x.com/ChrisRMcGuire/status/2110148532762001674
1 correction found
If this were being treated as commercial espionage, it would be supported by DOJ's Criminal Division.
That’s not how DOJ assigns economic-espionage cases. DOJ’s own manual says foreign-benefit economic-espionage charges under 18 U.S.C. §1831 require approval from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Full reasoning
DOJ’s public release in this case says it is being prosecuted with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES). That is not inconsistent with an economic-espionage theory.
DOJ’s Justice Manual states that a charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1831 (the Economic Espionage Act provision for trade-secret theft intended to benefit a foreign government, instrumentality, or agent) may not be filed without approval of the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, and that responsibility for reviewing those charges rests with CES. In other words, DOJ’s own rules place foreign-benefit economic-espionage matters in the National Security Division/CES—not exclusively in the Criminal Division.
The same manual separately says prosecutors are strongly urged to consult the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) before bringing 18 U.S.C. § 1832 trade-secret-theft charges. So Criminal Division involvement can occur in some trade-secret cases, but it is incorrect to say that a case treated as “commercial espionage” would be supported by Criminal Division rather than CES.
So the post overstates what CES involvement means and misstates DOJ’s own allocation of responsibility for economic-espionage cases.
2 sources
- Justice Manual | 9-59.000 - Economic Espionage | United States Department of Justice
The United States may not file a charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1831 ... without the approval of the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division ... Responsibility for reviewing requests for approval of charges to be brought under § 1831 rests with the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division ... Prosecutors are strongly urged to consult with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section before initiating prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 1832.
- Office of Public Affairs | Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at OpenAI | United States Department of Justice
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Parker for the Northern District of California is prosecuting the case with valuable assistance from Trial Attorney Kate Tagert of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.