Chinese-American Raytheon Engineer Sentenced to Prison for Technology Exports

Parler CEO Defends Free Speech: ‘It’s Not Against the Law to Have Those Opinions’

The CEO of Parler, which has been described as an alternative to Twitter, defended free speech in an interview on Tuesday in the midst of mainstream media-led criticism of the social media platform. “People say crazy things all the time,” and “it’s not against the law to have those opinions,” Parler CEO John Matze told Fox News. He was responding to a question about why establishment media outlets have taken an increasingly critical tone against the platform. “I always ask them, ‘What do you think of the First Amendment? Do you believe that we should have somebody in New York, let’s say in the middle of Times Square, telling you what you can and cannot say?’” Matze said. “Because that’s what these companies are doing.” “I don’t know why they’re…

A Chinese-American electrical engineer who worked for Raytheon Missile and Defense was sentenced on Wednesday to 38 months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. export control law, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

The department said that Sun Wei, 49, a Chinese national and naturalized U.S. citizen, worked for the Raytheon unit in Tucson, Arizona, for 10 years. Lawyers for Sun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sun’s case is the latest in a lengthening list of prosecutions launched by the administration of President Donald Trump related to alleged Chinese spying and technology theft.

On Wednesday, an official confirmed to Reuters a report by the Axios website that U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe was planning soon to “describe in granular detail” U.S. intelligence findings regarding China’s “nefarious actions inside the U.S.”

The Justice Department said that while employed with Raytheon, Sun had access to defense technology information whose export is prohibited under American and international arms export laws and rules.

Prosecutors said that between December 2018 and January 2019, while on a personal trip to China, Sun brought along unclassified technical information in a company-issued computer which included material related to a missile guidance system covered by U.S. export controls.

Prosecutors said Sun knowingly transported the data to China without an export license in violation of U.S. laws and regulations.

On Feb. 14, 2020, Sun entered a guilty plea to charges related to the illegal export of defense data stored in a Raytheon laptop related to an advanced medium range air-to-air missile system.

Prosecutors said Sun was arrested on Jan. 24, 2019 en route to Tucson Airport for a flight connection to China, and that he later admitted his intention was to enroll in a Chinese university.

By Mark Hosenball

Focus News: Chinese-American Raytheon Engineer Sentenced to Prison for Technology Exports

Pentagon Says It Shot Down Unarmed Missile in Sea-Based Test

WASHINGTON—In a first for the Pentagon’s push to develop defenses against intercontinental-range ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States, a missile interceptor launched from a U.S. Navy ship at sea hit and destroyed a mock ICBM in flight on Tuesday, officials said. Previous tests against ICBM targets had used interceptors launched from underground silos in the United States. If further, more challenging tests prove successful, the ship-based approach could add to the credibility and reliability of the Pentagon’s existing missile defense system. The success of Tuesday’s test is likely to draw particular interest from North Korea, whose development of intercontinental-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons is the main reason the Pentagon has sought to accelerate its building of missile defense systems over the past decade. North Korea has recently refrained from…