Retired Air Force officer sentenced to 3 years for storing classified information at his Florida hom

Source: CNN

Retired Air Force officer sentenced to 3 years for storing classified information at his Florida home

By Kaanita Iyer and Holmes Lybrand, CNN
Published 10:32 PM EDT, Thu June 1, 2023

(CNN) — A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday for storing files with classified information at his Florida home, the Department of Justice announced.

Robert Birchum pleaded guilty earlier this year to unlawfully possessing and retaining classified documents relating to national defense, the department said in a news release.

Birchum served nearly three decades in the Air Force and held several roles that required him to handle classified information, prosecutors said. In his plea agreement, Birchum admitted to having stored hundreds of files that contained information with top secret, secret or confidential classification markings in unauthorized locations.

In 2017, investigators found that Birchum “knowingly removed more than 300 classified files or documents” and kept them in “his home, his overseas officer’s headquarters, and a storage pod in his driveway,” according to the release. More than 30 of those files and documents were marked “Top Secret” – the highest level of classification.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/01/politics/retired-air-force-officer-classified-information/index.html