WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Division on Friday introduced legal costs in opposition to a State Division worker accused of sharing delicate authorities info with individuals he met on-line, in response to a legal grievance.
Michael Charles Schena, 42, was charged with conspiring to assemble and transmit U.S. nationwide protection info to individuals not approved to obtain it.
Schena, who has labored at State Division headquarters in Washington, held a prime secret safety clearance and had entry to info as much as the key degree, the Justice Division mentioned in a press release.
Schena, a South Caribbean desk officer, has not but entered a plea.
His lawyer didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, and a State Division spokesperson didn’t instantly remark.
He accepted funds in return for sharing info with individuals he met by “various communication platforms” starting in April 2022, in response to a legal grievance filed in U.S. District Court docket for the Jap District of Virginia.
Surveillance footage captured Schena photographing at the very least 5 diplomatic paperwork marked secret at a State Division work station final month, in response to the grievance.
He was arrested the identical day outdoors his Virginia house.
It’s not instantly clear what the paperwork had been or with whom they had been shared. An bill referenced within the legal grievance referred to “CNY,” which authorities mentioned they imagine to be a reference to China’s yuan.
