Espionage Archives - Tennessee Star

Husband and Wife Plead Guilty to Espionage-Related Charges, Disclosed Restricted Data to Undercover FBI Agent

February 22, 2022February 21, 2022 Cooper Moran

A husband and wife, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to communicate restricted data, as the husband attempted to disclose confidential information to someone he believed was a representative of a foreign government.

Originally, Jonathan Toebbe sent a package to a foreign government, listing an address in Pittsburgh for the return. The package contained a sample of restricted data, related to his work as a nuclear engineer assigned to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

Ex-Defense Contractor Charged for Allegedly Leaking Classified Information to Russia

December 18, 2021December 17, 2021 Admin

A former U.S. defense contractor was arrested earlier this week on criminal charges in connection with espionage, according to the Justice Department.

John Murray Rowe Jr., a 63-year-old resident of Lead, South Dakota, allegedly attempted to provide classified national defense information to the Russian government.

U.S. Wins Appeal in Case to Extradite Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange

December 12, 2021December 11, 2021 Admin

The U.S. won an appeal in its case to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom.

The U.K.’s High Court ruled Friday that Assange could be returned to the U.S. where he will face multiple charges related to espionage and hacking, reversing a lower court’s decision blocking his extradition.

Assange’s fiancee Stella Morris said she plans to appeal the decision as soon as possible, calling the decision a “grave miscarriage of justice,” CNBC reported.

Tom Cotton Introduces ‘SECURE CAMPUS Act’ to Stop Chinese Spying at Universities

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 Admin

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill to stop the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from conducting espionage on American college campuses.

According to a press release from his office, Sen. Cotton re-introduced the “SECURE CAMPUS Act” on April 22. The bill would “prohibit Chinese nationals from receiving visas to the United States for graduate or post-graduate studies in STEM fields and would ban participants in China’s foreign talent recruitment programs and Chinese nationals from taking part in federally-funded STEM research.”

Sen. Cotton remarked that “Allowing China unfettered access to American research institutions is akin to granting Soviet scientists access to our critical laboratories during the Cold War.”

Crom Carmichael Argues That Republicans Play the Impeachment Game Like a Democrat

January 28, 2021January 27, 2021 Julie Carr

Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio to outline the best way for Republicans to respond to the impeachment farce.

Feds Charge Former Green Beret with Espionage with Russia

August 23, 2020August 22, 2020 The Associated Press

A former Army Green Beret living in northern Virginia was arrested on Friday, charged with divulging military secrets about his unit’s activities in former Soviet republics during more than a decade of contacts with Russian intelligence.

Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, 45, told Russian intelligence he considered himself a “son of Russia,” according to an indictment made public after his arrest.

Commentary: TikTok is Just the First Chinese App the Trump Admin is Eyeing for Crackdown Over Spying

August 4, 2020August 3, 2020 Admin

Two days after President Trump told reporters that he plans to ban TikTok from the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested in an interview with Fox News that executive action may soon be taken against many other apps owned by Chinese firms.

Trump remarked to journalists aboard Air Force One on Friday that he could ban TikTok “with an executive order,” suggesting that the president has made up his mind about the popular short video platform. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech conglomerate ByteDance, has been at the center of a months-long debate over whether the data that it collects from American users could be exploited by China’s government.

American Paul Whelan Convicted of Spying in Russia, Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

June 16, 2020June 15, 2020 The Associated Press

A Russian court convicted an American corporate security executive Monday of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison after a closed trial that the U.S. denounced as a “mockery of justice,” and it angrily said his treatment in jail was “appalling.”

Paul Whelan, a former Marine from Novi, Michigan (pictured above), has insisted he was innocent, saying he was set up when he was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 while he was visiting Russia to attend a friend’s wedding.

US Prosecutors Eye Uptick in Chinese Economic Espionage Cases

February 8, 2020February 7, 2020 Admin

WASHINGTON – The FBI is conducting roughly 1,000 investigations into suspected Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property, with many expected to result in criminal charges against individuals and companies later in the year, U.S. law enforcement officials said Thursday.

UCLA Professor Found Guilty of Conspiring to Steal US Missile Guidance Technology for China

July 9, 2019July 8, 2019 Admin

by Ethan Cai A jury found an electrical engineer and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) professor guilty of exporting stolen U.S. military technology to China. UCLA adjunct professor Yi-Chi Shih was convicted June 26 on 18 federal charges, Newsweek reported, and could now lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, while also facing…

Ex-CIA Officer Gets 20 Years for Spying for China

May 19, 2019May 18, 2019 Admin

A former CIA officer was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison on charges that he spied for China and allegations he sought to expose human assets who were once his responsibility. The sentence issued by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in federal court in Alexandria for Kevin…