US Navy cmdr. to be tried for spying for China, Taiwan
An American Navy officer will be tried on espionage charges, including passing US military secrets to China and Taiwan, an official says.
Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin will face a general court-martial and is to appear at an arraignment in Norfolk, Virginia, on May 17, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tim Hawkins on Friday.
"On May 10, the convening authority, Admiral Phil Davidson, commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command, referred charges against Lt. Commander Edward C.L. Lin to a general court martial," said Hawkins.
His charges include espionage, attempted espionage, making false official statements, mishandling classified information, communicating defense information, and failing to follow lawful orders.
A redacted Navy charge sheet accused the suspect twice of communicating secret information and three times of attempting to do so to a representative of a foreign government "with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the advantage of a foreign nation."
Lin has also been charged with adultery and using a prostitute, but Hawkins said, those charges “were dismissed without prejudice, meaning further punitive or administrative action may be taken."
The Taiwan-born man committed most of the crimes while he was assigned to the headquarters for the Navy's Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees intelligence collection activities.
Lin, 39, served as a flight officer in one of the Navy's most secretive units, Special Projects Patrol Squadron Two (VPU-2), which flies reconnaissance aircraft capable of intercepting signals and electronic communications.
Lin’s defense lawyer Larry Youngner has said his client was entrapped in a "nefarious scheme" by government officials.
Hi arrest followed his dealings with an FBI informant, who posed as an operative for a foreign country.
Lin became a US citizen in 1998 and joined the Navy the following year. He was chosen for Officer Candidate School in 2002.
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