Katrina Leung
Encyclopedia
Katrina Leung (aka Chan Man Ying, Chen Wen Ying, Luo Zhongshan, Parlor Maid) was a former high value Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) and PRC Ministry of State Security (MSS) agent
who, on April 9, 2003, was indicted by the United States Department of Justice
for "Unauthorized Copying of National Defense Information with Intent to Injure or Benefit a Foreign Nation". Her case was later dismissed on January 6, 2005 because of prosecutorial misconduct
. It is unclear whether her primary loyalty while working as an asset lay with the United States
, the People's Republic of China
, or herself. Regardless, she is alleged by the United States Government to have contaminated twenty years of intelligence relating to the People's Republic of China as well as critically compromising the FBI's Chinese counterintelligence program.
passport
stating that she was born on May 1, 1954, in Guangzhou
. (The information about Leung's background is unclear because her official immigration documents significantly differ from what Leung herself has revealed about her background.) Leung enrolled at Washington Irving High School in New York City, New York and graduated in June 1972. She became a permanent resident alien
on August 7, 1972.
Leung attended and obtained an undergraduate degree
from Cornell University
in 1976. She then went on and obtained a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago
. It was somewhere during this time as a student that Leung was contacted by the FBI for information on some of her acquaintances.
and occupied an apartment building which contained numerous tenants that were subjects of other FBI investigations. She developed a close relationship with a pro-PRC activist who was under FBI investigation for illegally transferring technology from the U.S. to the PRC. Leung became the general manager of an import-export company which in late 1980 had become the subject of an FBI investigation dealing with the illegal transfer of technology from the U.S. to the PRC. On February 10, 1981, the FBI launched an investigation into Leung, believing that she was engaging in clandestine
intelligence-gathering on behalf of the PRC. Leung eventually left her job at the import-export company, closing the FBI investigation on her. The PRC activist was arrested in China, closing that investigation as well.
him because she had as much to lose as he did if their relationship was ever revealed.
for the United States. In June 1984, Leung was recruited by the MSS, who believed at the time that she was a low-level source of information at the FBI's Los Angeles office. Leung began receiving money from the FBI to pay for her expenses (the majority going towards flights to and from China). She passed two polygraph
examinations, one in September 1984 and one in June 1986.
Between 1985–1990, Leung's profile within the West Coast Chinese community and the FBI had risen significantly. Her connections within the community had become so extensive, she had entertained Chinese diplomatic officials as well as organized high-profile banquets for visiting PRC officials from the mainland. During this time, she met and charmed President of China
Yang Shangkun
who eventually became her patron
. As a sign of her growing influence in the PRC, she advised the Chinese government in 1998 on a new location for their Los Angeles consulate.
Up to this point, Leung's reports were well received by the Central Intelligence Agency
, and much of her reporting during this time had also been verified by a Chinese defector. A sign of her growing influence within the FBI could be seen when she was sent to China shortly after the Tiananmen Square Massacre to report on the country's political climate during a time when the country's information flow had virtually ceased.
Leung began an illicit sexual affair with another FBI special agent, William Cleveland Jr., during the late 1980s, although it is unclear if she obtained any classified information from him during his affair.
In June 1990, the FBI learned that Leung had revealed to MSS officials the existence and location of a classified operation as well as classified details of the FBI's counterintelligence program. The FBI headquarters chief questioned Leung's handler Smith, who flatly denied it ever happened and successfully convinced his superior that she would never do such a thing without his authorization. Smith privately confronted Leung on May 31, 1991 about the unauthorized disclosure of information. In response, she told him that her Chinese handler "Mao" had discovered her double-agent identity and had coerced her into giving additional information.
In April 1991, the FBI obtained an audio recording of a conversation between a woman identifying herself as "Luo" and a known PRC intelligence official identifying himself as "Mao". Special Agent Cleveland was brought in to listen to the tape and immediately recognized the woman's voice as Leung's. Leung had, among other things, detailed without authorization the itinerary of a recent trip that Cleveland had taken with the State Department to the PRC. Cleveland immediately notified Smith of the breach and in May of the same year, the two traveled to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. for a high-level meeting concerning herself. In addition to the analysts recommendations, Smith defended the suspicious activities of Leung and managed to convince his superiors that terminating her as an asset was not the best course of action. The FBI accepted his recommendation based on his extensive experience handling Leung, as well as his experience in the FBI and the analyst's recommendation.
or espionage
presumably because her prosecutors did not feel they had adequate evidence
to guarantee a conviction that historically had been notoriously difficult to secure. She was denied bail because she was deemed a flight risk. Leung spent three months in jail
and 18 months in house arrest
.
