Biography
Joshua Schulte was a former hacker employed by the CIA who leaked two billion pages of secret CIA data, known as Vault 7, to WikiLeaks. Vault 7 programs were CIA techniques used to compromise Wifi networks, hack into Skype, defeat anti-virus software, hack Apple and Android smartphones in overseas spying operations, turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices, and commandeer the guidance systems in cars. After raiding his home police claimed they found child pornography on Schulte's computer and charged him with that as an additional offense on top of the hacking charges. Schulte was convicted of the Espionage and Child Pornography crimes in 2024 and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
2010s audit verified October 12, 2026: The original June 18, 2018 DOJ report identifies the August 24, 2017 arrest and already-existing detention. The original February 1, 2024 DOJ report confirms sentencing that day to forty years, correcting January 31. The legacy 2024 admission and its duration were removed because confinement predated sentencing; no admission or release day is guessed. Sources: source 1; source 2.
Custody evidence reconciliation October 13, 2026: The district court's original opinion expressly dates MCC incarceration from December 14, 2017. The May 3, 2022 appellate summary order corroborates remand that day after earlier bail. This resolves the prior audit's unknown-admission finding and validates the date subsequently present in the live record. The current duration uses this documented federal phase. Earlier brief detention is not silently included.
