U.S. Soldier Charged with Attempted Espionage for Foreign Power

A U.S. Army specialist has been charged with attempted espionage by communicating classified military information to a suspected foreign spy.

Spec. William Colton Millay, 22, was arrested at a base in Alaska last month on suspicion of spying after he was caught leaking classified information to an agent with the intent to aid a foreign nation, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bill Coppernoll said in a written statement.

Coppernoll said there has been no perceived damage to national interest as the accused was caught before passing the information. I think we're safe at this time with Millay, he said.

The officer declined to say which nation's intelligence agent Millay tried to reveal information to or what type of sensitive information he had access to.

Coppernoll said Millay's arrest was not linked to Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, who is accused of passing classified information to WikiLeaks.

Millay's arrest followed a joint investigation by the FBI and Army counterintelligence.

Millay, of Owensboro, Ky., has been charged with issuing false statements to the special investigation agents about the information he leaked and the implication of his attempts to contact a foreign intelligence agent.

Millay, who joined the Army in November 2007, is part of the 164th Military Police Company at Elmendorf-Richardson deployed earlier this year to Afghanistan, Reuters reported.