Joshua Adam Schulte, a former CIA engineer accused of illegally disclosing classified information later published by the WikiLeaks website, was rejected Tuesday in his bid to dismiss the charges against him.

Ruling from Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty issued a 10-page order denying a motion filed on behalf or Mr. Schulte that aimed to dismiss five criminal counts brought by prosecutors.

Mr. Schulte, 31, is charged with four counts of violating the U.S. Espionage Act and one count of violating the Federal Larceny Act for allegedly leaking stolen CIA hacking tools released by WikiLeaks in 2017.

Attorneys for Mr. Schulte sought to dismiss the charges by arguing both statutes are unconstitutionally overbroad and vague but failed to persuade the judge, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.

“Every court that has considered the constitutionality of Section 793’s various provisions has rejected the same claims of overbreadth and vagueness that the defendant raises,” the judge ruled with respect to the Espionage Act.

“The Second Circuit has determined that Section 641 provides the requisite notice and clarity where the disclosure at issue was affirmatively prohibited by statute, regulation, policy or longstanding agency practice,” he said about the Federal Larceny Act.

Public defenders representing Mr. Schulte did not immediately return messages seeking their reaction to the ruling.

Mr. Schulte’s trial is currently set to start on Monday, February 3. He faces the possibility of being sentenced to decades in federal prison if convicted on all charges.

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