A former CIA software engineer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the most significant theft of classified information in CIA history and for possessing images and videos related to child sexual abuse.
On Thursday, a former CIA software engineer, Joshua Schulte, received a 40-year prison sentence for what the government labeled as the largest theft of classified information in CIA history, along with charges related to the possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. The majority of the sentence was imposed for the high-profile release of CIA secrets by WikiLeaks in 2017, known as the Vault 7 leak. Schulte, who had been incarcerated since 2018, had played a role in creating the hacking tools while working as a coder at the CIA's Langley, Virginia headquarters.
During the sentencing, Judge Jesse M. Furman expressed uncertainty about the full extent of the damage caused by Schulte's actions but deemed it likely to be massive. The Vault 7 leak exposed CIA activities, including hacking smartphones and efforts to turn internet-connected TVs into listening devices for overseas spying operations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David William Denton Jr., seeking a life sentence, characterized Schulte's disclosures as "the most damaging" in American history. In his defense, Schulte complained about harsh conditions in detention but also claimed prosecutors had offered him a plea deal for a 10-year sentence, which he rejected due to the requirement to waive his right to appeal.
Judge Furman criticized Schulte's lack of remorse and acceptance of responsibility, stating that he seemed motivated by anger and spite against those at the agency who he believed ignored his complaints about the work environment. Furman noted that Schulte continued his criminal activities from jail by attempting to leak more classified materials and maintaining a hidden file with 2,400 images of child sexual abuse.
CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen emphasized in a letter that Schulte's actions caused "exceptionally grave harm" to national security, costing the agency hundreds of millions of dollars and jeopardizing personnel and assets.
Schulte faced a mistrial in 2020, and in a subsequent trial in July 2022, he was convicted of charges related to the classified leak. In a separate case last fall, he was convicted for possessing child sexual abuse materials. Despite the severity of the sentence, Schulte expressed no remorse for his crimes, prompting Judge Furman to describe it as a "bloodbath" with no defense. The 40-year sentence primarily accounted for the CIA theft, with an additional six years and eight months for the child sexual abuse convictions. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized that Schulte had committed "some of the most brazen, heinous crimes of espionage in American history."
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