The Scientist and the Spy

by Mara Hvistendahl

  secured a court: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Documents 224–1 (March 13, 2015) and 263–1 (April 9, 2015).

  mentioned in support of probable cause: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 524–1 (December 4, 2015).

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  their son’s bedroom: Kate Wells, “China’s Heir Apparent Rekindles Early Ties to Iowa,” NPR Morning Edition, February 7, 2012, https://www.npr.org/2012/02/07/146466598/chinas-heir-apparent-rekindles-early-ties-to-iowa.

  met a young governor: Kyle Munson, “The Rise of the ‘Iowa Mafia’ in China, from a Governor to Xi’s ‘Old Friends,’” Des Moines Register, November 9, 2017, https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/columnists/kyle-munson/2017/11/09/china-iowa-mafia-beijing-xi-jingping-branstad-dvorchak-old-friends/784205001/.

  as participants filed off the bus: Interview with Robert Mo.

  $30 million overhaul: “World Food Prize Receives $5 Million Pledge from Monsanto to Honor Norman Borlaug,” Monsanto, February 15, 2008, https://monsanto.com/news-releases/world-food-prize-receives-5-million-pledge-from-monsanto-to-honor-norman-borlaug/. The cost of the renovation is detailed at “The World Prize Hall of Laureates Awarded Prestigious LEED Platinum Certification,” World Food Prize, March 2, 2013, https://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm/87428/40180/the_world_food_prize_hall_of_laureates_awarded_prestigious_leed_platinum_certification.

  close ties with both industry: DuPont Pioneer (now Corteva Agriscience) and Monsanto (now Bayer CropScience) both donate money to the World Food Prize. See “World Food Prize: Sponsors,” World Food Prize, https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/about_the_prize/sponsors/. In 2013, the prize was awarded to Monsanto’s chief technology officer, along with two other recipients, sparking significant controversy.

  featured speakers at the conference: “2011 Symposium and Side Event Agenda,” World Food Prize, https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/borlaug_dialogue/previous_years/2011_borlaug_dialogue/2011_symposium_agenda/.

  were joined by executives: Ibid.

  jointly conducting research: “Xi: China, US Should Deepen Agricultural Ties,” China.org.cn, February 17, 2012, http://www.china.org.cn/world/Xijinping_visit/2012-02/17/content_24665387.htm.

  $4.3 billion worth: Michael Scuse, “The United States Is China’s Soybean Supplier of Choice,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/02/22/united-states-chinas-soybean-supplier-choice.

  “momentous one for U.S.-China”: Ibid.

  “I will not stand by”: Barack Obama, “State of the Union 2012” speech, Washington, D.C., January 24, 2012, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/24/remarks-president-state-union-address.

  exported to China was corn: William M. Blair, “China Buys Corn on U.S. Market,” New York Times, October 28, 1972, https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/28/archives/china-buys-corn-on-us-market-nixon-discloses-18million-sale-in.html.

  Lily Cheng complimented him: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 559–1 (December 22, 2015).

  pulled aside for searches: Interview with Robert Mo. I was not able to independently confirm this with Robert.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  No, Robert said: Interview with Kevin Montgomery.

  “hanging on by their fingertips”: Michele Wolfson, “Farmers Meet Wall Street,” personal site of Marcus Samuelsson, December 12, 2011, https://marcussamuelsson.com/posts/news/farmers-meet-wall-street.

  “They have poisoned”: Jonathan Capehart, “What Occupy Wall Street Could Learn from the Tea Party,” Washington Post, October 4, 2011, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/what-occupy-wall-street-could-learn-from-the-tea-party/2011/03/04/gIQAxAz3KL_blog.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.cbb135862abf.

  led to hyper-resistant superweeds: Nick Carne, “Herbicide-Resistant ‘Superweeds’ on the Rise,” Cosmos, June 14, 2019, https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/herbicide-resistant-superweeds-on-the-rise. Also see Brandom Keim, “New GM Crops Could Make Superweeds Even Stronger,” Wired, May 1, 2012, https://www.wired.com/2012/05/new-superweed-evolution/.

  resistance was one reason: Interview with Diana Moss.

