Korbein Schultz, the Fort Campbell sergeant accused of selling U.S. military secrets to China , has decided to plead guilty, a newly filed court document shows.
Schultz' attorney, federal public defender Mary Kathryn Harcombe, filed a motion Friday morning to set a hearing for him to change his plea, writing that Schultz "has decided to change his plea of not guilty to a plea of guilty pursuant to an agreement with the government."
Schultz' case was set for trial on Aug. 13. Harcombe asked U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger to allow Schultz to enter his guilty plea that day.
The document does not indicate the terms of the plea agreement. The Tennessean sent emails to Harcombe and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee on Friday morning seeking more information.
A six-count indictment against Schultz, 25, was unsealed on March 6. Schultz, who was an Army intelligence analyst with the First Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, was charged with three counts of unlawful export of defense articles to China and one count of conspiracy to do the same, conspiracy to unlawfully communicate defense information and bribery of a public official. He pleaded not guilty March 8 .
Prosecutors say Schultz had been selling sensitive U.S. military information to someone in Hong Kong who worked for a geopolitical consulting firm from June 2022 until he was arrested in March.
The indictment states Schultz shared information about advanced military helicopters, high-mobility artillery rocket systems, defensive missile systems and Chinese military tactics, as well as the tactics, techniques and procedures manuals for the F-22A fighter jet and intercontinental missiles. He received $42,000 in exchange, according to the indictment.
The co-conspirator baited Schultz with promises of perks and leveraged his apparent love of auto racing and desire for wealth, based on the indictment. Schultz once told the co-conspirator he "wished he could be 'Jason Bourne,'" the indictment states.
Read the full indictment: Tennessee soldier accused of selling military secrets to China
Just two months later, a different Fort Campbell officer was charged with felonies. Lt. Col. Frank Ross Talbert in U.S. Army Explosives Ordnance Disposal was indicted on 21 counts accusing him of unlawfully importing weapons from foreign countries in early May.
Talbert, 40, is accused of unlawfully importing firearms parts from Russia and other countries, dealing firearms without a license and committing several other firearms violations related to the possession of machine guns, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Talbert has surrendered his weapons to be stored at either Fort Campbell or a locked gun cabinet held by a family member who is prohibited from sharing the location of the key to the cabinet with Talbert. A judge in June ordered Talbert to participate in a mental health treatment program, court records show.
Talbert's trial is set for January 2025.
Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMe a lins .
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Fort Campbell soldier charged with selling secrets to China plans to plead guilty
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