A U.S. Army major doctor and his wife, a Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, were federally indicted for allegedly trying to give confidential medical information about members of the U.S. military to the Russian government.
Major Jamie Lee Henry and Anna Gabrielian were named in a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, charging the couple with conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information.
According to the indictment, the couple communicated and met with an undercover FBI agent, whom they believed to be from the Russian Embassy, in August and offered sensitive information about members of the military and their spouses.
Gabrielian allegedly told the FBI agent on August 17 that "she was motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail." Later that same day, she reaffirmed to the agent the two "were committed to helping Russia" in another call.
The indictment alleges that Henry, who had a secret security clearance as a staff internist at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, told the agent that, "until the United States actually declares war against Russia, I'm able to help as much as I want."
"At that point, I'll have some ethical issues I'll have to work through," Henry said, according to the indictment.
The charging document also said that "Henry further stated: 'the way I am viewing what is going on in Ukraine now, is that the United States is using Ukrainians as a proxy for their own hatred toward Russia,.'"
In 2015, Henry was reported to be the first known active-duty U.S. army officer to come out as transgender, according to Buzzfeed News.
The charging document argues that the couple had access to information that opened up "potential for the Russian government to gain insights into the medical conditions of individuals associated with the U.S. government and military, to exploit this information."
According to the indictment, Gabrielian provided the FBI agent with confidential health information related to two individuals, including one which she pointed out had a medical condition that Russia could "exploit," and Henry provided information to five other individuals who were military veterans or related to military veterans.
If convicted, the maximum sentence for conspiracy is five years in federal prison and the maximum sentence for disclosing individually identifiable health information is 10 years in federal prison, per count.
U.S. Army spokesperson, Matt Leonard, deferred Newsweek to the Department of Justice.
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