Former NSA Contractor Stole Top Secret Files: Plea

BALTIMORE, MD — Harold Thomas Martin, the Navy veteran and former NSA contractor accused of willful retention of national defense information, pleaded guilty to the charge on Thursday, March 28. Martin, of Glen Burnie, will be sentenced in July, according to a release from the Justice Department.

Martin held a Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance. Information deemed top secret means it could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to the United States if it got into the wrong hands. The access to SCI is even more exclusive and potentially more damaging.

Law enforcement found the classified material, stolen over two decades, from Martin's home and car, the release said.

The Justice Department says that according to the plea agreement, between 1993 and 2016, Martin worked for seven government contractor companies. He admitted that in the late 90's, he began stealing government property and TS/SCI documents, the release says.

See more on Patch: 'Weirdo' NSA Worker Charged With Stealing Files Is Navy Veteran (Update)

Martin admitted to knowing the documents could be stolen if he had risked taking them, and that there would be damage to national security, the release says.

While Martin stole the information, his lawyer argues, he never meant to hurt the United States. There is "no evidence Hal Martin intended to betray his country," said his attorney Jim Wyda before the trial.

"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.

“Harold Martin was entrusted with highly classified national defense information. Today, Martin admitted that he betrayed that trust and for more than 20 years he stole and retained a vast quantity of highly classified government information,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.

His sentence is expected to be nine years in federal prison, the release says, as a part of the plea agreement.

Martin's sentencing is set for July 17 at 3 p.m.