Defense contractor held in spy case
A defense contractor charged with failing to register as a Chinese agent admitted passing data on U.S. Navy arms technology to China for 22 years, including information on next-generation destroyers, an aircraft carrier catapult and the Aegis weapons system, according to new court papers in the case.
Charged with “failing to register…”???? W.T.F.? Can’t they pronounce T-R-E-A-S-O-N?
Two federal judges in Los Angeles on Monday reversed earlier rulings and ordered the contractor and his brother held without bond. The rulings followed testimony from FBI agents in the case.
At least they had THAT much sense. It wouldn’t have taken those guys long slip away on bail and end up living the good life in Shanghai, or somewhere else over there.
The court documents shed new light on what U.S. intelligence officials say will be one of the most damaging cases of Chinese technology spying on U.S. weapons, even though the information compromised was not secret.
The Chief had occasion, in his Naval career to routinely handle lots of classified material, including cryptographic material. The definition for stuff that was classified “SECRET” is that if it were disclosed, it could cause serious harm to the national security. For “TOP SECRET”, disclosure could cause extremely grave harm.
If the stuff in this case was “one of the most damaging cases of…spying…” then it sure looks as though somebody is being REALLY incompetant with the classification and control on the technology of concern.
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, who ordered Chi Mak to be held without bond, dismissed a defense lawyer’s claim that the charges were exaggerated. “You’re talking about billions of dollars of technology that puts our country at serious risk,” he said. Investigators found data on the DDX destroyer program on encrypted files carried by Tai Mak, a Phoenix television engineer, when he was arrested along with his wife Oct. 28 at Los Angeles International Airport as they prepared to travel to China.
Nothing like being caught red-handed (pun intended) funneling stuff to the ChiComs.
Rope. Tree. Spies. Some assembly required!