  In bringing an antitrust suit: Kevin didn’t fully agree with the action. He felt that focusing on licensing agreements was too obtuse.

  not DBN’s first choice: This is according to Kevin.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Mark Betten received a tip: Interview with Mark Betten.

  Mark tailed Wang Lei: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1 (December 11, 2013).

  be on the lookout: Interview with Mark Betten.

  using the name Wu Hougang: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1.

  “Visitors are an obvious vector”: IOSS Intelligence Threat Handbook, Interagency OPSEC Support Staff (June 2004), 45, https://fas.org/irp/threat/handbook/index.html.

  dug through the trash: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 224–3 (March 13, 2015).

  They tailed Robert: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1.

  watched from outside: Interview with Mark Betten.

  obtained a warrant: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 560–1 (originally sealed as 252–16) (December 22, 2015).

  location of Robert’s cell phone: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 224–3.

  CR-V showed it parked: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 560–3 (originally sealed as 251–18) (December 22, 2015).

  determine the rough location: This has since changed. See Adam Liptak, “In Ruling on Cellphone Location Data, Supreme Court Makes Statement on Digital Privacy,” New York Times, June 22, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/us/politics/supreme-court-warrants-cell-phone-privacy.html.

  ten or more miles apart: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 560–3.

  Mark rushed to secure: Ibid.

  “[T]here is probable cause”: Ibid.

  sometimes thought of passages: Ibid.

  “The Surrounding Plains”: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, The Definitive Journals of Lewis & Clark, vol. 3, Up the Missouri to Fort Mandan (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002), 10–11.

  on asphalt roads: Interview with Mark Betten.

  he would drive slowly: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1.

  Mark was close behind: Ibid.; interview with Mark Betten.

  Thomas filled him in: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1.

  Robert asked for six bags: Ibid.

  stuck to a single type: Interview with Joel Thomas.

  struck by Robert’s ethnicity: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 524–1 (December 4, 2015).

  tech agreement to sue: Bowman v. Monsanto Co., 569 U.S. 278 (2013).

  contained Monsanto traits: Unlike hybrid corn seed, soybeans produce significant yield if saved and replanted.

  too busy to think straight: Interview with Joel Thomas.

  total came to $1,533.72: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1.

  six more bags of seed: Ibid.

  A&M Mini Storage: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 57 (July 2, 2014).

  PICK OUT YOUR UNI: I observed this in a visit to the storage space.

  sheds were transitional garages: Interview with Mike Hills.

  he opened the padlock: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “locusts in a swarm”: Jeff Stein, “May a Thousand Spies Bloom,” Newsweek, January 16, 2014, http://www.newsweek.com/2014/01/17/may-thousand-spies-bloom-245082.html. Among other errors, Stein mixed up Robert Mo’s first and last names.

  intelligence conference in 1996: Interview with Paul Moore.

  Moore explained China’s approach: Paul Douglas Moore, “Chinese Culture and the Practice of ‘Actuarial’ Intelligence,” conference presentation, http://crimeandterrorism.org/sites/default/files/Actuarial_Intelligence_by_Paul_Moore.pdf [inactive].

  Chinese as “blue ants”: This term was coined by French writer Robert Guillain after he traveled to China in 1955 and described a population
clad in drab grays and blues, stripped of all individuality. Robert Guillain, The Blue Ants: 600 Million Chinese Under the Red Flag (London: Secker & Warburg, 1957). Chinese leaders didn’t always help dispel these ideas. During the Communist Revolution, Mao espoused the notion of a “people’s war,” in which villagers would overwhelm the more professional enemy through sheer numbers.

  “human wave” of students, scientists: See, for example, “Espionage with Chinese Characteristics,” Stratfor, April 24, 2010, https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/chinese-espionage-hacking-intelligence-mosiac.

  seeks good people: Interview with Paul Moore.

  to pursue small pieces: Moore, “Chinese Culture.”

  “always ethnic Chinese”: Paul D. Moore, “How China Plays the Ethnic Card,” Los Angeles Times, June 24, 1999, http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jun/24/local/me-49832.

  “it does not work”: Interview with Paul Moore.

