The Washington Post on the Schwartz Case

October 14, 1995

A naval officer charged with passing secrets to Saudi Arabia was given an "other than honorable discharge" and has agreed to resign, Navy officials said yesterday. In return, the Navy has dropped its court-martial case against him.

Lt. Cmdr. Michael Schwartz, 43, of El Paso, agreed to the charge of lying to an investigator and mishandling classified documents. In the agreement, he does not admit guilt. The Navy dropped an espionage charge against him.

Schwartz, who was assigned to the U.S. military training mission in Saudi Arabia between November 1992 and September 1994 when the alleged violations occurred, was accused of giving the Saudis daily intelligence summaries and other secret material. But Nay officials said he only was trying to be friendly and cooperative to a U.S. ally and had not solicited money or favors for the information.

"The damage to national security, if any, was minimal," said a Navy spokesman.

As part of the deal, Schwartz, who has been in the service 15 years, forfeits his pension and other benefits.