A US diplomat who allegedly took tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts from Chinese intelligence agents was charged on Wednesday with lying to investigators over those contacts.
The US Department of Justice said Candace Marie Claiborne, 60, knew that the two Chinese men she had regular contact with while working for the US State Department in China and other countries were from the Chinese security services, and that the money they gave her was in exchange for US secrets.
She took cash and an iPhone for herself, but most of the funds went to an unidentified man half her age with whom she lived in Beijing and Shanghai.
The Chinese agents paid for his fashion school tuition, apartment rental, a sewing machine, vacations, and other needs as requested by Claiborne, according to a complaint unveiled in the US federal district court in Washington, DC.
“Candace Marie Claiborne is a US State Department employee who possesses a Top Secret security clearance and allegedly failed to report her contacts with Chinese foreign intelligence agents who provided her with thousands of dollars of gifts and benefits,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord in a statement.
“Claiborne used her position and her access to sensitive diplomatic data for personal profit.”
The Justice Department’s initial charges against her were limited to obstructing the investigation into her case and lying to agents.
Claiborne, who has worked for the State Department since 1999 and had significant financial problems, was arrested on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty in her first court appearance on Wednesday, according to the Justice Department.
The complaint says Claiborne, a State Department office management specialist, knew at least one of the agents of the Ministry of State Security as early as 2007, and the second since 2012.
She knew they were Chinese government agents but “appeared motivated by the profitable nature of her information-sharing relationship” with them, it said.
But the complaint says little about what she did in return for the money and gifts. At one point it says she provided the Chinese agents with nonclassified information possibly sourced over the internet.
Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner called the offenses a breach of the “public trust.”
“When a public servant is suspected of potential misconduct or federal crimes that violate the public trust, we vigorously investigate such claims,” he said.
Freedom of the Press, not Freedom of the Propaganda Apparatus.
The press in America is corrupt to the core. There is no real journalism in the mainstream media anymore. It’s hardly surprising though, considering six big corporate conglomerates own more than 90% of the country’s media, including CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, and major newspapers like the New York Times, and the Washington Post. These are now propaganda mouthpieces of the big corps, which collectively own the US government with members of the Establishment. They do not provide any checks and balance to government abuse of power and illegal conduct – they facilitate it.
Freedom of the Press, not Freedom of the Propaganda Apparatus.
The Press is corrupt and has been corrupt for decades.
Presently six corporate conglomerates own more than 90% of the media in America. There is no real journalism in the mainstream media anymore. CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, New York Times, Washington Post etc are all mouthpieces of the Big Corps and the Establishment, which collectively own the US government.
Stephen Moore – Trump is certainly not a miracle man, and he is not draining the swarm – more like the swarm is draining Trump.
I don’t think Trump will be able to accomplish his "Make America Great Again" promise.
The whole thing….is corrupt – and Trump’s not the miracle man – just a mouth with promises. Allow me to put it this way, the swamp’s not drained. If we do not know the inside of Steve Bannon’s brain, find out. That’s who we ended up voting for. The whole thing…. IS CORRUPT. IS BS.
We need to sober up and get our owen representatives. Coukld be Republican, could be Demorhats Reps who will push our intertests.
The way things work in our United States of America is that FREEDOM of the Press is allowed. In a Democracy, its autonomy is entirely respected for it serves as a check on the excesses of power. At this point, can we agree that good unites us while evil divides us? The Press is needed the most when tyrannical power seekers paint the press as the bad guy! The Press must be respected and that has always included its sources. When the government seeks to crush the press, that is when the press must be supported by patriotic Americans who stand for something.
This focus on leaks is a distraction. Not even Nixon used that to fight back. The Press does its job. Let it.
The focus, by broad analogy goes again to Nixon. It would have been considered utterly absurd for Nixon to try to turn the tables by hooting and hollering about the source who provided evidence and then demanding to root out the source – as if that were the main problem. It is nothing but an attack on the Freedom of the Press. We Americans and others need to strongly support the Freedom of the Press in whatever form. The Freedom of the People is wrapped up in the Freedom of the Press.
Sounds like trumped up charges over trivial matters. For the sake of argument, even if the claims are partially true, it’s nothing compared to the illegal leaks and wiretapping against Trump during and after US election campaigns. The hypocrisy and double standards of the DOJ is certainly glaring.