Insider information revealed large-scale espionage activities in the United States.
A former CIA software engineer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the agency's largest-ever theft of classified information and possession of images and videos of child sexual abuse.
The bulk of 35-year-old Joshua Schulte's sentence was handed down for a major leak of CIA secrets through WikiLeaks in 2017. Schulte has been in custody since 2018. The court stressed that "we will probably never know the full extent of the damage, but there is no doubt that it was huge."
The leak, called Vault 7, revealed the CIA's methods of hacking Apple and Android smartphones as part of foreign espionage operations and attempts to turn internet-connected TVs, including Samsung TVs, into listening devices. Prior to his arrest, Schulte was involved in creating special hacking programs as a programmer at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
Prosecutors pushed for a life sentence, saying Schulte was responsible for the most devastating leaks of classified information in American history. "Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most audacious and heinous espionage crimes in U.S. history," the prosecutor added.
Schulte complained about the harsh prison conditions, calling his cell a "torture chamber", but also claimed that the prosecutor's office had offered him a 10-year prison deal and was now unfairly demanding a life sentence.
The judge sharply criticized Schulte's statements, noting his "complete lack of remorse and recognition of responsibility." According to the judge, Schulte "was driven not by altruism, but by anger, resentment and perceptions of injustice" towards colleagues at the agency, who, in his opinion, ignored his complaints about the working environment.
The judge also noted that Schulte continued to commit crimes from prison, trying to leak even more classified materials and creating a hidden file on his computer with 2,400 images of child sexual abuse that he viewed in prison.
Schulte's sentencing came after the jury failed to reach a consensus in its first trial in 2020 on the most serious charges, including illegally collecting and transmitting information related to national defense. In July 2022, Schulte was found guilty on charges related to leaking classified information.
A former CIA software engineer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the agency's largest-ever theft of classified information and possession of images and videos of child sexual abuse.
The bulk of 35-year-old Joshua Schulte's sentence was handed down for a major leak of CIA secrets through WikiLeaks in 2017. Schulte has been in custody since 2018. The court stressed that "we will probably never know the full extent of the damage, but there is no doubt that it was huge."
The leak, called Vault 7, revealed the CIA's methods of hacking Apple and Android smartphones as part of foreign espionage operations and attempts to turn internet-connected TVs, including Samsung TVs, into listening devices. Prior to his arrest, Schulte was involved in creating special hacking programs as a programmer at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
Prosecutors pushed for a life sentence, saying Schulte was responsible for the most devastating leaks of classified information in American history. "Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most audacious and heinous espionage crimes in U.S. history," the prosecutor added.
Schulte complained about the harsh prison conditions, calling his cell a "torture chamber", but also claimed that the prosecutor's office had offered him a 10-year prison deal and was now unfairly demanding a life sentence.
The judge sharply criticized Schulte's statements, noting his "complete lack of remorse and recognition of responsibility." According to the judge, Schulte "was driven not by altruism, but by anger, resentment and perceptions of injustice" towards colleagues at the agency, who, in his opinion, ignored his complaints about the working environment.
The judge also noted that Schulte continued to commit crimes from prison, trying to leak even more classified materials and creating a hidden file on his computer with 2,400 images of child sexual abuse that he viewed in prison.
Schulte's sentencing came after the jury failed to reach a consensus in its first trial in 2020 on the most serious charges, including illegally collecting and transmitting information related to national defense. In July 2022, Schulte was found guilty on charges related to leaking classified information.
