Former US intelligence officer charged with trying to give classified defense information to China

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A former U.S. Army intelligence officer has been charged with attempting to provide classified information to China’s security services. Authorities say some of that information was listed on a Microsoft Word document titled “Important Information to Share with Chinese Government.” The Justice Department says authorities on Friday arrested former Sgt. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, at San Francisco International Airport as he arrived from Hong Kong, where he had been living since March 2020. A federal grand jury in Seattle returned an indictment Wednesday charging him with retention and attempted delivery of national defense information. An attorney who represented Schmidt at a brief appearance at U.S. District Court in San Francisco did not immediately return an email seeking comment.