Joshua Schulte sentenced to 40 years in prison after most ‘brazen’ intelligence leak in US history – Former CIA officer also found guilty of possessing child abuse images
- Joshua Schulte, 35, shared 8,761 classified documents with Wikileaks
A former CIA software engineer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking classified information to Wikileaks and possessing child abuse images.
Joshua Schulte, 35, was found guilty in July 2022 of eight espionage charges and one obstruction charge over the so-called Vault 7 leaks.
The breach, which prosecutors called one of the most “brazen” leaks in U.S. history, showed how the CIA hacked Apple and Android smartphones to create listening devices.
On Thursday, he was convicted on charges of espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI and possessing child abuse images.
Joshua Schulte, 35, was found guilty in July 2022 of eight espionage charges and one obstruction charge over the so-called Vault 7 leaks
Schulte leaked to the public and U.S. adversaries some of the “most valuable cyber intelligence collection tools used to combat terrorist organizations and other malign influences around the world.”
WikiLeaks began publishing the classified materials in March 2017. Schulte would share 8761 documents with the platform.
When his apartment was searched during the investigation, it also allegedly turned out that he had “tens of thousands of images of child sexual abuse material.”
Schulte, who resigned from the CIA in November 2016, was motivated to orchestrate the leak because he believed the agency disrespected him by ignoring his complaints about the work environment.
He struggled to manage his workload and continually missed deadlines, earning him the nickname “Drifting Deadline,” according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lockard.
So he tried to “burn to the ground” the work he had helped the organization create, the Justice Department said.
The leak, prosecutors said, “immediately and profoundly damaged the CIA’s ability to gather foreign intelligence against America’s adversaries; Directly endangered CIA personnel, programs, and assets; and cost the CIA hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Schulte countered that he was being blamed and scapegoated for his problems with management.
The information leaked to the public and to U.S. adversaries, some of the nation’s most valuable cyber intelligence-gathering tools used to combat terrorist organizations and other malign influences around the world.
Schulte is on trial on charges that he possessed and transported thousands of images of rape and child sexual abuse
Schulte, who chose to defend himself at the 2022 New York trial, told jurors in his closing arguments that the CIA and FBI had made him a scapegoat for the shamed public who released the trove of secrets. Schulte is depicted in a courtroom sketch from March 2020
The prosecutor said Schulte knew the leak would render the CIA’s tools “essentially useless and would have a devastating effect on our intelligence community by providing crucial information to those who wish to do us harm.”
Prosecutors also said that while Schulte was behind bars awaiting trial, he continued his crimes by attempting to leak additional classified material while waging an “information war” against the government.
Schulte denied several times that he leaked the information to Wikileaks to the FBI.