, and entered plea negotiations with Leung concerning illegal tax returns that had been revealed as a result of this case. On December 16, 2005, Leung pled guilty to one count of lying to the FBI and one count of filing a false federal tax return. Leung was sentenced to the terms of her plea agreement, which stated that she must cooperate in full debriefings, three years probation
, 100 hours of community service
, and a US$10,000 fine.
, which is much more difficult to trace compared to a stolen document. In addition, she is legally bound by the plea agreement she signed with the U.S. Attorney's office in 2005 to cooperate with debriefings about her activities as an FBI asset, which may significantly limit the lasting impact of her actions while working as a double agent.
Because of the nature of espionage and its rare ability to prove facts beyond a doubt, many of the examples listed here that may have been compromised by Katrina Leung have not been conclusively proven, and so remain speculative.
. In 1981, Cleveland confronted Min about his suspicious activities, but was unable to secure enough evidence to indict Min on criminal charges. Min was forced instead to resign and went into private business. Cleveland lamented privately that Min was on the verge of confessing to espionage
but abruptly stopped talking to the authorities one day. Years later in 1990, Cleveland, while traveling with a State Department
delegation to a remote area of China near the North Korean border, literally bumped into Gwo-Bao Min in the lobby of his hotel. He later learned from an intercepted phone communication that Leung had detailed his itinerary to a Ministry of State Security officer prior to his arrival in China. Considerable debate continues within the intelligence community over whether or not this encounter between Cleveland and Min was truly a coincidence.
. In 1999, the Cox Report
would allege that the security at several high-level U.S. weapons labs had been compromised, and that Chinese agents had copied or stolen classified information regarding thermonuclear weapons, MIRV, w88
, and other missile technology. Among the labs severely criticized was Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It is possible that Leung may have acquired from Cleveland classified details regarding security at the lab, though Cleveland himself denied under oath that he gave any classified information to Leung.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) and PRC Ministry of State Security (MSS) agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
who, on April 9, 2003, was indicted by the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
for "Unauthorized Copying of National Defense Information with Intent to Injure or Benefit a Foreign Nation". Her case was later dismissed on January 6, 2005 because of prosecutorial misconduct
Prosecutorial misconduct
In jurisprudence, prosecutorial misconduct is a procedural defense; via which, a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which may have broken the law, because the prosecution acted in an "inappropriate" or "unfair" manner. Such arguments may involve...
. It is unclear whether her primary loyalty while working as an asset lay with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, or herself. Regardless, she is alleged by the United States Government to have contaminated twenty years of intelligence relating to the People's Republic of China as well as critically compromising the FBI's Chinese counterintelligence program.
Background
Leung emigrated to the United States in 1970 using a Republic of ChinaRepublic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
stating that she was born on May 1, 1954, in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. (The information about Leung's background is unclear because her official immigration documents significantly differ from what Leung herself has revealed about her background.) Leung enrolled at Washington Irving High School in New York City, New York and graduated in June 1972. She became a permanent resident alien
Resident Alien
Resident Alien is the debut album from the British glam rock band Spacehog. Released by Elektra Records on 24 October 1995, the album was certified as gold on 29 July 1996 and included the hit single "In the Meantime", which reached the top of the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States,...
on August 7, 1972.
Leung attended and obtained an undergraduate degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1976. She then went on and obtained a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. It was somewhere during this time as a student that Leung was contacted by the FBI for information on some of her acquaintances.
Subject of investigation
In 1980, Leung moved to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and occupied an apartment building which contained numerous tenants that were subjects of other FBI investigations. She developed a close relationship with a pro-PRC activist who was under FBI investigation for illegally transferring technology from the U.S. to the PRC. Leung became the general manager of an import-export company which in late 1980 had become the subject of an FBI investigation dealing with the illegal transfer of technology from the U.S. to the PRC. On February 10, 1981, the FBI launched an investigation into Leung, believing that she was engaging in clandestine
Clandestine operation
A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed.The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental...
intelligence-gathering on behalf of the PRC. Leung eventually left her job at the import-export company, closing the FBI investigation on her. The PRC activist was arrested in China, closing that investigation as well.
