Harold Martin appeared in court in October for a detention hearing.

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Harold Martin's attorneys had no comment

Client faces 20 counts of illegally possessing national defense information

CNN  — 

A former government contractor who’s charged with stealing thousands of classified and sensitive intelligence files committed “breathtaking” crimes, according to a new filing from federal prosecutors.

Harold Thomas Martin III, 52, faces 20 counts of willful retention of national defense information.

The indictment alleges Martin removed classified documents from 1996 to 2016. He is accused of keeping documents in his home or car.

The documents include highly classified materials from the National Security Agency, the US Cyber Command, the CIA and the National Reconnaissance Office. Among the documents are ones that reveal US military gaps, capabilities and operations, as well as ones that contained foreign intelligence collection methods, targeting information and technical user materials.

Martin’s attorney had no comment when contacted by CNN.

FBI investigators haven’t concluded what Martin’s motivation was for stealing the documents. At a hearing in late October a public defender representing Martin said his client was a hoarder who was “completely out of control.”

Information found in his car

Before his arrest, Martin worked as a contractor to the National Security Agency through consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, which fired him after he was charged. He has a long history working with sensitive government intelligence, and served in the US Navy and Naval Reserves for more than 10 years, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

The filing contained more detail on the thousands of documents prosecutors say they found in Martin’s home and vehicle – which they say was parked in the open and used to drive around members of the public as it contained top secret documents. The information he had digitally, the feds said, was equivalent to approximately 50,000 gigabytes, enough to store 500 million documents containing images and text.

Martin had classified information dating from 1996 to 2016, the government said, including a document “regarding specific operational plans against a known enemy of the United States and its allies.” That document was not only classified but marked need-to-know only, and Martin should not have been privy to that information, prosecutors said.

Also found were files containing personal information of government employees, and an email chain with “highly sensitive information” on the back of which were handwritten notes “describing the NSA’s classified computer infrastructure and detailed descriptions of classified technical operations.”

Among the documents the FBI believes Martin stole were some detailing a hacking tool that the NSA developed to break into computer systems in other countries, law enforcement sources said when he was arrested. Documents detailing the tools were posted on the Internet in recent months, though no connection to Martin has been offered.

In a subsequent filing, Martin’s attorneys argued he presents no flight risk, noting as the government does that he does not have his passport. Given that his wife and home are in Maryland and noting his military service, they said there was no reason nor legal basis to deny him bail.

Martin will make his next appearance in court on February 14.

CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.