A Chinese language-born U.S. Navy sailor betrayed the U.S. on behalf of his delivery nation by promoting navy secrets and techniques to a Chinese language spy whereas assigned to a San Diego-based warship, a federal prosecutor advised a jury Tuesday throughout opening statements of the sailor’s espionage trial in San Diego federal court docket.
Jinchao “Patrick” Wei, 25, is accused of seven counts of conspiracy, espionage and costs associated to unlawfully sending protection data to a overseas authorities. Federal prosecutors additionally contend that Wei, who turned a naturalized U.S. citizen whereas serving within the Navy, dedicated naturalization fraud by not disclosing the alleged espionage throughout a citizenship interview.
Wei’s legal professional advised the jury that he and his mom got here to the U.S. in 2016 partly due to their opposition to the Chinese language authorities and that Wei held no loyalty to China. The protection legal professional mentioned that whereas Wei’s actions had been “regrettable, silly and misguided,” he didn’t consider that the data he was sharing with a web based contact was vital or secret.
Federal brokers arrested Wei two years in the past when he confirmed up for work one August morning at Naval Base San Diego. On the time, Wei was a petty officer who held a safety clearance and labored as a machinist’s mate aboard the usEssex, an amphibious assault ship. By the point federal brokers arrested Wei, that they had bugged his house, tapped his telephone and spent greater than six months listening in on his allegedly incriminating conversations, in response to prosecutors.
“That is fairly clearly (expletive) espionage,” Wei allegedly advised one other Navy sailor in February 2022 after somebody he met on a Chinese language social media web site started asking him for details about the Navy.
Assistant U.S. Lawyer John Parmley started his opening assertion Tuesday quoting that line and completed by telling jurors that on the finish of the trial, they may “come to the identical conclusion because the defendant in 2022 — that is fairly clearly espionage.”
However protection legal professional Sean Jones advised the jury that Parmley had omitted vital context about that dialog, saying that after Wei had appropriately recognized the social media request as espionage, he had advised his fellow sailor “and that’s why I gained’t do it.”
Wei moved along with his mom from China to Wisconsin in 2016, joined the Navy in July 2021 and reported to the Essex in March 2022, in response to prosecutors and his Navy service file
As a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, the Essex resembles a small plane service that may carry greater than 1,000 sailors and 1,500 Marines, permitting the U.S. to quickly deploy troops in areas such because the Persian Gulf and South China Sea.
Parmley advised the jury that China is “desperately making an attempt” to maintain up with U.S. expertise whereas constructing its personal comparable class of amphibious assault ships.
A particular agent from the Naval Prison Investigative Service who was known as as the primary witness Tuesday mentioned the leak of details about U.S. Navy ships, even fundamental data, “may jeopardize (the U.S. navy’s) benefit” and reveal vulnerabilities that an enemy may exploit.
“If we lose superiority, we danger dropping lives on the battlefield,” NCIS Particular Agent Chris Christian testified.
Prosecutors contend {that a} Chinese language intelligence officer started recruiting Wei over social media in February 2022, initially posing as a naval fanatic who labored for the state-owned China Shipbuilding Trade Company. The intelligence officer allegedly requested Wei to ship him pictures, movies and different paperwork regarding U.S. Navy ships and their techniques.
Wei, who had obtained Naval counterintelligence and insider risk coaching simply days earlier, strongly suspected that his new social media acquaintance was a Chinese language spy, prosecutors mentioned.
Between March 2022 and Wei’s arrest in August 2023, the spy allegedly paid Wei hundreds of {dollars} in alternate for images and movies of the Essex, details about the situation of assorted Navy ships and particulars concerning the Essex’s defensive weapons, in response to prosecutors. Wei additionally allegedly despatched his spy handler hundreds of pages of technical and operational details about Navy warships that he took from a restricted Navy laptop system.
“In one among his bigger thefts of U.S. Navy knowledge, Wei offered the (intelligence officer) at the least 30 technical and working manuals about U.S. Navy techniques,” prosecutors wrote in a trial transient. “These manuals contained export management warnings and detailed the operations of a number of techniques aboard the Essex and comparable ships, together with energy, steering, weapons management, plane and deck elevators, in addition to injury and casualty controls.”
Jones, Wei’s protection legal professional, advised the jury that prosecutors had been overstating the secrecy of the paperwork that he shared, which he mentioned might be discovered on-line. Jones additionally mentioned that prosecutors had been wrongly portray Wei as somebody of significance with entry to delicate secrets and techniques.
In actuality, Jones advised the jury, his consumer spent most days sanding and portray the Essex.
Parmely advised the jury that in trial, they’ll hear how federal brokers first caught wind of Wei’s alleged corruption and later put in a court-approved listening system in his house. Parmley additionally hinted at a Hollywood-like incident when FBI brokers created a ruse and “separated (Wei) from his telephone throughout work” in an effort to entry the system, obtain its knowledge after which rapidly return it to him earlier than he suspected an intrusion.
Jones mentioned that regardless of the federal brokers spending “months and months” surveilling his consumer, the investigators and prosecutors had failed to supply stable proof that Wei meant to betray the U.S. for the good thing about China.
“Intent is every little thing,” Jones advised the jury. “They can’t show intent.”
Jones acknowledged that Wei accepted cash, however mentioned his consumer by no means requested for it nor agreed to finish particular duties in alternate for particular funds.
Wei’s arrest in 2023 got here the identical day the U.S. Division of Justice additionally introduced the arrest and indictment of one other Chinese language-born U.S. Navy sailor, Wenheng “Thomas” Zhao. The DOJ mentioned Zhao, who was arrested at a Naval base in Ventura County, was additionally a naturalized U.S. citizen suspected of spying for China, although officers by no means mentioned if the instances had been associated.
Zhao finally admitted to accepting almost $15,000 in bribes for sending delicate however unclassified navy data to his Chinese language handler. A federal decide sentenced him to 2 years and three months in jail on bribery and conspiracy costs.
Wei’s trial comes two months after the DOJ introduced costs in opposition to two alleged Chinese language spies within the U.S. who had been accused of taking images of a naval base and taking part in efforts to recruit U.S. navy members who they thought is perhaps open to working for Chinese language intelligence.
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