US State Department employee charged over sharing sensitive information
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Michael Charles Schena was charged with conspiring to gather and transmit US national defence information to people not authorised to receive it.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – The US Justice Department on March 7 announced criminal charges against a State Department employee accused of sharing sensitive government information with people he met online, according to a criminal complaint.
Michael Charles Schena, 42, was charged with conspiring to gather and transmit US national defence information to people not authorised to receive it.
Schena, who has worked at State Department headquarters in Washington, held a top secret security clearance and had access to information up to the secret level, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Schena, a South Caribbean desk officer, has not yet entered a plea.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a State Department spokesperson did not immediately comment.
He accepted payments in return for sharing information
Surveillance footage captured Schena photographing at least five diplomatic documents marked secret at a State Department work station in February, according to the complaint.
He was arrested the same day outside his Virginia home.
It is not immediately clear what the documents were or with whom they were shared.
An invoice referenced in the criminal complaint referred to “CNY”, which the authorities said they believe to be a reference to China’s yuan
