Off-Base
A Navy reservist copied classified briefings onto his own devices in Afghanistan and brought them home. The FBI found no plan to share them. He was still prosecuted.
Pleaded guilty July 29, 2015 to unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials. Sentenced the same day: two years' probation, a $7,500 fine, forfeiture of media, surrender of clearance, and a bar on seeking one again.
There is no handler in this file. No foreign service, no payment, no leak to the press. The FBI says "the investigation did not reveal evidence that Nishimura intended to distribute classified information to unauthorized personnel."1
He was still prosecuted. That is why the case is useful.
The habit
Bryan H. Nishimura was a Naval reservist deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008 as a Regional Engineer for the U.S. military. In that job he had access to classified briefings and digital records "that could only be retained and viewed on authorized government computers."1
He "caused the materials to be downloaded and stored on his personal, unclassified electronic devices and storage media." He took them with him when he traveled off-base, and at the end of his deployment he "carried those materials back to the United States."1 At home he kept them on unclassified systems and copied them onto "at least one additional unauthorized and unclassified system."1
The admission, and what came after
The case came to light in early 2012, when he told Naval personnel he had mishandled classified material.1
What he did next turned a confession into a recovery operation. He "later admitted that, following his statement to Naval personnel, he destroyed a large quantity of classified materials he had maintained in his home." Even so, when the FBI searched his home in May 2012, agents "recovered numerous classified materials in digital and hard copy forms."1
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About 43% of the story remains, along with the full 6-entry timeline, the document drawer (1 original), the analysis of what would have stopped it, and related case files. Membership is free. Create an account with your email and a password, or continue with Google or X. There is no paid tier.
- RemainingAbout 43% of the story
- TimelineAll 6 dated entries
- Document drawer1 originals
- AnalysisWhat would have stopped it
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SourcesAlways public
- Folsom Naval Reservist Is Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Unauthorized Removal and Retention of Classified Materials · FBI Sacramento · July 29, 2015 · Wayback