(CNN) — A Navy intelligence specialist was charged Thursday in an espionage sting in which he allegedly sold documents marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” to an undercover FBI agent, according to the Navy.
The charges against Spc. 2nd Class Bryan Minkyu Martinare are for attempting to forward classified information to a person not authorized to receive such information, according to the Navy statement.
A court-martial date has not been set.
Martin is charged with four specifications of attempted espionage and 11 specifications of mishandling classified information, the Navy said.
All charges stemmed from incidents that allegedly occurred while Martin was assigned to the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story in Virginia, the Navy said.
Martin was apprehended by special agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI on December 1, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after he was suspected of attempting to sell classified information.
Martin is currently being held in Naval Brig Norfolk in Virginia.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court last December, Martin, 22, met with an FBI undercover agent posing as an intelligence officer of an unnamed foreign country three times at a motel in Fayetteville, near the Fort Bragg Army base, where he had been working since September.
The court documents alleged he was paid a total of $3,500 in cash, and he handed over documents marked “Top Secret” and “Secret” and signed receipts for two of the payments.
“Investigators have a high level of confidence that no classified information was actually delivered to any unauthorized persons,” an NCIS statement last December said.
The Navy did not release details of how Martin came to the attention of the investigators or how he allegedly made contact with the agent posing as a spy.
PARIS – Renault will face consequences over a case of suspected industrial espionage in which the carmaker has said it may have been tricked, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Friday.
Renault admitted for the first time in an interview in Le Figaro’s Friday edition that it had reasons to doubt it had been a victim of industrial espionage.
The carmaker had fired three executives and lodged a legal complaint in January over suspicions of spying targeting its high-profile electric vehicle programme, amid fears that information had been passed to a foreign power.
“What counts today is getting to the truth and getting there quickly, and if the suspicions were unfounded that justice be done, confidence restored and compensation paid,” Lagarde said in an interview on RMC radio.
The minister added that “all the consequences” would have to be faced in terms of responsibility for the affair.
The case has strained relations between Renault — which is 15 per cent state-owned — and the government, as the carmaker came under fire for not informing authorities of its suspicions soon enough and carrying out its own investigation first.
The affair had also threatened to spark a diplomatic spat when news of the sackings broke in January, after a government source said investigators were following up a possible link with China in initial probes before a formal inquiry was launched.
“One shouldn’t shoot without a sight or accuse without proof,” Ms Lagarde told RMC.
Renault’s lawyer, Jean Reinhart, said on Thursday that French intelligence services were still probing the existence of bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein as part of the inquiry and dismissed reports the carmaker had been tricked.
The existence of the possible accounts is a key part of the case against the three fired executives.
But Renault chief operating officer Patrick Pelata told Le Figaro “a certain number of elements lead us to doubt”, adding that the company had arrived at two hypotheses.
“Either we are confronted with a case of espionage and a senior security executive is protecting his source despite everything,” he said. “Or Renault is the victim of a manipulation, which we don’t know the nature of but which could be a fraud.”
Mr Pelata said he would propose reinstating the three executives — all of whom have said they have done nothing wrong and are suing Renault — and making good any injustice if “all the doubts are lifted”.
“When the inquiry is finished, we will accept all the consequences up to the highest level of the company, that is to say up to myself,” Mr Pelata said, adding that in either case the company was a “victim”.
March 4 – France faced the potential of severe political embarrassment on Friday after carmaker Renault RENA.PA threw doubt on the spying accusations that shook the company to its core and threatened a diplomatic spat with China. [ID:nLDE7230I7]
Here is what has happened so far in the espionage scandal which broke at the start of the year:
August 2010 – Renault’s compliance committee receives an anonymous “ethical alert” triggering an internal investigation.
October 2010 – Renault unveils the near street-ready version of its Zoe electric car, due for launch in 2012. Partner Nissan Motor Co 7201.T shows off its Leaf electric car which it will begin selling in multiple markets a few weeks later.
— Renault prepares to launch the Fluence and Kangoo electric vehicles and the Twizy two-seater electric city car.
Jan. 3, 2011 – Renault suspends three executives, including one member of its management committee. It later emerges that the three are Michel Balthazard, senior vice-president of advance engineering, his number two Bertrand Rochette and Matthieu Tenenbaum, deputy head of the electric vehicle programme.
