Former U.S. Army sergeant charged with attempting to deliver classified information to China

Joseph Daniel Schmidt, a former U.S. Army sergeant, was arrested at San Francisco airport after returning from Hong Kong where he had been living since March 2020.
Schmidt is accused of reaching out to the Chinese government on multiple occasions to offer classified U.S. defense information that he had access to while serving in the Army.
He allegedly contacted the Chinese consulate in Turkey and Chinese intelligence officers directly to offer his services as an interrogator and provide access to classified materials.
Schmidt faces two felony charges related to the retention and attempted delivery of national defense information, each carrying a maximum 10 year prison sentence.
The incident highlights ongoing efforts by China to obtain classified information from U.S. military personnel.