A former CIA officer, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, of Honolulu, pleaded guilty on Friday to sharing national defense information with the People’s Republic of China. The Justice Department stated that Ma, 71, had worked with an unnamed co-conspirator in 2001 to provide Chinese intelligence with classified U.S. national defense information in exchange for money. According to the plea agreement, Ma had served as a CIA officer for seven years in the 1980s.
CNN has reached out to attorneys for Ma for comment on the guilty plea.
Ma later applied as a linguist with the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, where he served from 2004 to 2012.
The DOJ release stated that the FBI hired Ma, who had ties to PRC intelligence, to work at an off-site location for monitoring and investigation.
As reported by CNN, Ma allegedly brought a digital camera into the FBI office to take photos of sensitive documents, which he then passed on to his contacts in China.
According to the Justice Department, Ma admitted to knowing that the classified documents he provided to Chinese intelligence officers would harm the United States or benefit China.
As part of the plea agreement, Ma is required to cooperate with the United States, which includes participating in debriefings with U.S. government agencies.
Should the court accept Ma’s plea, he faces a sentence of 10 years in federal prison at a hearing scheduled for September 11.
Editor's P/S:
The guilty plea of Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer, for sharing classified national defense information with China is a sobering reminder of the threats to national security posed by espionage. Ma's actions, motivated by greed, not only violated his oath of loyalty but also compromised sensitive intelligence that could potentially harm American lives and interests. His betrayal highlights the need for vigilant counterintelligence efforts and underscores the severe consequences that await those who engage in such treacherous activities.
Ma's plea agreement reveals that he was not only aware of the potential harm his actions could cause to the United States, but he also actively sought financial compensation from China in exchange for classified information. This blatant disregard for the nation's security is deeply troubling and serves as a warning to others who might
