§2M3.1 Gathering or Transmitting National Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
The 11 people sentenced under guideline §2M3.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 all received prison terms. The median prison term was 228 months (19 years),.
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In brief: The 11 people sentenced under guideline §2M3.1 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 all received prison terms. The median prison term was 228 months (19 years),.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Long Prison Terms for All 11
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 11 people whose primary guideline was §2M3.1. All 11 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.
The median prison term was 228 months, or 19 years. A quarter received 251 months or more. A quarter received 129 months or less.
What Is Covered
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2M3.1 "Gathering or Transmitting National Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government." The Sentencing Commission classes all 11 cases as National Defense offenses.
The sheet provides no details of the conduct in any case. The title is the only description used here, and it refers to aiding a foreign government.
Pleas and the One Trial
10 of 11 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 208 months. The one person convicted at trial received 240 months.
One trial case cannot show a pattern. Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
3 sentences (27%) were within the guideline range. 5 (45%) were below the range at the government's request. 3 (27%) were below the range without such a request. None was above the range.
This is a guideline where below-range sentences were the most common result. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 people.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
All 11 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (27%), and restitution for 0.
In criminal history, 91% were in the lowest category I and 9% in the highest (VI).
Trends Over the Years
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 3 people and a median prison term of 132 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 8 people and a median of 230 months. The later median is higher.
The yearly table shows 1 or 2 people in each year, with medians from 126 months in 2025 to 247 months in 2023. The records cannot show why the later group differs.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 132 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 180 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 228 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 232 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 2 | 247 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 2 | 191 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 126 months | 1 of 1 |
Reading Very Long Terms
A term of 228 months is 19 years, the figure the sheet gives. The quarter values of 129 months and 251 months show that terms were long across the group, not only at the top.
The 126-month median in 2025 is a single case. The 247-month median in 2023 comes from 2 people. Because each year holds so few people, the yearly table cannot support a trend.
Limits of the Records
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers here are federal only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2M3.1 (11), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2M5.2 Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M5.3 Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M5.1 Evasion of Export Controls: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M6.1 Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2M3.3 Transmitting National Defense Information: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.