Researchers at California universities accused of hiding Chinese military ties had their charges dismissed after defense lawyers received an FBI memo.
QUICK FACTS:
- Federal prosecutors in Sacramento, California, asked a judge to dismiss the case of Juan Tang on Thursday.
- Tang was a cancer researcher at UC Davis accused of “lying on a visa application about having served in the Chinese military,” according to American Military News (AMN).
- A federal grand jury had charged Tang with committing visa fraud and with making false statements.
- The U.S. attorney’s office claimed that on her application, Tang had falsely answered “no” when responding to the question “have you ever served in the military?” as well as to questions related to Communist Party membership and whether she had any special chemical or biological experience, according to AMN.
- UCLA researcher Guan Lei was indicted last year on charges of lying on a visa application when he reported he had never served in the Chinese military.
- The charges were dropped after defense lawyers in the Sacramento case obtained FBI memos in which analysts raised questions about the value of such prosecutions.
- Prosecutors in three similar cases sought to dismiss charges against researchers who worked at Stanford University, UC San Francisco, and UCLA on Friday, also reports AMN.
WHY THE CHARGES WERE DROPPED:
- Federal prosecutors “did not believe they could resolve questions about the records by the scheduled start of Tang’s trial on Monday and, so, decided to dismiss the case,” notes AMN.
- Malcolm Segal, an attorney representing Tang, 38, said prosecutors hadn’t provided a reason for the dismissal.
BACKGROUND:
- Tang’s defense attorneys claimed that while she had worked as a civilian cancer researcher at a Chinese military medical facility, she disclosed this information to UC Davis, notes AMN. The attorneys argued that the question “Have you ever served in the military” on the visa application has “potential for multiple correct and reasonable interpretations.”
- The charges have been dropped among U.S. efforts to battle Beijing’s efforts to steal U.S. national security and business secrets.
- DOJ officials said they decided to drop another three cases in California—and a fifth in Indiana—because the “legal and factual issues were similar and the researchers faced little prison time if convicted.”
- Lei will be returning to China, according to Lei’s attorneys.
