Acting as own lawyer, accused CIA coder argues for acquittal
A former CIA software engineer accused of causing the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history has told a jury there’s not enough evidence to convict him of espionage and other federal charges
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A former CIA software engineer accused of causing the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history told a jury Thursday that there’s not enough evidence to convict him of espionage and other federal charges.
Joshua Schulte, who chose to defend himself at a New York City retrial, said in closing arguments that the CIA and FBI made him a scapegoat for an embarrassing public release of a trove of CIA secrets by WikiLeaks in 2017.
Schulte, 33, claimed he was singled out even though “hundreds of people had access to (the information). … Hundreds of people could have stolen it.”
He added, “The government’s case is riddled with reasonable doubt. There’s simply no motive here.”
U.S. Attorney David Denton countered that there was plenty of proof that Schulte pilfered a sensitive backup computer file.
“He’s the one who broke into that system,” Denton said. “He’s the one who took that backup, the backup he sent to WikiLeaks.”
The prosecutor also encouraged jurors to consider evidence of an attempted coverup, including a list of chores Schulte drew that had an entry reading, “Delete suspicious emails.”
“This is someone who’s hiding the things that he’s done wrong," Denton said.
The Manhattan jury is expected to get the case Friday after receiving instructions from U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman.
The so-called Vault 7 leak revealed how the CIA hacked Apple and Android smartphones in overseas spying operations and efforts to turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices. Prior to his arrest, Schulte had helped create the hacking tools as a coder at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
Prosecutors alleged Schulte was motivated to orchestrate the leak because he believed the CIA had disrespected him by ignoring his complaints about the work environment. So he tried “to burn to the ground” the very work he had helped the agency to create.
While behind bars awaiting trial, he continued his crimes by trying to leak additional classified materials from prison as he carried on an “information war” against the government, they said.
A mistrial was declared at Schulte's original 2020 trial after jurors deadlocked on the most serious counts, including illegal gathering and transmission of national defense information. Schulte told the judge last year that he wanted serve as his own attorney for the retrial.
On Thursday, Furman complimented Schulte on his closing argument.
“Mr. Schulte, that was impressively done,” the judge said with the jury out of the courtroom. “Depending on what happens here, you may have a future as a defense lawyer.”