US Army's first trans officer and doctor wife accused of providing officers' medical info to Russians back home
Update: A Maryland court has ordered that the husband-wife duo be released while being monitored 24/7. So, currently, Major Jamie Lee Henry and his wife Anna Gabrielian are in home detention with no bond. Gabrielian was freed on a $500,000 unsecured bond.
The court on Thursday, September 29, has also ordered that Henry may need to undergo psychiatric or medical treatment. Henry and Gabrielian were ordered to surrender their passports and refrain from owning any firearms or weapons. A 5-mile perimeter has also been set up around the couple's home, going beyond this would mean breaking the condition of their confinement.
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ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND: The wife of US Army's first trans officer allegedly told her to stop being a "coward" and to overlook "ethical issues" when the couple tried to provide the Russian government with medical records of senior military officers and their families. Major Jamie Lee Henry, 39, and Johns Hopkins Dr Anna Gabrielian, 36, allegedly used their secret security clearance at North Carolina's Fort Bragg to try and steal the records from the base's hospital, the Department of Justice has said.
Fort Bragg, which houses about 52,000 active duty soldiers, is home to the US Army's Delta Force and Special Operations Forces. The couple is originally from Rockville, Maryland. They had reportedly communicated with an undercover FBI agent who they thought was from the Russian embassy. An indictment claimed Gabrielian was apparently moved by her patriotism to Russia. Henry, on the other hand, used her clearance as a staff internist to get her hand on the files, the Daily Mail reported.
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"My point of view is until the United States actually declares war against Russia, I'm able to help as much as I want," Henry was quoted as telling the undercover agent when they met in August. "At that point, I'll have some ethical issues I'll have to work through." "You'll work through those ethical issues," Gabrielian replied. She also said Henry was a "coward" over fears of breaking HIPPA. Gabrielian is an instructor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Hopkins. The indictment said she told the agent on August 17 that "she was motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail."
Gabrielian reportedly married Henry in 2015, which is the year she officially came out as transgender. Henry had joined ROTC when she was 17. She has been treating service members as a doctor and internist for 17 years. Gabrielian told the agent that Henry had access to medical information at the military base, and also an idea about how the military in America was being trained to fight for Russia against Ukraine. "Henry explained to the [undercover agent that they were] committed to assisting Russia, and he had looked into volunteering to join the Russian Army after the conflict in Ukraine began, but Russia wanted people with 'combat experience,' and he did not have any," the indictment said. "Henry further stated: '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'," the charging document added.
Gabrielian later met the agent in a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on August 31, and offered medial records of a spouse from a service member in the Office of Naval Intelligence, as well as that of a relative from an Air Force veteran. "Gabrielian highlighted to the [undercover agent] a medical issue reflected in the records of [the military member's spouse] that Russia could exploit," the indictment said.
During the same meeting, Henry also gave the agent medical information on five patients at Fort Bragg, including that of a retired Army officer, a Department of Defense employee and spouses of both active and deceased veterans. Additionally, both of them spoke to the agent about contingency plans for their family, in case the operation got exposed.
"Gabrilelian suggested a cover story for their interactions, and a plan for Gabrielian and Henry's children flee the US quickly if Gabrielian and Henry were told to act in a way that could expose their communications and actions to the US government," said the indictment. Gabrielian also asked the agent to help the children get "a nice flight to Turkey to go on vacation because I don't want to end in jail here with my kids being hostages over my head."
The duo has now been charged with conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information. If convicted of both charges, they face up to 15 years in federal prison. In a statement, a spokesperson for Johns Hopkins said, "We were shocked to learn about this news this morning and intend to fully cooperate with investigators."