Like former President Donald J. Trump, Lt. Col. Robert Birchum was accused in Florida of mishandling classified documents. Like the former president, he was charged with violating the Espionage Act.
But unlike Mr. Trump, Mr. Birchum, 55, a highly decorated Air Force intelligence officer, took full responsibility. His lawyer said he expressed “true remorse.” He even cooperated with investigators, providing information about how he kept hundreds of secret papers for almost a decade in his home, an overseas office and a storage pod.
Despite all that, Mr. Birchum still got
three years in prison when he was sentenced this month.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/us/politics/trump-espionage-act.html