Ex-CIA Developer Faces 40-Year Sentence for Leaking Classified Data to WikiLeaks

 

In a multi-charged case that involved the disclosure of classified documents to WikiLeaks, Joshua A Schulte, a former CIA software engineer, was sentenced to 40 years for multiple counts of espionage and computer hacking, as well as one count of lying to FBI agents after handing over classified materials to WikiLeaks in 2022, he was found guilty of four counts of espionage and computer hacking in 2022. 

According to US authorities, Schulte was the cause of the largest breach in CIA history, because his alleged contributions to WikiLeaks have been regarded as one of the largest unauthorized disclosures of classified information ever made by the United States. 

Approximately eight thousand classified documents detailing CIA hacking tools were released on WikiLeaks in 2017 as part of an incident dubbed Vault 7, in which 8761 classified documents were made available. 

The trial on March 9, 2020, July 13, 2022, and September 13, 2023, led Schulte to become the prime suspect and face multiple convictions at trials that concluded on that date. US spies used the leak, which the CIA dubbed a “digital Pearl Harbor,” to hack Apple and Android smartphones, as well as to hack internet-connected television sets and turn them into listening devices, the CIA dubbed a “digital Pearl Harbor.” 

There has been a discussion about whether the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be kidnapped or assassinated after the security breach, Yahoo News reported, citing anonymous officials. As a result of the security breach, US officials have been planning to wage an "all-out war" against Wikileaks, including a potential kidnapping or assassination of its founder. 

Despite being indicted in 2019 on charges of espionage and criticized by press freedom organizations, Assange is currently fighting extradition to the US government in Britain. Additionally, the US authorities claim that Schulte's personal computer also contained tens of thousands of videos and images of child sexual abuse material. 

The Independent reports that Schulte denied the allegations and claimed that the CIA and FBI had used him as a scapegoat for the leak of CIA documents. Several brazen, heinous crimes of espionage committed by Joshua Schulte, one of the most brazen, and horrendous of all times, were committed by Schulte, the lawyer for the US. 

In his quest for revenge against the CIA, Schulte caused untold damage to the national security of our country based on how the CIA responded to Schulte's security breaches while employed by the agency. Schulte intended to cause even more harm to this nation after he was caught by the FBI, as he launched what he called an “information war,” releasing top secret information from behind bars to cause more harm to the nation.” 

Schulte received his sentence based on convictions for espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, lying to the FBI, and having CSAM, among other charges. Additionally, he received a life sentence of supervised release alongside his prison sentence as well as his prison sentence. The CIA spying tools leak that was published last week included some shocking claims, including that hackers could gain access to Apple iPhones, 

Android devices made by Google and Samsung, and Samsung TVs made by Samsung to spy on their users. As presented in court documents, Schulte's theft "immediately and profoundly" affected the CIA's ability to gather foreign intelligence against U.S. adversaries; placed CIA personnel, programs, and assets directly at risk; and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of losses to the Agency.

Schulte repeatedly denied responsibility for the leak of the WikiLeaks documents during interrogations conducted by the FBI following the WikiLeaks disclosures. Schulte wrote in his journal in his detention pending trial that he intended to "break diplomatic relations, close embassies, and end US occupation across the globe." 

In the course of searching his apartment in New York, the FBI found that Schulte had hidden thousands of videos and images of horrific and disturbing child sexual abuse under layers of encryption. The FBI uncovered the servers and computers where Schulte had hidden the videos. Following his move to New York, according to the investigation, he continued to store child pornography from Russian websites and the dark web that he collected during his employment with the CIA and began to store it after moving to the city. It was from March 2020 until September 2023 that Schulte faced three separate trials in which he was tried for different crimes.