[antimedia] antimedia: A Chinese spy ring, established in 1983, picked....

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Posted by antimedia:
A Chinese spy ring, established in 1983, picked....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1159240482.shtml


   ....the [1]US Navy's pockets for decades, and our counterintelligence
   people and legal eagles bungled the case, letting the spies off scott
   free.

     The more serious charges were dropped because the FBI
     counterintelligence team that conducted the investigation got into
     a dispute with the U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles who were in charge
     of the prosecution.
     The FBI fully expected that search warrants would unearth
     classified data, so prosecutors balked when much of what was found
     was not officially classified as secret.
     "Nothing I passed [to China] was classified," Chi Mak told
     investigators shortly after his arrest.
     He was right. Investigators say the lack of classified documents
     revealed that the spies had done their homework.
     Chinese intelligence-gathering services exploited the fact that
     Navy officials underclassified some of the most sensitive
     information about weapons systems to make it easier for private
     defense contractors to use the data.
     "There is no question that this case has caused serious damage to
     U.S. national security," one investigator said.
     'More subtle'
     Espionage laws are so difficult to apply that prosecutors almost
     need a confession to be able to make their case.
     The current statute, enacted in 1917, requires prosecutors to prove
     "intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to
     the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign
     nation."
     This standard often forces the release of intelligence or defense
     information to prove national security was harmed.

   This spy ring operated during the Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush
   administrations. Who are you going to blame? The Republicans? The
   Democrats? Or a government that has become so cumbersome that's
   mastered ineptitude?
   BTW, these are the same folks who supposedly masterminded the 9/11
   attacks and haven't had a single leak from that massive conspiracy.
   Heh. (Hat tip to a faithful reader.)

References

   1. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060918-124646-8530r.htm