NSA Contractor to Be Charged With Violating Espionage Act for Stealing Classified Files
Fifty terabytes of data….
According to the papers filed with the court, “Among the many other classified documents found in the Defendant’s possession was a document marked as ‘Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information’ (‘TS/SCI’) regarding specific operational plans against a known enemy of the United States and its allies.” The top of the same document featured this disclaimer: “THIS CONOP CONTAINS INFORMATION CONCERNING EXTREMELY SENSITIVE U.S. PLANNING AND OPERATIONS THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED AND DISSEMINATED ONLY ON AN ABSOLUTE NEED TO KNOW BASIS. EXTREME OPSEC PRECAUTIONS MUST BE TAKEN.” Martin “was not directly involved” in the operation in question with reportedly “no need to know.”
Since “improper retention and transmission of national defense information is prohibited under the Espionage Act,” the federal prosecutors are anticipating that Martin’s charges “will include violations of the Espionage Act.” Martin will be subject to “significantly higher statutory penalties” if charged under the Espionage Act than he would have if he was only hit with the charges listed in the existing complaint.
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