Lee is accused of going online and offering to assist Russian authorities in exchange for Russian citizenship.
An active duty soldier has been charged with seeking to pass sensitive information about the United States Army’s main battle tank to the Russian government, the US Justice Department has announced.
The suspect, Taylor Adam Lee, has been charged with “attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license”, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
Lee, a 22-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, has yet to enter a plea in the charges, filed at the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.
John A Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said Lee sought to “transmit sensitive national defense information to Russia” regarding the operation of the M1A2 Abrams – the main battle tank used by the US Army.
In June, Lee is said to have gone online and offered assistance to Russia in exchange for Russian citizenship. In the alleged messages, Lee, who holds a top-secret security clearance, allegedly “transmitted export-controlled technical information” about the M1A2’s operation and vulnerabilities.
“The USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,” Lee reportedly said. “At this point, I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian Federation when I’m there in any way,” he added.
Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, said Lee then shared a memory card containing documents and information about the tank and other US military operations during an in-person meeting in July with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer.
“Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the US – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,” Rozhavsky said.
The documents contained technical data Lee was not authorised to provide, with some marked “Controlled Unclassified Information”, according to prosecutors.
“Throughout the meeting, Lee stated that the information on the SD card was sensitive and likely classified,” prosecutors said.
Lee is also alleged to have attempted to provide the Russian government with a piece of hardware from the M1A2 Abrams tank at a July 31 meeting at 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’,” according to prosecutors.