The Virginian Pilot on the Schwartz Case

September 9, 1995

The military judge in the espionage case of Ltd. Cmdr. Michael Schwartz has set a trial date of November 14, after a hearing Thursday at the Navy Legal Services Office.

Schwartz, 43, has been charged with mishandling classified material that he allegedly passed to members of the Saudi Arabian military from November 1992 to September 1994 while he was assigned as a liaison officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to official papers papers released yesterday by the Navy, Schwartz allegedly passed message traffic, a series of military digests, intelligence advisories and tactical intelligence summaries to the Saudis.

The documents were classified "secret," not "top secret," and specified that no disclosure to foreign governments was authorized.

Schwartz, who is not in custody, has been reassigned temporarily to Norfolk.