Conversion into an FBI asset
In 1982, FBI Special Agent James J. Smith re-opened the FBI investigation into Leung hoping that she could provide him with additional information on the PRC activist as well as other miscellaneous information. Smith was so impressed with the information Leung provided that he converted her into an FBI asset codename "Parlor Maid" in December of the same year. Eight months later in August 1983, Leung and Smith started an illicit affair which would span past Smith's retirement in 2002. She convinced him that she would not blackmailBlackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
him because she had as much to lose as he did if their relationship was ever revealed.
Career as a double agent
On March 16, 1984, Leung (with Smith's help) became a U.S. citizen. The FBI had developed a plan for her to be recruited by the Chinese Ministry of State Security as an asset working as a double agentDouble agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
for the United States. In June 1984, Leung was recruited by the MSS, who believed at the time that she was a low-level source of information at the FBI's Los Angeles office. Leung began receiving money from the FBI to pay for her expenses (the majority going towards flights to and from China). She passed two polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
examinations, one in September 1984 and one in June 1986.
Between 1985–1990, Leung's profile within the West Coast Chinese community and the FBI had risen significantly. Her connections within the community had become so extensive, she had entertained Chinese diplomatic officials as well as organized high-profile banquets for visiting PRC officials from the mainland. During this time, she met and charmed President of China
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission...
who eventually became her patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
. As a sign of her growing influence in the PRC, she advised the Chinese government in 1998 on a new location for their Los Angeles consulate.
Up to this point, Leung's reports were well received by the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, and much of her reporting during this time had also been verified by a Chinese defector. A sign of her growing influence within the FBI could be seen when she was sent to China shortly after the Tiananmen Square Massacre to report on the country's political climate during a time when the country's information flow had virtually ceased.
Leung began an illicit sexual affair with another FBI special agent, William Cleveland Jr., during the late 1980s, although it is unclear if she obtained any classified information from him during his affair.
In June 1990, the FBI learned that Leung had revealed to MSS officials the existence and location of a classified operation as well as classified details of the FBI's counterintelligence program. The FBI headquarters chief questioned Leung's handler Smith, who flatly denied it ever happened and successfully convinced his superior that she would never do such a thing without his authorization. Smith privately confronted Leung on May 31, 1991 about the unauthorized disclosure of information. In response, she told him that her Chinese handler "Mao" had discovered her double-agent identity and had coerced her into giving additional information.
In April 1991, the FBI obtained an audio recording of a conversation between a woman identifying herself as "Luo" and a known PRC intelligence official identifying himself as "Mao". Special Agent Cleveland was brought in to listen to the tape and immediately recognized the woman's voice as Leung's. Leung had, among other things, detailed without authorization the itinerary of a recent trip that Cleveland had taken with the State Department to the PRC. Cleveland immediately notified Smith of the breach and in May of the same year, the two traveled to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. for a high-level meeting concerning herself. In addition to the analysts recommendations, Smith defended the suspicious activities of Leung and managed to convince his superiors that terminating her as an asset was not the best course of action. The FBI accepted his recommendation based on his extensive experience handling Leung, as well as his experience in the FBI and the analyst's recommendation.
December 12, 2001
The FBI obtained a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to surveil Leung as part of an investigation into her activities. They conducted a limited consensual search of Leung's residence and found an FBI telephone directory, a telephone list relating to an FBI investigation codename "Royal Tourist", a secret FBI memo concerning Chinese fugitives, and an FBI legal directory.November 11, 2002
The FBI conducted a covert search into Leung's luggage at Los Angeles International Airport before and after a trip she takes to the PRC. Six photographs of FBI agents, two of whom were on active duty, were missing from her baggage upon her arrival back into the U.S.December 20, 2002
The FBI learned that Leung had surreptitiously copied a top-secret document that her handler Smith had checked out overnight from the FBI and transmitted the information to her MSS handler.November 5, 2002
The FBI conducted surveillance of Leung and her handler Smith on November 5, 2002 in a Los Angeles hotel room, to determine if they were having a sexual relationship and if Smith's earlier denial of that relationship were true.Arrest
Leung was arrested by the Department of Justice on the morning of April 9, 2003 at her residence in San Marino, and charged with "Unauthorized Copying of National Defense Information with Intent to Injure or Benefit a Foreign Nation in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(b)". She was not charged with either treasonTreason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
or espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
presumably because her prosecutors did not feel they had adequate evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
to guarantee a conviction that historically had been notoriously difficult to secure. She was denied bail because she was deemed a flight risk. Leung spent three months in jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
and 18 months in house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
.
