Ex-Army sergeant indicted for trying to pass classified secrets to China

A former US Army sergeant, Joseph Daniel Schmidt, has been arrested and charged with attempting to pass national defense information to the Chinese government. Schmidt, who had access to classified intelligence and a top-secret security clearance during his service, allegedly made trips to Beijing and Turkey and sent an email to the Chinese Consulates' public email address expressing his intention to share information learned during his career as an interrogator. He created documents containing classified information and contacted Chinese companies to advertise his services. Schmidt's arrest follows similar cases of US military personnel being charged with retaining or sharing military information with China.