The company says it plans legal action over alleged leaks of data, prompting a French official to warn of “economic war” and risks to French industry.
Jan. 4 – French Industry Minister Eric Besson visits the Renault Technocentre near Paris, the hub of the company’s electric vehicle programme.
Jan. 7 – French intelligence service the DCRI is looking into the case and a possible Chinese connection, a government source says.
Jan. 8 – Renault says an international network may have obtained data about the costs and economic model of its electric car programme but vital technology secrets — including 200 patents that are being lodged — are safe.
Jan. 11 – Speaking to journalists outside Renault’s headquarters following a meeting with management, Balthazard denies any wrongdoing.
— Tenenbaum’s lawyer says his client was accused on the basis of an anonymous letter which said he had received bribes.
— Rochette later tells RTL radio he is “amazed” at the accusations and had nothing to do with leaking information in return for bribes, as Renault alleged.
— China denies any link to industrial espionage, dismissing reports of its possible involvement as “baseless”.
Jan. 12 – France plays down the possibility of a link to China, saying it is not accusing any one country.
Jan. 13 – Renault sets the scene for a lengthy judicial process by lodging a complaint against “persons unknown” on counts of organised theft, aggravated breach of trust and passing intelligence to a foreign power, Paris prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin says.
— Renault says it has discovered serious misconduct detrimental to its “strategic, technological and intellectual assets”.
Jan. 14 – French state prosecutors launch an inquiry into industrial espionage at Renault.
— France’s DCRI has been charged with the investigation.
Jan. 19 – The three executives, now fired by Renault, say they plan to take legal action against the French carmaker.
Jan. 23 – Chief executive Carlos Ghosn says the suspected espionage appears to have been aimed at uncovering Renault’s investment model for its electric vehicles but declines to provide specifics of what proof Renault has of the espionage.
March 3 – Renault’s lawyer Jean Reinhart tells Europe 1 radio that the authorities were still investigating foreign bank accounts and dismisses media reports that the company had been tricked into believing it had been a victim of industrial espionage.
March 3 – Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata later tells newspaper Le Figaro in an interview that the company has some reasons for thinking it may have been tricked.
March 4 – Renault will “face consequences” after saying it might have been tricked into launching the investigation, says French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For related Special Reports see:
http://link.reuters.com/pyc77r
http://r.reuters.com/gej38r ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (Compiled by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference unit in London and Helen Massy-Beresford in Paris; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
A federal judge in Omaha has ordered a woman and her father to pay $120,000 for bugging a teddy bear so they could spy on her ex-husband.
The judge ruled that Dianna Divingnzzo and Sam Divingnzzo violated wiretapping laws from January to June 2008.
Court documents say Dianna Divingnzzo put a recording device inside her daughter’s teddy bear in an attempt to gather information for the divorced couple’s custody case. A state judge has ruled the recordings couldn’t be used in court.
The ex-husband, William Lewton, and five others recorded by the teddy bear filed a federal lawsuit in 2009. A jury trial had been set for April, but the judge granted the plaintiffs’ request for summary judgment. Each was awarded $20,000.
He also indicated he would like to see Australian media outlets consider abstaining from publishing material if it was considered against the country’s interests. ”If [the media] receive representations from national security or law enforcement authorities that material could be prejudicial, they will often refrain from publishing the material. And certainly it may well be that that sort of discussion might need to take place.”
The actions of the US have not discouraged all countries from expressing their support for Mr Assange and WikiLeaks. Ecuador has seemingly opened its arms, and invited it to establish a home base there.
The invitation came through a comment by Ecuador’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kintto Lucas, on a website on Monday. ”We are ready to give him [Mr Assange] residence in Ecuador, with no problems and no conditions. We are going to invite him to come to Ecuador so he can freely present the information he possesses and all the documentation, not just over the internet but in a variety of public forums.”
Even though it was not Ecuador’s policy to involve itself in the affairs of other countries, the worrying nature of the cables – particularly the references to Latin America – had compelled it to offer safe haven, Mr Lucas said.
In an interview in Forbes magazine, Mr Assange indicated that the next target of WikiLeaks would be a big US bank, and said he had tens of thousands of documents that would be published early next year.
The bank leak would ”give a true and representative insight into how banks behave at the executive level in a way that will stimulate investigations and reforms, I presume”.
