A South Dakota man could spend the next decade in prison after sharing classified information about United States Air Force systems, including electronic warfare (EW) technology, with the Russian government. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that John Murracy Rowe, 67, will face 126 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a $25,000 fine for the attempted espionage.
Rowe, who was employed for nearly 40 years as a test engineer for multiple cleared defense contractors and held various national security clearances from SECRET to TOP SECRET//SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information), pleaded guilty last year to multiple espionage charges initially brought against him in December 2021. He was charged with one count of attempting to deliver national defense information to a foreign government and three counts of willfully communicating national defense information.
“The defendant spent decades working on sensitive U.S. defense programs and was entrusted with safeguarding protected and classified information about military technology. Instead of honoring that trust and his legal responsibilities as a clearance holder, he chose to violate both – repeatedly and willfully attempting to disclose classified information to someone he believed was a foreign agent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Justice Department will hold accountable those who disregard country and conscience at the expense of our Nation’s security, including, as here, out of spite.”
More Ego than Ideology
Rowe’s decision to pass classified secrets doesn’t appear to be motivated by financial gain or coercion. Instead, it seemed to be based on ego, even more than any ideology.
According to the DOJ, he was identified as a “potential insider threat” and terminated from his employment following “several security violations” that concerned inquiries or statements about Russia and sensitive information. In March 2020, Rowe told an undercover FBI agent, whom he believed to be an agent for the Russian government, that he was no longer loyal to the United States and would be interested in aiding Moscow. In a meeting, Rowe disclosed national defense information that was then classified as SECRET. The DOJ disclosed that the information concerned specific operating details on an electronic countermeasure system used by U.S. Air Force jet fighters.
“Despite his knowledge, training, experience, and decades of work as a military contractor, Rowe chose to betray the trust placed in him by his country,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “His repeated, willful efforts to harm the U.S. by divulging sensitive defense information to an adversary are inexcusable. My office and our partners will continue to hold fully accountable anyone seeking to compromise the national security of the United States.”
Over the following eight months, Rowe was reported to have exchanged more than 300 emails with an individual he believed to be a Russian agent. The DOJ said that it confirmed Rowe’s willingness to work for the Russian government.
In one exchange, Rowe stated, “If I can’t get a job [in the United States], then I’ll go work for the other team.”
Rowe had a second in-person meeting with the undercover FBI agent, who Rowe still believed was an operative from Russia, where he disclosed classified national defense information. Rowe was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant on December 15, 2021.
He was ordered detained pending trial, and during that detention, Rowe disclosed classified national defense information to relatives and an associate during recorded prison phone calls.
“By attempting to disclose classified information on U.S. Air Force systems to the Russian government, John Rowe endangered American lives and compromised U.S. national security,” added Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “This sentencing demonstrates the FBI and our partners will use every tool available to safeguard the homeland from internal and external threats. Anyone tempted to violate their oath to safeguard classified information should understand the severe consequences — and remember the FBI will never stop until we bring you to justice.”
U.S. Soldier Shared Tank Secrets
Rowe’s sentencing comes just over a month after a U.S. Army soldier serving at Fort Bliss, Texas, was arrested and charged with attempting to share sensitive information about the U.S. military’s M1A2 Abrams main battle tank (MBT) with Russia.
The DoJ announced that Taylor Adam Lee, 22, began establishing contact with what he believed to be the Russian Ministry of Defense in May and first transmitted the classified information in June. Lee, who the DoJ claimed “holds a Top Secret (TS)/Sensitive Compartment Information (SCI) security clearance,” had allegedly shared “export-controlled technical information” about the tank.
