MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - An active-duty U.S. soldier has been arrested and charged with espionage and export violations over his attempt to transmit sensitive national defense information to Russia regarding the operation of the M1A2 Abrams, the United States' main battle tank.
Taylor Adam Lee, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was arrested Wednesday on charges of attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
'The FBI's investigation revealed Taylor Lee attempted to provide classified military information on U.S. tank vulnerabilities to a Russian intelligence officer in exchange for Russian citizenship,' said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.
According to court documents, Lee is an active-duty service member in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Bliss, and holds a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. From May, Lee sought to establish his U.S. Army credentials and send U.S. defense information to Russia's Ministry of Defense. In June, he allegedly transmitted export-controlled technical information on the M1A2 Abrams Tank online and offered assistance to the Russian government, stating, 'the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,' and added, 'At this point I'd even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I'm there in any way.'
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