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Posted by curious george
- Jun 24, 2025, 05:52 PMQuoteInteresting. Does anyone know how he got caught?
Did the Chinese consulate in Turkey notify the U.S. authorities?
Did he give the Chinese is Army SIPR token (which is useless without access to the classified SIPRNet terminals)?
Could the Chinese possibly have ratted him out (would they really do that)?
Based on the information provided in the news articles, it seems like Schmidt would be difficult to catch unless he did something blatantly stupid.
Nevermind, I found the answer. Schmidt DID do something blatantly stupid. According to this Daily Beast article here:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/angry-ex-army-intel-officer-joseph-schmidt-tried-to-sell-secrets-to-china-feds/
(There is a paywall, but if you pause the page while it is loading at just the right moment you can read the full article before the paywall kicks in. You can also do a CTL+P at this moment to print as a pdf. This will work until the page hits the archives and you can use the Wayback machine to view it.)
Here is the FBI affidavit:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24018118-schmidt-affi/
Those links show that Schmidt sent incriminating emails to the Chinese embassies and media outlets (likely through an insecure and overt manner), saved classified written documents on his iCloud account, and performed Google searches for terms like "soldier defect," "countries that dont extradite," "russian visa costs," "chinese embassy Istanbul," and "can you be extradited for treason." He even actually offered his SIPR token!
Yep. He was stupid.
Posted by curious george
- Jun 24, 2025, 05:28 PMInteresting. Does anyone know how he got caught?
Did the Chinese consulate in Turkey notify the U.S. authorities?
Did he give the Chinese is Army SIPR token (which is useless without access to the classified SIPRNet terminals)?
Could the Chinese possibly have ratted him out (would they really do that)?
Based on the information provided in the news articles, it seems like Schmidt would be difficult to catch unless he did something blatantly stupid.
Did the Chinese consulate in Turkey notify the U.S. authorities?
Did he give the Chinese is Army SIPR token (which is useless without access to the classified SIPRNet terminals)?
Could the Chinese possibly have ratted him out (would they really do that)?
Based on the information provided in the news articles, it seems like Schmidt would be difficult to catch unless he did something blatantly stupid.
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Jun 24, 2025, 09:22 AMAs I expected he would (because virtually everyone indicted on espionage charges eventually does), Joseph Daniel Schmidt has pleaded guilty to the crimes with which he was charged. The following is the full text of a U.S. Department of Justice press release:
As a consequence of Schmidt's guilty plea, we will likely never learn more about any polygraph-related information he may have provided to the Chinese government.
Schmidt's 18-page plea agreement is available here. It does not include any stipulation that he agree to polygraph "testing":
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.327162/gov.uscourts.wawd.327162.40.0.pdf
Quotehttps://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-jblm-soldier-pleads-guilty-attempting-share-military-secrets-china
Former JBLM soldier pleads guilty to attempting to share military secrets with China
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
A former U.S. Army Sergeant whose last duty post was Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in western Washington pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two federal felonies, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, pleaded guilty to attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information. He faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on September 9, 2025.
According to records filed in the case, Schmidt was an active-duty soldier from January 2015 to January 2020. His primary assignment was at JBLM in the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion. In his role, Schmidt had access to SECRET and TOP SECRET information. After his separation from the military, Schmidt reached out to the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and later, the Chinese security services via email offering national defense information.
In March 2020, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong and continued his efforts to provide Chinese intelligence with classified information he obtained from his military service. He created multiple lengthy documents describing various "high level secrets" he was offering to the Chinese government. He retained a device that allows for access to secure military computer networks and offered the device to Chinese authorities to assist them in efforts to gain access to such networks.
Schmidt remained in China, primarily Hong Kong, until October 2023, when he flew to San Francisco. He was arrested at the airport.
Attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information are both punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg is prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
As a consequence of Schmidt's guilty plea, we will likely never learn more about any polygraph-related information he may have provided to the Chinese government.
Schmidt's 18-page plea agreement is available here. It does not include any stipulation that he agree to polygraph "testing":
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.327162/gov.uscourts.wawd.327162.40.0.pdf
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Mar 14, 2025, 05:19 AMTo follow up on this case, after initially being ruled incompetent to stand trial, Schmidt has been found competent and trial is now scheduled for 2 March 2026. The case docket is available here:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67861749/united-states-v-schmidt/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67861749/united-states-v-schmidt/
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Oct 08, 2023, 04:11 AMAs Special Agent Brandon Tower also notes in his declaration (at para. A):
It seems unlikely to me that Joseph Schmidt would have drafted the documents and sent the emails he did without following up on it. And considering that Schmidt lived in Hong Kong from March 2020 until his arrest at San Francisco International Airport earlier this month, he presumably had ample opportunity to pass on the information in the documents he drafted.
While Schmidt has not been criminally charged with actually delivering classified information to anyone, I think that it's prudent for policymakers to assume for now that the information he typed up was indeed provided to the Chinese government.
