HONOLULU — A federal judge plans to hear more evidence Monday about whether a defense contractor accused of giving military secrets to his Chinese girlfriend should stay in custody while awaiting trial. HONOLULU — A federal judge plans to hear
HONOLULU — A federal judge plans to hear more evidence Monday about whether a defense contractor accused of giving military secrets to his Chinese girlfriend should stay in custody while awaiting trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Puglisi scheduled a hearing to give prosecutors an opportunity to present more evidence on why Benjamin Bishop, 59, should remain in detention.
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.
Federal investigators say he gave his girlfriend, a 27-year-old Chinese national studying in the U.S., classified information about war plans, nuclear weapons, missile defenses and other topics through emails and telephone calls.
Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, U.S. Pacific Command chief of staff, said in a declaration submitted to court Monday that Bishop had access to “Top Secret” information on the command’s efforts to defend against a ballistic missile attack from North Korea.
“Unauthorized release of this highly sensitive, classified information could cause exceptionally grave damage to U.S. national security, undermining the value of this huge investment of national treasure,” Crutchfield said in his declaration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson argued in documents filed to the court Monday that there were no conditions that could reasonably assure Bishop won’t divulge classified information if he’s released on bail.
“Nothing short of the security of the Pacific, and U.S. Forces in the Pacific, are placed at risk by the nature of the information known to this defendant,” the prosecutor said.
Sorenson said Bishop told the girlfriend military secrets off the cuff, from memory.
He said this shows there would still be a risk that Bishop would divulge military secrets even though he’s been fired and no longer has access to classified documents.
Sorenson argued that electronic monitoring proposed by the defense wouldn’t be effective in an era when people can use “secret email or Twitter accounts, covert Facebook identities or disposable cellphones” to communicate.
Sorenson said Bishop has shown he can’t be trusted in part because he violated security oaths by failing to tell the government about his contact with the woman. Bishop’s security clearance required him to report contact with her because she’s a foreign national.
Bishop’s attorney, Birney Bervar, on Friday argued that prosecutors were trying to lock up Bishop’s mind.
Bishop was a contractor at the U.S. Pacific Command at the time of the alleged leaks.
He was working in a department that develops plans to deter potential U.S. adversaries when the FBI alleges he and the woman started an intimate, romantic relationship in June 2011.
Most recently, he was working on procedures guiding the military’s use of cyber defense technologies, according to Crutchfield’s statement.
