US defence contractor admits to giving secrets to Chinese girlfriend
A civilian US defence contractor accused of giving military secrets to a Chinese girlfriend half his age will be entering a guilty plea, according to his attorney.
A civilian US defence contractor accused of giving military secrets to a Chinese girlfriend half his age will be entering a guilty plea, according to his attorney.
Benjamin Bishop was expected to plead guilty in federal court today to one count of transmitting national defence information to a person not entitled to receive it and one count of unlawfully retaining national defence documents and plans.
Bishop, 60, was arrested in March last year at the headquarters of the US Pacific Command, where he worked.
A document for the plea agreement, filed on Tuesday, said Bishop e-mailed his girlfriend classified information on joint training and planning sessions between the US and South Korea.
It said Bishop had classified documents at his Hawaii home, including one titled "US Department of Defence China Strategy", another on US force posture in Asia and the Pacific and a US Pacific Command joint intelligence operations centre special report.
An FBI affidavit last year alleged the then-59-year-old gave his 27-year-old girlfriend classified information about war plans, nuclear weapons, missile defences and other topics.