The first transgender officer in the U.S. Army and wife have both been indicted for allegedly attempting to communicate with Russian officials in the hopes of giving them kompromat on some members of the military and their spouses.
Over the summer, Major Jamie Lee Henry, 39, and wife Dr. Anna Gabrielian, 36, had reportedly made contact with someone whom they thought worked at the Russian embassy but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. Henry, an internist, is a medical doctor with security clearance at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, one of the largest military installations in the entire world. Gabrielian, an anesthesiology and critical care instructor at Johns Hopkins, allegedly expressed hope to the FBI agent that they could use her husband's security clearance to obtain the private medical records of some strategic members of the military and/or their spouses and relatives that Russian officials could then "exploit."
According to the indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday, Gabrielian said she was motivated to help Russia because of her Russian patriotism, and her profile at Johns Hopkins does indicate that Gabrielian speaks fluent Russian. However, it is unclear whether she is a Russian national or somehow otherwise affiliated with the country.
Though Henry was not said to be motivated by Russian patriotism, the indictment does suggest the Army officer expressed some sympathy for Russian interests.
"My point of view is until the United States actually declares war against Russia," Henry allegedly told the agent, "I'm able to help as much as I want."
Henry also told the agent that Henry had attempted to enlist in the Russian army to fight against Ukraine but had been rejected for a lack of combat experience.
"The way I am viewing what is going on in Ukraine now, is that the United States is using Ukrainians as a proxy for their own hatred toward Russia," Henry allegedly said.
Gabrielian also allegedly called Henry a "coward" when the Army officer expressed misgivings about violating HIPPA regulations in service to Russia.
During a meeting with the agent at a hotel last month, Gabrielian reportedly gave the agent private medical information belonging to the spouse of a service member in the Office of Naval Intelligence, as well as the information of a relative from an Air Force veteran. Henry likewise handed the agent the medical records of five Fort Bragg patients, according to the filing. It is unclear whether Henry had treated those patients personally.
During that meeting, the couple also supposedly attempted to establish a contingency plan, in the event they were ever arrested.
Gabrielian allegedly requested that the Russian embassy help find her children "a nice flight to Turkey to go on vacation" so that they couldn't be used as "hostages" against her if she were ever incarcerated.
Both Henry and Gabrielian have been charged with conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information. They face up to 15 years in prison each, if convicted.
The couple were married in 2015, the same year Henry came out as transgender. At the time, Henry gave an interview with Brightest Young Things. "My passion is service member health," Henry said in the interview. "...The biggest part in supporting the health of service members is listening to them. Trauma has to be handled on an individual’s timeline and in a way that is unique to that individual."
Brightest Young Things has since changed its name to Exactly. It claims to be an "award-winning Design, Strategy, and Events agency for brands who want to stay relevant with today's beautifully diverse audience."