Army's first transgender officer accused of attempting to leak classified information to Russia

U.S. Army Major and first openly transgender officer Jamie Lee Henry has been charged with conspiracy for attempting to give military medical information to Russia in order to help them in their conflict against the Ukraine, according to the Justice Department.

Henry's wife, Anna Gabrielian, faces the same accusations. According to the DOJ statement, the couple provided confidential information regarding the health of individuals to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Russian government employee.

Henry is an Army medic and had a high level security clearance. For her part, Gabrielian is an anesthesiologist and worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

The conspiracy

At the time of the alleged conspiracy, Henry was a medic at Fort Bragg, home of the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps, the headquarters of the U.S. Army´s Special Operations Command and Womack Army Medical Center.

On August 17, the couple met with the undercover agent in a hotel room in Gaithersburg, Maryland. There he was given medical records, including those of a spouse of an employee of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and of five individuals who were military veterans or related to military veterans.

During the meeting, Gabrielian told the FBI agent that her patriotism towards Russia prompted her to provide any help she could give, even if it meant getting fired or going to jail. In fact, the anesthesiologist confessed that she maintained communications with the Russian embassy by email and telephone, offering the Kremlin both her, and Henry's help.

Information on Army medical operations

Gabrielian added that Henry, being a military officer, was a more important source for Russia than herself, because she had more useful information, referring to the medical operation that the U.S. Army has sent as support to Ukraine.

Henry also expressed his desire to help Russia. The physician indicated that until the United States "actually declares war against Russia, I can help as much as I want." Should this occur, Henry acknowledged that he would have mixed feelings, "At that point, I'll have some ethical issues that I'll have to work through."

Henry and Gabrielian face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for each count of disclosure of secrets.