From Fox News: A U.S. Army soldier in Texas with a top security clearance has been charged with handing over sensitive information about the military’s main battle tank in exchange for Russian citizenship.
Taylor Adam Lee, 22, was arrested Wednesday on charges of attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license.
“This arrest is an alarming reminder of the serious threat facing our U.S. Army,” said Brigadier General Sean F. Stinchon, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command.
Federal prosecutors said Lee attempted to hand over information to someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer in exchange for Russian citizenship.
In a press release on Wednesday, the Department of Justice shared the following details:
According to court documents, Lee is an active-duty service member in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Bliss, and holds a Top Secret (TS) / Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance. From approximately May 2025 through the present, Lee sought to establish his U.S. Army credentials and send U.S. defense information to Russia’s Ministry of Defense. In June 2025, Lee allegedly transmitted export-controlled technical information on the M1A2 Abrams Tank online and offered assistance to the Russian Federation, stating, “the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,” and added, “At this point I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I’m there in any way.”
In July, at an in-person meeting between Lee and who he believed to be a representative of the Russian government, Lee allegedly passed an SD card to the individual. Lee proceeded to provide a detailed overview of the documents and information contained on the SD card, including documents and information on the M1A2 Abrams, another armored fighting vehicle used by the U.S. military, and combat operations. Several of these documents contained controlled technical data that Lee did not have the authorization to provide. Other documents on the SD card were marked as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and featured banner warnings and dissemination controls. Throughout the meeting, Lee stated that the information on the SD card was sensitive and likely classified.
During and after the July meeting, Lee discussed obtaining and providing to the Russian government a specific piece of hardware inside the M1A2 Abrams tank. On July 31, 2025, Lee delivered what appeared to be the hardware to a storage unit in El Paso, Texas. After doing so, Lee sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government stating, “Mission accomplished.”
Active-Duty Soldier Arrested and Charged with Espionage and Export Violations
Read more:https://t.co/728j68aMeX pic.twitter.com/SXUC3mrYTu
— National Security Division, U.S. Dept of Justice (@DOJNatSec) August 6, 2025
Spc. Taylor Adam Lee was arrested today on charges of attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license.
Read more: https://t.co/TikQUJCvRa pic.twitter.com/g8MIBU8b2J
— Army Counterintelligence Command (ACIC) (@Real_ArmyCI) August 6, 2025
BREAKING: Texas soldier with top security clearance charged with attempting to pass sensitive tank data to Russia: DOJ https://t.co/khTNYZgbbN
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 6, 2025
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