Ex-JBLM soldier pleads guilty to leaking US military secrets to China; offered classified data to agents; faces 10 years in jail, fine

A former US Army Sergeant, Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, who was last stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Washington, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in a Seattle federal court to attempting to share classified military information with the Chinese government.Schmidt admitted to two felony charges — attempting to deliver national defense information and unlawfully retaining such information. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge. Sentencing is set for September 9, 2025, before US District Judge John C. Coughenour.According to court documents, 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 share classified information, drafting detailed documents outlining US military secrets and retaining a device used to access secure Army networks — which he offered to Chinese officials.According to the US Department of Justice, he wrote several long documents detailing “high-level secrets” and offered to the Chinese government. He also kept a device used to access secure military networks and offered it to Chinese officials to help them break into those systems.He remained abroad, primarily in Hong Kong, until October 2023 when he returned to the US and was arrested upon arrival in San Francisco airport.