Unregistered Foreign Agents and Unlawful Access to a Computer—Update

On Friday, we mentioned that a former high-ranking Filipino police officer had been arrested on a material witness warrant in connection to the prosecution of Leandro Aragoncillo and Michael Ray Aquino. Now it has been announced that a “former Philippines president and two other prominent officials” have been identified “as alleged conspirators in a plot to get U.S. intelligence from a suspected spy who worked at the FBI and the White House.”^[1] These individuals are Joseph Estrada—the ousted president—and Philippines Senator Panfillo Lacson, both of whom “have previously acknowledged contact with [the] defendants in the case.”^[2] They are joined by former Philippines Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella.^[3] They are classified as “unindicted co-conspirators,”^[4] and it remains to be seen whether they will be indicted once Mr. Mancao testifies before the grand jury.

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[1] John P. Martin, Philippine Trio Named in Spy Plot, New Jersey Star-Ledger, Apr. 25, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.