I expect that this case will end in a plea deal with Schmidt agreeing to be debriefed regarding, among other things, the time he spent in China. (I expect that his plea deal will also include an agreement to submit to polygraph "testing.")
QuoteThis affidavit is intended to show merely that there is probable cause for the requested warrant and does not set forth all of my knowledge about this matter.
It seems unlikely to me that Joseph Schmidt would have drafted the documents and sent the emails he did without following up on it. And considering that Schmidt lived in Hong Kong from March 2020 until his arrest at San Francisco International Airport earlier this month, he presumably had ample opportunity to pass on the information in the documents he drafted.
While Schmidt has not been criminally charged with actually delivering classified information to anyone, I think that it's prudent for policymakers to assume for now that the information he typed up was indeed provided to the Chinese government.
I expect that this case will end in a plea deal with Schmidt agreeing to be debriefed regarding, among other things, the time he spent in China. (I expect that his plea deal will also include an agreement to submit to polygraph "testing.")
Posted by wormz
- Oct 07, 2023, 09:34 PMQuote from: George_Maschke on Oct 07, 2023, 06:44 AM
A 21-page declaration by FBI Special Agent Brandon Tower mentions that Schmidt wrote a 23-page Microsoft Word document titled "High Level Secrets."
It seems like the only illegal things that Schmidt did was storing those documents with classified information in his Apple iCloud account and sending emails. I am sure Apple has AI that flags certain keywords and Apple reporting him to the FBI. Those emails that he sent from his Gmail and Yahoo accounts were not classified but probably fall under the "attempted espionage" laws.
His Google searches, which he must have conducted while logged into his Google account and having his search history saved, are not illegal, but are just additional red flags and pieces of evidence to ensure his conviction.
Do you agree?
Posted by George W. Maschke
- Oct 07, 2023, 06:44 AMJoseph Daniel Schmidt, a former U.S. army interrogator and Chinese linguist assigned to the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington State, has been indicted for alleged violation of the Espionage Act. He is charged with illegally retaining national defense information and attempting to deliver it to a person not authorized to receive it. Specifically, Schmidt is accused of attempting to provide national defense information to China.
Gary A. Warner reports for Stars and Stripes. Excerpt:
A 21-page declaration by FBI Special Agent Brandon Tower mentions that Schmidt wrote a 23-page Microsoft Word document titled "High Level Secrets." Tower notes at p. 14 of his declaration:
The "operational testing" referred to here is presumably polygraph "testing" of intelligence sources, a common practice in the U.S. intelligence community. It would seem that whatever Schmidt knew about operational source testing has likely been compromised.
Gary A. Warner reports for Stars and Stripes. Excerpt:
QuoteA former Army sergeant last assigned at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington with a military intelligence unit with access to top secret documents was arrested Friday on charges of attempting to deliver national defense information to China, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 29, was taken into custody by federal agents at San Francisco International Airport as he arrived on a commercial flight from Hong Kong.
The arrest is based on an indictment issued Oct. 3 by a federal grand jury in Seattle. It charges two felonies: Attempting to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information. Each charge carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Schmidt was stationed at Lewis-McChord from January 2015 to January 2020, according to FBI reports filed in the case. His primary assignment was the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion. In his role, Schmidt had access to "secret" and "top secret" information.
After Schmidt's separation from the military in early 2020, he allegedly tried to contact the Chinese consulate in Turkey, according to the FBI report. He later tried to contact Chinese security services directly via email and offered national defense information to them.
In the indictment, the FBI provided examples of emails sent to the Chinese from Schmidt.
"My name is Joe Schmidt. I am a United States citizen looking to move to China. I currently reside in Istanbul and am trying to set up an appointment at the consulate in Istanbul," Schmidt wrote to the Chinese consulate, according to federal officials.
Schmidt traveled in March 2020 to Hong Kong, where he continued efforts to provide Chinese intelligence services with classified documents obtained while he was serving at Lewis-McChord.
The FBI investigation said Schmidt retained a device that allows for access to secure military computer networks and offered the device to the Chinese to gain access to internal Defense Department networks.
Schmidt remained in China, primarily Hong Kong, until Friday when he flew to San Francisco.
A 21-page declaration by FBI Special Agent Brandon Tower mentions that Schmidt wrote a 23-page Microsoft Word document titled "High Level Secrets." Tower notes at p. 14 of his declaration:
QuoteThe remainder of the "High Level Secrets" document discussed SCHMIDT's training and experience in HUMINT collection; the functions and capabilities of U.S. HUMINT collectors; the curriculum and substance of various Army HUMINT training courses; and tradecraft used by U.S. HUMINT collectors, including information regarding surveillance detection routes, casing for meeting locations, source assessment, and operational testing....
The "operational testing" referred to here is presumably polygraph "testing" of intelligence sources, a common practice in the U.S. intelligence community. It would seem that whatever Schmidt knew about operational source testing has likely been compromised.