Bergersen Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Disclose Classified Information

Gregg William Bergersen, of Alexandria, Virginia, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to disclose national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it, in violation of 18 U.S.C., Sections 793(d) and (g). Bergersen was arrested on February 11, 2008 on a criminal complaint charging this same offense.^[1]

The information Bergersen pleaded guilty to disclosing pertained to Taiwanese purchases of U.S. military equipment. This information was classified at the Secret level. Over the course of the conspiracy, Bergersen developed a friendship with Tai Kuo, a New Orleans businessman who is accused of passing that information on to the Chinese government.^[2] Authorities assert that Kou compensated Bergesen by bestowing upon him gifts, cash payments, dinners, and money for gambling during trips to Las Vegas.^[3]

Officials claim that some of the weapons information passed between Bergersen and Kuo related to Taiwan's new Po Sheng air defense system. Taiwanese military officials have admitted that the disclosures caused some damage to the program, but did not compromise key technology.^[4]

Bergersen has stated that he was unaware that Kuo was passing this information along to an official of the government of the People’s Republic of China. Bergersen had even gone as far as to warn Kuo that some of the information being disclosed was classified.^[5]

Espionage charges are still pending against Kuo and an alleged conspirator, Yu Xin Kang, both of whom remain held without bond.^[6]

The Chinese government contends that the accusations of espionage in this case are groundless and is accusing the U.S. of "Cold War thinking."^[7]

According to U.S.C. §793(g), if two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.^[8]

In this case 18 U.S.C. § 793(d) was the subsection which Bergersen conspired to violate. This subsection makes it is a crime for a person—who has lawful access to any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or information relating to the national defense—to willfully communicate or transfer that information to any person not entitled to receive it, if he believes that the information could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation. The punishment for doing so is a fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.^[9]

Federal criminal defense attorney, Douglas McNabb, has written extensively on the crime of Disclosure of Classified Information. Some of his work on the subject can be seen here.

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[1] The Associated Press, Defense Department Analyst Pleads Guilty to Passing on Data to Chinese-Connected Business, FoxNews.com, March 31, 2008 (available at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343969,00.html).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8]18 U.S.C. §793(g).
[9]18 U.S.C. §793(d).