Information security

Risk of Exposing Navy Secrets Could Complicate Edward Lin Prosecution, Former Military Lawyers Say

The sensitivity of the classified information accused spy Lt. Cmdr. Edward Chieh-Liang Lin passed to China and Taiwan could make the case difficult to prosecute by military litigators and could lead to a plea deal on lesser charges, two former military lawyers told USNI News.

Lin, 39, was in a leadership position in one of the U.S. Navy’s most closely guarded signals intelligence units when he was detained in September and accused of two instances of espionage and three others of attempted espionage.

It’s still unclear what classified information Lin is alleged to have shared but given his position it could have been among the Navy’s most sensitive signals intelligence secrets.
Three months after he was detained, early results of the investigation prompted a potential national security alert to Navy leadership in December.