US Official Accused of Leaking National Defense Secrets

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday that a State Department employee faces criminal charges, accused of sharing sensitive government information with people he met online, according to a criminal complaint.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek on Friday night that an employee had been arrested this week but declined to comment further, citing an ongoing investigation.

Why It Matters

Computers at the State Department, which has been led by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio since shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, provide access to a significant amount of classified national secrets. Sharing the information with outsiders, which could include foreign governments, put national security at risk.

What To Know

The DOJ announced in a news release on Friday that State Department employee Michael Charles Schena, 42, had been arrested and charged with conspiring to collect and transmit U.S. national defense information to unauthorized recipients.

Officials said that Schena, who worked at the State Department's headquarters in Washington, held top-secret security clearance and had access to classified information up to the secret level at his workplace.

Schena is accused of providing unspecified "people he met online" with sensitive information in exchange for payments since April 2022, according to the criminal complaint. He was seen on a surveillance video taking photos of classified documents at his work computer monitor on February 27, 2025, authorities said.

In an affidavit, an FBI agent accuses Schena of transmitting "documents, writings, photographs, instruments, application, and notes relating to the national defense of the United States" to unauthorized parties from April 2022 until late last month.

The affidavit also includes mention of Schena's invoice for an iPhone that he allegedly used to share the information and "CNY," which DOJ officials said was likely a reference to the Chinese yuan currency.

In a LinkedIn profile, Schena describes himself as a State Department foreign affairs officer on the "Southern Caribbean Desk" since December 2020. He had been a foreign affairs officer since January 2007 and began at the State Department as a graduate student intern in January 2006, according to the profile.

The case against Schena will be prosecuted by U.S. Attorneys Michael Ben'Ary and Gavin R. Tisdale, alongside DOJ national security trial lawyer Maria Fedor. Schena has not yet entered a plea, according to Reuters.

What People Are Saying

Schena, explaining his background during a 2020 interview with OCA Magazine: "I served as an English teacher at a school in Shaoxing, PRC [China] in 2005. As luck would have it I was accepted into a State Department internship program in 2006. From the internship I was hired in 2007 as a Foreign Affairs Officer."

What Happens Next

If convicted, Schena could face a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.