S. – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to protect Americans and safeguard classified information.”
Lee’s arrest came on the same day that a soldier shot five other soldiers in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, shot five soldiers in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) area of the installation, authorities said.
All the soldiers were treated on-site and then transported to Winn Army Community Hospital, according to Fort Stewart officials. Radford, who has been apprehended, serves as an automated logistics sergeant assigned to the ABCT.
