An exit sign for Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Interstate 5 near Tacoma, Wash. (Gary Warner/Stars and Stripes)
SEATTLE — A former Army sergeant with an intelligence unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to sell military secrets to China, according to federal authorities.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, faces penalties of up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine for each count of retention of national security information and attempt to deliver national security information, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington said.
Schmidt’s guilty plea was entered Wednesday during a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida at the U.S. District Court for Western Washington in Seattle. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 9.
Schmidt was a team leader in the human intelligence section of the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at the Army-Air Force base from January 2015 to January 2020, according to court records. The unit provided intelligence to I Corps, the Army’s Indo-Pacific command, based at Lewis-McChord, which is 40 miles south of Seattle.
In his position, Schmidt had access to secret U.S. military information. He learned to speak Mandarin during his time in the Army and traveled at least once to China while off duty.
After leaving the Army in early 2020, Schmidt contacted the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and visited Istanbul to interest Chinese intelligence officers in documents that he had taken from the Army. He also emailed Chinese security forces offering to turn over national defense information.
Schmidt moved to Hong Kong in March 2020 and contacted Chinese intelligence services again trying to pass classified information. He also offered to turn over a device that allows for access to secure U.S. military computer systems.
In addition to the documents, Schmidt sought a position with the Chinese as an intelligence or security asset. During his time in China, he traveled to Beijing. Schmidt emailed information to news media in China affiliated with the government.
Schmidt’s case file offered little insight into his motivation beyond an e-mail that he sent to his sister.
“I learned some really terrible things about the American government while I was working in the Army, and I no longer feel safe living in America or like I want to support the American government,” he wrote.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Army Counterintelligence Command, the U.S. attorney’s office said Wednesday. The FBI has said it does not know for certain whether the Chinese ever met with Schmidt. But federal agents intercepted messages that he sent seeking meetings with Chinese agents and his online searches on spying techniques.
Schmidt was indicted Oct. 4, 2023, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. The Chinese did not renew his visa and Schmidt was arrested at San Francisco International Airport when he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong on Oct. 6, 2023. Schmidt initially entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
In two other cases, federal authorities are prosecuting one former and two current soldiers at Lewis-McChord on espionage charges. The cases were investigated by the FBI and Army Counterintelligence Command.
Capt. Li Tian and former soldier Ruoyu Duan were charged March 6 in Oregon for conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property.
An FBI report in the court records states Tian was directed by the Chinese to gather information at Joint Base Lewis McChord on Bradley and Stryker armored fighting vehicles used by the U.S. Army and convey it to Duan in Oregon to send to connections in China.
In a second case uncovered at the same time, Sgt. Jian Zhao was charged March 6 in Washington with conspiring to obtain and transmit national defense information to unauthorized recipients, as well as bribery and theft of government property.
The FBI report stated Zhao took several classified computer hard drives marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” and sent them to China in exchange for at least $15,000. Zhao also sought to sell an encrypted U.S. Army computer and documents relating to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
The trial of Tian and Duan is scheduled to begin July 29 in Portland. Zhao’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 14 in Tacoma.
