U.S. soldier charged with trying to trade Army tank info for Russian citizenship

Federal authorities have arrested an American soldier who allegedly tried to share classified information about the Army's M1A2 Abrams tank with Russia, the Justice Department said.

Taylor Adam Lee — a 22-year-old active-duty Army member stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas — was arrested Wednesday and charged under the Espionage Act with attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary, federal prosecutors said in a statement. He was also charged under the Arms Export Control Act.

The Justice Department claimed Lee "transmitted export-controlled technical information on the M1A2 Abrams Tank online and offered assistance to the Russian Federation." Prosecutors accused Lee of trying to swap the information for Russian citizenship.

Lee — who held a top secret security clearance — allegedly wrote online earlier this year, "the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses," and, "At this point I'd even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I'm there in any way."

During a July in-person meeting, Lee allegedly handed an SD card with technical data and other information on Abrams tanks to a person who he "believed to be a representative of the Russian government." He also allegedly discussed giving Russia a piece of hardware from the tank, and appeared to deliver the hardware to an El Paso storage unit last week.

"Mission accomplished," Lee messaged the person, the Justice Department said.

A warrant for his arrest was filed in El Paso federal court on Tuesday. He was arrested and made his initial court appearance the following day. A criminal complaint did not appear to be filed in court as of Wednesday, and it's unclear if Lee is represented by an attorney.

"This arrest is an alarming reminder of the serious threat facing our U.S. Army," Brig. Gen. Sean F. Stinchon, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command, said in a statement.

Lee's arrest comes as the military grapples with online espionage and leaking threats.

Chinese intelligence agents have tried to target U.S. service members online and entice them into offering up sensitive information in exchange for pay, a trend some counterintelligence officials call "virtual espionage," CBS News reported earlier this year.

Separately, former Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year for sharing classified documents about the Russia-Ukraine war on the messaging platform Discord. And a retired Army officer who worked as a civilian Air Force employee pleaded guilty last month to sharing Russia-Ukraine war information on a dating app.

• United States Army
• Spying
• Russia
• United States Military