US warns against Chinese ‘aggression’ as two accused of spying on Huawei probe
Top DoJ officials confirm reports indicating that Chinese agents tried to spy on Huawei prosecution
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Officials at the US Department of Justice detailed charges against two alleged agents of the Chinese government on Monday at a press conference seemingly confirming reports that the target of the operation was the US effort to prosecute Huawei.
Attorney general Merrick Garland and his associates did not mention Huawei directly, but confirmed other details of reporting from NBC News and other outlets at their press briefing Monday afternoon.
According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the efforts of the supposed Chinese agents were uncovered and undone due to the help of a double agent working for US law enforcement who supplied his handlers with documents produced by the US government to mislead them.
“The defendants believed they had recruited the US employee as an asset. But in fact, the individual they recruited was a double agent, working on behalf of the FBI,” said Mr Garland.
FBI director Christopher Wray accused the Chinese government at the briefing of attempting to “undermine US economic security and fundamental human rights, including those of Americans” and vowed that the FBI would continue working to counter the “aggression” of Beijing.
“We also see a coordinated effort across the Chinese government to lie, cheat, and steal their way into unfairly dominating entire technology sectors,” he continued.
Huawei currently faces a Rico indictment accusing it of stealing US technology from companies with the purpose of achieving dominance in the 5G field. A top executive also faced criminal charges in 2021.
It’s unclear if any arrests have been made or will be made in the future in regards to the Huawei spying case, but separately on Monday the DoJ announced the arrest of two persons accused of working on behalf of China to intimidate a US resident into returning to China against their will.
“As these cases demonstrate, the government of China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights,” said the attorney general. “They did not succeed.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments