NSA Worker Denies Stockpiling Top-Secret Defense Files At Home

FORT MEADE, MD — A Maryland contractor who had a top-secret clearance when he worked for the National Security Agency, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 20 counts of willful retention of national defense information over a 20-year period, prosecutors say. Suspect Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, of Glen Burnie, was indicted Feb. 8 by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing "highly classified computer codes" which officials claim could have caused "exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States" if released.

Martin worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors have yet to specify what Martin is accused of doing with the information that he took, which is used to hack the computer networks of foreign governments, but called his alleged theft a flagrant abuse of trust.

“As a private contractor who worked on classified programs at various U.S. government agencies, the defendant was entrusted with access to sensitive government materials," said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord in a statement. “Martin allegedly violated the trust our nation put in him by stealing and retaining classified documents and other material relating to the national defense. Insider threats are a significant danger to our national security.”

According to the indictment, from December 1993 through August 27, 2016, Martin held security clearances up to Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information at various times, and began stealing highly classified and top-secret documents starting in 1996 and continuing through Aug. 27, 2016. Martin kept documents with classified information about the national defense at his home and in his vehicle.

There has been no indication from federal prosecutors that Martin sold or gave the documents he had to anyone, or any other governments.

“The FBI investigation and this indictment reveal a broken trust from a security clearance holder,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Division. “Willfully retaining highly classified national defense information in a vulnerable setting is a violation of the security policy and the law, which weakens our national security and cannot be tolerated.”

If convicted, Martin faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each of 20 counts of willful retention of national defense information. Martin was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Tuesday and remains in federal custody, the Associate Press reports.

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.

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