U.S. charges two Homeland Security workers in Chinese spying scheme

U.S. prosecutors charged two men tied to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of what federal law enforcement officials have called a “transnational repression scheme” on behalf of the Chinese government to spy on and harass dissidents living in the United States.

Asked for comment, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington said it was “not aware of the specific situation” but that Beijing “firmly opposes acts by the U.S. that groundlessly malign and smear China.”

The two men charged were Craig Miller, who has worked as a DHS deportation officer for 15 years in Minnesota, and Derrick Taylor, a retired DHS law enforcement agent now working as a private investigator in California, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a grand jury returned an indictment charging the two men and three others (Fan “Frank” Liu, Matthew Ziburis, and Qiang “Jason” Sun) with crimes committed while acting as alleged Chinese agents, the department said in a statement (Reuters).

Miller allegedly deleted text messages between himself and Taylor while being questioned by authorities, and Taylor supposedly instructed an associate to withhold evidence from the FBI.

Miller and Taylor have been charged with obstruction of justice, and Taylor has additionally been charged with making false statements to the FBI... .

The accused, if convicted, face decades in prison, with possible sentences for the defendants ranging between 20-30 years. (Daily Wire).