A defense contractor for the U.S. Pacific Command is being charged with giving national security secrets to a 27-year-old Chinese student he was romantically involved with.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu says 59-year-old Benjamin Pierce Bishop sent the woman an email in last May with information on existing war plans, nuclear weapons and U.S. relations with international partners.
Authorities arrested Bishop at his workplace at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii on Friday. He was appointed a lawyer Monday.
The lawyer, Birney Bervar, says Bishop is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and Bishop would never do anything to harm the United States.
Bishop is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a hearing on whether he will remain in detention during the case.
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