GUILTY HI - Benjamin Bishop, defense contractor, for divulging military secrets, Oahu, 2013

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http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=3&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_NKNWU00L3_UNEWS

HONOLULU (AP) — Federal authorities say a civilian defense contractor who works in intelligence at Pacific Command gave his Chinese girlfriend information on existing war plans and U.S. nuclear weapons.

Benjamin Pierce Bishop, 59, appeared in court Monday to face one count of communicating national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it and one count of unlawfully retaining national defense documents and plans. He was arrested March 15 at Pacific Command headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii.

Bishop gave information to the woman, a 27-year-old Chinese national, after meeting her at a conference on international military defense issues in Hawaii, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu. Authorities did not say when the conference took place but said she was in the U.S. on a student visa at the time.

The identity and whereabouts of the woman were not released. U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni didn't answer questions at a press briefing Monday..............

More at link......
 
Woman at center of spy allegations is enigma

http://centurylink.net/news/read.php?id=19387062&ps=1011&cat=&cps=0&lang=en

HONOLULU (AP) — The 27-year-old Chinese woman at the center of spying allegations hanging over her boyfriend, a defense contractor in Hawaii, is not in custody.

Her identity and whereabouts haven't been released, and U.S. authorities also haven't said whether they believe she is working for the Chinese government. She lives in the United States as a student on a J-1 visa, according to an affidavit the FBI filed this week by the FBI in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.

"While she is not charged in the criminal complaint, the government is aware of her location and is continuing the investigation to determine the role of all involved," said a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.............

Bishop is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday for a hearing on whether he should stay in detention while prosecutors pursue their case.............

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 1.

The affidavit says the woman told Bishop repeatedly she didn't want him to tell him [her] anything classified but continued to question Bishop about his work.

Bishop, on the other hand, told her he wouldn't give her any classified information but did so anyway, the document said........

Bishop was married until last year, according to state documents in Utah. His ex-wife declined comment when approached by The Associated Press on Tuesday at her home in Odgen, Utah.

Her neighbor, Sandra Doyle, said it was clear Bishop was having an affair with a Chinese woman prior to the divorce. Doyle, who said she is friends with the ex-wife, said the girlfriend was a university student in the District of Columbia, though she didn't know which school............

As an Army reserve officer and defense contractor, Bishop would have received security briefings on this and understood "how sex may be used for intelligence targeting," Wortzel said.............

The key issues for any trial will be Bishop's intent and the sophistication of the information he passed on, Baker said.

Bishop is charged with one count of communicating national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it and one count of unlawfully retaining national defense documents and plans.

More at link.....
 
From September 2014:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/contractor-sentenced-military-secrets-case

A former civilian defense contractor working at the U.S. military’s Pacific headquarters was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison on Wednesday for divulging military secrets to his Chinese girlfriend and keeping classified documents at his Honolulu home...

The girlfriend was a Fulbright scholar working on her doctorate in security issues at a U.S. university... Bishop told Kobayashi his only intent was to help his friend, whom he called a “brilliant academic”...

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson told the court Bishop should have known better as an experienced Army officer, noting countries use sexual relationships to gather military secrets. “All of the warning signs were there and he disregarded them,” Sorenson said in court.
 

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