Case dismissed
On January 6, 2005, U.S. District Judge Florence Marie Cooper dismissed Leung's case on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. Judge Cooper found that Leung's constitutional right to a witness necessary to her defense had been violated in the language of retired Special Agent Smith's plea agreement, specifically that he "could not share further information relating to the case with Leung or her counsel".Appeal and subsequent plea agreement
The U.S. Attorney's office appealed the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, and entered plea negotiations with Leung concerning illegal tax returns that had been revealed as a result of this case. On December 16, 2005, Leung pled guilty to one count of lying to the FBI and one count of filing a false federal tax return. Leung was sentenced to the terms of her plea agreement, which stated that she must cooperate in full debriefings, three years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
, 100 hours of community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, and a US$10,000 fine.
Weaknesses in the system
The ability for Leung to operate for such an extraordinary length of time before being caught exposed serious systemic flaws in the way the FBI's China program operated their counterintelligence program. The primary problem that was identified was the Los Angeles's office decentralization culture, in which supervisors took a "hands off" approach with their case officers, functioning more in a support role for their agent handlers rather than a command one. This flaw allowed Special Agent Smith to operate so long without being properly accounted for. Smith's superiors would regularly defer to Smith, given his superior expertise and experience regarding Chinese counterintelligence, as well as his long relationship with top asset Parlor Maid. In addition, Smith's high profile at the agency and the high profile of his asset meant that he could afford a laxer standard when it came to administrative or bureaucratic regulations. Smith often manipulated or disregarded many routine procedures, in part out of convenience and in part out of fear that exposure of his sexual relationship with Leung would end his career. This behavior by Smith allowed Leung's suspicious activities to go unaccounted throughout her 20-year involvement with the FBI.Possible intelligence tainted
The damage of Katrina Leung's activities are unclear within the intelligence community, primarily because she had been working for so long undetected by the FBI, and that much of the information she obtained was through informal conversation or pillow talkPillow talk
Pillow talk is the relaxed, intimate conversation that often occurs between two sexual partners after the act of coitus, usually accompanied by cuddling, caresses, and other physical intimacy. It is associated with sexual afterglow and is distinguished from dirty talk which usually forms part of...
, which is much more difficult to trace compared to a stolen document. In addition, she is legally bound by the plea agreement she signed with the U.S. Attorney's office in 2005 to cooperate with debriefings about her activities as an FBI asset, which may significantly limit the lasting impact of her actions while working as a double agent.
Because of the nature of espionage and its rare ability to prove facts beyond a doubt, many of the examples listed here that may have been compromised by Katrina Leung have not been conclusively proven, and so remain speculative.
Tiger trap
In 1979, Leung became a source in FBI Special Agent Cleveland's investigation, codenamed "Tiger Trap", concerning aeronautical engineer from Taiwan Gwo-Bao Min working at Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
. In 1981, Cleveland confronted Min about his suspicious activities, but was unable to secure enough evidence to indict Min on criminal charges. Min was forced instead to resign and went into private business. Cleveland lamented privately that Min was on the verge of confessing to espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
but abruptly stopped talking to the authorities one day. Years later in 1990, Cleveland, while traveling with a State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
delegation to a remote area of China near the North Korean border, literally bumped into Gwo-Bao Min in the lobby of his hotel. He later learned from an intercepted phone communication that Leung had detailed his itinerary to a Ministry of State Security officer prior to his arrival in China. Considerable debate continues within the intelligence community over whether or not this encounter between Cleveland and Min was truly a coincidence.
Cox Report
Leung started an illicit affair in late 1988 with Special Agent Cleveland, who after leaving the FBI became head of security at Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
. In 1999, the Cox Report
Cox Report
The Report of the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, commonly known as the Cox Report after Representative Christopher Cox, is a classified U.S...
would allege that the security at several high-level U.S. weapons labs had been compromised, and that Chinese agents had copied or stolen classified information regarding thermonuclear weapons, MIRV, w88
W88
The W88 is a United States thermonuclear warhead, with an estimated yield of 475 kiloton , and is small enough to fit on MIRVed missiles. The W88 was designed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1970s. In 1999 the director of Los Alamos who had presided over its design described it as...
, and other missile technology. Among the labs severely criticized was Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It is possible that Leung may have acquired from Cleveland classified details regarding security at the lab, though Cleveland himself denied under oath that he gave any classified information to Leung.
Additional reading
- Kirk, Michael (Director). (2004). Frontline: From China with Love [Documentary]. MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Florida: PBS Video