  “belong to their families”: As quoted in William C. Hannas, James Mulvenon, and Anna B. Puglisi, Chinese Industrial Espionage: Technology Acquisition and Military Modernization (New York: Routledge, 2013), 166.

  to “borrow brains”: Ibid., 174.

  Our foe was unsophisticated: There is a historical parallel in assumptions about American superiority prior to World War II. The belief that the Japanese were inept might have made U.S. policy makers blind to the very real threat that Japan posed. See Steve Twomey, Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016).

  China had some knowledge: Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman, A Convenient Spy: Wen Ho Lee and the Politics of Nuclear Espionage (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), 115.

  code-named Kindred Spirit: Ibid., 122.

  all ethnic Chinese researchers: Ibid., 113.

  soon settled on Lee: Stober and Hoffman write that the FBI was “given a suspect to investigate, rather than a crime to solve,” A Convenient Spy, 150.

  cold-called a Taiwan-born: “Report on the Government’s Handling of the Investigation and Prosecution of Dr. Wen Ho Lee,” U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Department of Justice Oversight, December 20, 2001, https://fas.org/irp/congress/2001_rpt/whl.html.

  failed to report contact: Stober and Hoffman, A Convenient Spy, 78, 124.

  “virtually always target”: Ibid., 214.

  seeking the names of all students: Annie Nakao, “Wen Ho Lee Papers Shed Light on Case,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 22, 2011, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Wen-Ho-Lee-papers-shed-light-on-case-Rights-2867513.php.

  set fire to the home: “China Gives Green Light to Embassy Protests, but Warns Against Violence,” CNN, May 9, 1999, http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9905/09/china.protests.02/.

  maple leaf patches on our backpacks: This was probably an excessive precaution in our case, but during World War II, when the U.S. government interned more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, many Chinese Americans wore badges that advertised their ethnicity.

  twenty-three hours a day: “Report on the Government’s Handling of the Investigation.”

  called on researchers to boycott: Sam McManis, “Ling-chi Wang: Activist Fights for Asian Americans at U.S. Labs,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 2002, https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/NEWSMAKER-PROFILE-Ling-chi-Wang-Activist-2861358.php.

  fifty-eight of the fifty-nine charges: “Report on the Government’s Handling of the Investigation.”

  chastised the Justice Department: “Statement by Judge in Los Alamos Case, with Apology for Abuse of Power,” New York Times, September 14, 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/14/us/statement-by-judge-in-los-alamos-case-with-apology-for-abuse-of-power.html.

  “Patient Zero of the unnerving present”: Lowen Liu, “Just the Wrong Amount of American,” Slate, September 11, 2016, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/09/the-case-of-scientist-wen-ho-lee-and-chinese-americans-under-suspicion-for-espionage.html.

  98 percent of its recruitment: IOSS Intelligence Threat Handbook, Interagency OPSEC Support Staff (June 2004), 20–21, https://fas.org/irp/threat/handbook/index.html.

  culling People magazine: Ibid., 22.

  “China has the largest population”: “Espionage with Chinese Characteristics.”

  “rely on ethnic Chinese agents”: Sean Noonan, “Chinese Espionage and French Trade Secrets,” Stratfor, January 20, 2011, https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/chinese-espionage-and-french-trade-secrets.

  a series of articles: See, for example, Peter Mattis, “China’s Amateur Spying Problem,” Diplomat, December 11, 2011, https://thediplomat.com/2011/12/chinas-amateur-spying-problem/; and Peter Mattis, “Beyond Spy vs. Spy: The Analytical Challenge of Understanding Chinese Intelligence Services,” Studies in Intelligence 56, no. 3 (September 2012), https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-56-no.-3/pdfs/Mattis-Understanding%20Chinese%20Intel.pdf.

  national security spying: See, for example, the cases of Kevin Mallory and Glenn Shriver.

  sentenced to four years: “Retired University Professor Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Arms Export Violations Involving Citizen of China,” Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, July 1, 2009, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/retired-university-professor-sentenced-four-years-prison-arms-export-violations-involving.

  guilty of economic espionage: Ed Marcum, “Engineers Convicted in Corporate Spy Case Sentenced to Probation,” Knoxville News Sentinel, August 25, 2011, http://archive.knoxnews.com/business/engineers-convicted-in-corporate-spy-case-sentenced-to-probation-ep-403279137-357585231.html/.

  court in Austria convicted: Erin Ailworth, “Chinese Firm Found Guilty of Stealing Wind Technology from U.S. Supplier,” Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2018, https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-firm-found-guilty-of-stealing-wind-technology-from-u-s-supplier-1516829326.

