An exit sign for Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Interstate 5 near Tacoma, Wash. (Gary Warner/Stars and Stripes)
A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday sentenced a former Army intelligence unit sergeant to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for his globetrotting attempt to interest China in receiving military secrets he took from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, entered a guilty plea on June 21 to two felony charges — attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information.
Judge John Coughenour, of the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, in Seattle, accepted the guilty plea on July 8 and sentenced Schmidt on Tuesday. The former sergeant faced a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine, according to a July statement by the Army.
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 about 40 miles south of Seattle.
“As a retired Army officer, I find it unconscionable for a former soldier to put his colleagues and country at risk by peddling secret information and intelligence access to a hostile foreign power,” U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said in a Justice Department statement. “These cases remain a priority for our office to keep our country safe.”
Schmidt had access to secret and top secret U.S. military information, according to the Justice Department. He learned to speak Mandarin while in the Army and traveled to China at least once while on active 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 again contacted Chinese intelligence services, attempting to pass classified information. He also offered to turn over a device that allows for access to secure U.S. military computer systems.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility. (Department of Defense)
In addition to the documents, Schmidt sought a position with the Chinese as an intelligence or security asset, according to court records.
During his time in China, he traveled to Beijing. Schmidt emailed information to government-affiliated news media in China.
The FBI has said it does not know for certain whether the Chinese ever met with Schmidt. But federal agents intercepted messages he sent seeking meetings with Chinese agents, as well as his online searches for spying techniques.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Army Counterintelligence Command and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Schmidt was indicted in Seattle on Oct. 4, 2023, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. The Chinese government did not renew Schmidt’s visa, and he was arrested on Oct. 6, 2023, upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport from Hong Kong.
Schmidt initially entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. However, federal authorities and defense attorneys agreed that he was not mentally fit to understand the charges and stand trial. In February 2025, Coughenour ruled that Schmidt was competent to stand trial.
Schmidt’s case file offered little insight into his motivation beyond an email 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.
Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, said in June that Schmidt’s case was not “a lapse in judgment,” but a serious breach of trust.
“This individual failed to uphold his oath to defend our Nation and to protect the lives of those he served beside,” Cox said in a statement. “By attempting to provide classified information to China, he put our mission at risk and abandoned his fellow Soldiers for personal gain. These actions threaten our national security.”
Former Army Sgt. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, who was sentenced Tuesday Oct. 28, 2025 to four years in prison for attempting to divulge classified information to the Chinese and for retaining documents after he left the Army in 2020. (U.S. Army)
