US Air Force Veteran Faces Charges for Leaking Classified Info on Military Aircraft and Weapons
The Justice Department announced Thursday that a former member of the US Air Force has been arrested and charged with giving out secret information about American military planes and weapons to people who were not supposed to know it.
A grand jury in Florida charged Paul J. Freeman on Tuesday with having and sending secret information about the national defense without permission, according to court records.
Prosecutors say that between November 2020 and March 2021, Freeman sent information about “vulnerabilities” of Air Force planes and weapon systems more than once.
Unfortunately, CNN was unable to find Freeman’s lawyer right away. CNN tried to get in touch with the Pentagon.
The Justice Department said in a news release that Freeman could face up to 10 years in jail for each of the nine counts in the indictment if he is found guilty. A detention hearing has been set for July 1.
The case is being looked into by the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
CNN previously said that the Pentagon increased its security checks after a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard leaked a huge number of classified papers online last year, putting private information at risk.
Even though Freeman is said to have leaked information before the new security checks were put in place, the Pentagon has still been dealing with the problem of secret leaks since his arrest.
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) regularly checks employees entering or leaving the Pentagon for classified information. However, the number and frequency of these checks increased after Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, leaked a huge number of sensitive documents last year. This was because Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a review of procedures around the handling of sensitive and classified material.
At the beginning of this year, Teixeira admitted to all six counts against him under the Espionage Act.