  “All girls need money”: Ibid.

  a source was shot: Mark Mazzetti et al., “Killing C.I.A. Informants, China Crippled U.S. Spying Operations,” New York Times, May 20, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/world/asia/china-cia-spies-espionage.html.

  penetrated the CIA’s covert: Zach Dorfman and Jenna McLaughlin, “The CIA’s Communications Suffered a Catastrophic Compromise. It Started in Iran,” Yahoo News, January 2, 2018, https://news.yahoo.com/cias-communications-suffered-catastrophic-compromise-started-iran-090018710.html.

  21.5 million Americans: Andy Greenberg, “OPM Now Admits 5.6M Feds’ Fingerprints Were Stolen by Hackers,” Wired, September 23, 2015, https://www.wired.com/2015/09/opm-now-admits-5-6m-feds-fingerprints-stolen-hackers/.

  in some cases fingerprints: Ibid.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  six different ways: This is according to Kevin. Kevin provided his email correspondence with Robert, which confirmed his version of events.

  pink and yellow fiberglass insulation: I visited the outbuildings.

  suggested Pioneer stock: Pioneer Hi-Bred v. Holden Foundation Seeds, 35 F.3d 1226 (8th Cir. 1994). Holden was acquired by Monsanto in 1997.

  $46.7 million in damages: Ibid.

  comply with a court order: Ibid.

  published a smear page: “Statement: Percy Schmeiser,” Monsanto (now Bayer), April 11, 2017, https://monsanto.com/company/media/statements/percy-schmeiser/.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  At around 5:00 P.M.: This account is based on testimony given in court by Angel Lorenzo and Alex Reina. See U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 372 (June 10, 2015). I also visited the area and retraced the route described by the officers.

  twenty-two-year veteran: Ibid.

  everyone went home frustrated: Ibid.

  decided it would do: Ibid. Detective Lorenzo testified that the vehicle was “10 to 15 feet from the crosswalk” when the light changed from yellow to red.

  in the car was Lin Yong: The passengers are identified i
n U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 298 (April 27, 2015). Their ages are drawn from birthdates appearing on FBI WANTED posters; for example, “Lin, Yong,” FBI, https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/counterintelligence/lin-yong.

  Kings Nower had purchased a forty-acre: “Trustee’s Deed,” Will County [Illinois] Recorder, April 11, 2012.

  Yao’s mortgage brokerage: I was not able to reach Yao, but his wife denied that either of them was involved in the conspiracy.

  “Take the money and RUN”: Interview with Bill and Ann Rab.

  check for the entire $600,000: Ibid.

  a forgotten gravel road: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 89 (July 21, 2014).

  use the two farms: Interview with Mark Betten.

  weighed in at 250 pounds: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 57 (July 2, 2014).

  unique four-digit code: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 1 (December 11, 2013).

  logistics company in Hong Kong: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 57.

  replace it with outdated seed: The account that follows is based on an interview with Mark Betten.

  fake company names: Jack Gillum, “FBI Behind Mysterious Surveillance Aircraft over US Cities,” Associated Press, June 2, 2015, https://apnews.com/4b3f220e33b64123a3909c60845da045.

  surveilling Robert and others from the air: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 263–1 (April 9, 2015); interview with Mark Betten.

  cell phone tracking technology: Gillum, “FBI Behind Mysterious Surveillance.”

  circle locations for hours: Peter Aldhouse and Charles Seife, “See Maps Showing Where FBI Planes Are Watching from Above,” BuzzFeed News, April 6, 2016, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/spies-in-the-skies.

  knew he could drop back: Interview with Mark Betten.

  using a secret warrant: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 224–1 (March 13, 2015).

  intercepted a phone conversation: U.S. v. Mo Hailong, Document 559–1 (December 22, 2015). The exchange that follows is drawn from the FBI’s translation of the conversation.

  “map the roads”: The court record gives only the English translation of the conversation.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN