US authorities on Monday arrested a leading American scientist who had worked for the White House and NASA and charged him with attempted spying for Israel.
Stewart Nozette, 52, was apprehended after a sting operation involving an undercover FBI agent, the US Department of Justice said, adding that there was no wrongdoing by Israel.
He is charged with ??ttempted espionage for knowingly and willfully attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information relating to the national defense of the United States to an individual that Nozette believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer.??br />
Authorities said Nozette, who was arrested in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and taken into custody, could make his first court appearance yesterday on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
??he conduct alleged in this complaint is serious and should serve as a warning to anyone who would consider compromising our nation?? secrets for profit,??said David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security.
Nozette developed an experiment that fueled the discovery of water on the south pole of the moon, and previously held special security clearance at the Department of Energy on atomic materials.
In addition to stints at NASA and the Department of Energy, Nozette worked at the White House on the National Space Council under then-president George H.W. Bush in 1989 and 1990.
??rom 1989 through 2006, Nozette held security clearances as high as top secret and had regular, frequent access to classified information and documents related to the US national defense,??the Department of Justice said.
Early last month, Nozette received a phone call from a person ??urporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer, but who was in fact an undercover employee of the FBI,??it said.
??ozette met with the UCE [undercover employee] that day and discussed his willingness to work for Israeli intelligence,??informing the agent that ??e had, in the past, held top security clearances and had access to US satellite information,??it said.
The scientist offered to ??nswer questions about this information in exchange for money,??it said.
??n addition, Nozette allegedly offered to reveal additional classified information that directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or satellites, and other major weapons systems,??it said.
Over the next several weeks, Nozette and the undercover agent exchanged envelopes of money for answers to lists of questions about US satellite technology.
The department said some of ??he answers contained information classified as both Top Secret and Secret that concerned US satellites, early warning systems, means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of defense strategy.?
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