Major Jamie Lee Henry, the first-known active duty officer to come out as a transgender woman, has been charged along with her wife for trying to share records of military patients with Russians. The 39-year-old worked as a staff internist at Fort Bragg at the time of the alleged espionage.
As per the Justice Department, the couple has been charged with eight counts for conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information.
Henry Handed Documents to Undercover FBI Agent
The New York Post reported that the unsealed indictment stated that Henry and her wife allegedly gave the highly sensitive records to an undercover FBI agent posing as employee of the Russian embassy. The incident took place last month.
The indictment further claimed that Henry, who had secret-level security clearanceat the time, hatched the plot following Ukraine’s invasion by Russian forces. Gabrielian allegedly contacted the Russian Embassy by email and phone to offer her and Henry’s assistance, the indictment stated.
The outlet further reported that despite Henry’s allegedly had reservations about handing over the health records because it would be in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), her 36-year-old wife went ahead with the plot.
Gabrielian Was Motivated by Patriotism to Foreign Power
The Daily Beast reported that the during her conversation with the undercover agent, Gabrielian that even though her husband was a coward over HIPAA concerns, she was motivated by a sense of patriotism to the foreign power, “even if it meant being fired or going to jail.”
The indictment further revealed that couple had a meeting with agent in a hotel room in Baltimore. During the meeting, while claiming that the U.S was using Ukrainians “as a proxy for their own hatred towards Russia,” Henry claimed that he took up the research after Russia’s invasion. It was also reported that in a separate meeting sensitive details about Navy Intelligence employee’s spouse’s medical condition was also shared with the intent of Russians “exploiting” the same for their gain.
In another meeting, the couple passed along details about a medical condition suffered by a Navy Intelligence employee’s spouse, which Gabrielian said the Russians could “exploit.”
According to the federal prosecutors Gabrielian had leaked the sensitive medical records pertaining to both serving and former military officials and their spouses to the agent by the end of August. The records included details of atleast five patients who were posted at the Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina, where Henry was a doctor, as per the indictment.
