'Weirdo' NSA Worker Charged With Stealing Files Is Navy Veteran (Update)

UPDATED 10:30 a.m. Thursday FORT MEADE, MD — A Glen Burnie contractor working for the National Security Agency who was arrested by federal authorities for allegedly stealing "highly classified computer codes" is described by security officials as a "weirdo."

Suspect Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, of Glen Burnie, worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The report doesn’t specify what Martin is accused of doing with the information that he took, which is used to hack the computer networks of foreign governments.

A criminal complaint charges Martin with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials by a government employee or contractor. According to an affidavit, Martin was a contractor with the federal government and had a top secret national security clearance.

A search warrant executed Aug. 27, 2016, says that federal agents found top-secret classified documents and computer devices at Martin’s home, in two storage sheds and in his car. The Navy veteran was arrested that day and the criminal complaint unsealed on Oct. 5.

The alleged theft is an echo of the 2013 case of Edward J. Snowden, another Booz Allen Hamilton contractor for the NSA, who passed reams of documents to journalists, says The New York Times. The leaked documents unveiled the reach of NSA surveillance programs around the world and led Snowden to be charged with espionage. He is living in an undisclosed location in Russia.

NSA officials told ABC News that Martin is "more weirdo than whistleblower,” but he has not been charged with the more serious crime of espionage.

Martin's attorney, Jim Wyda, said there is “no evidence Hal Martin intended to betray his country.”

“What we do know is that Hal Martin loves his family and his country. He served our nation honorably in the United States Navy, and he has devoted his entire career to serving and protecting America. We look forward to defending Hal Martin in court,” Wyda said.

Martin’s wife, Deb, told CBS News, “I have absolutely no comment on the matter and that I am standing by my husband and that I love him very much.”

According to the affidavit, the search of Martin’s residence, including two storage sheds and his vehicle, turned up hard copy documents and digital information stored on various devices and removable digital media. Most of the materials investigators removed from Martin’s residence and vehicle were the property of the United States and contained highly classified information, including top-secret and sensitive compartmented information.

Investigators also located federal property with a total value of more than $1,000, which Martin allegedly stole, the FBI says.

Among the classified documents found in the search were six classified documents obtained from sensitive intelligence and produced by a government agency in 2014, authorities say. These documents were produced through sensitive government sources, methods and capabilities, which are critical to national security issues, prosecutors claim.

"Unauthorized disclosure reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States," federal officials said.

If convicted, Martin faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison for the unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, and 10 years in prison for theft of government property. Martin remains detained.