US Navy Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, Convicted of Spying for China, Receives Slap on Wrist

On Monday, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, who was convicted of accepting bribery payments from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for classified military information, learned his sentence -- and it wasn't much.

“Mr. Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the U.S. military,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today, he is being held to account for those crimes. The Justice Department is committed to combatting the Chinese government’s efforts to undermine our nation’s security and holding accountable those who violate our laws as part of those efforts.”
But critics took issue with his sentence - just 27 months in prison and a fine of $5,500 - what they say is a slap on the wrist. Others compared it to how Jan. 6 defendants have been treated.
Jacob Chansley, the "QAnon Shaman," for example, was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding and received a 41-month prison sentence, though he was released early. And plenty of other J6 defendants received excessive sentences for their involvement in the events on Jan. 6.

The message from the Justice Department here seems to be clear; engage in hooliganism in the Capitol and have your career and life ruined. Sell classified military intelligence to the Chinese and get a slap on the wrist -- including a fine that is less than half of the payout actually received for this treacherous act.

FLASHBACK: 2 US Navy Sailors Arrested for Selling Intel to China

By comparison, here are some of the sentences dished out for acts of hooliganism on January 6th, 2021:

Enrique Tarrio: 22 years in prison. Mr. Tarrio was not in Washington, D.C., at the time of the events.
Stewart Rhodes: 18 years in prison.
Joe Biggs: 17 years in prison.
Zach Rehl: 15 years in prison.

There are, of course, many more where those came from.

Petty Officer Zhao, one should note, was not tried by court-martial, as it seems he should have been, but rather in a civilian court. The reasons for this are unclear, except that in the case of a court-martial, Zhao may well have been given a new, multi-decade career at some federal prison making big rocks into little rocks, or some other such suitable punishment. Instead, he receives a light sentence, and now there is little deterrent for the next disaffected service member to cash in by selling information to a Chinese -- or Russian, North Korean, or Iranian -- agent.

Then again, it's not just military people who are getting a pass on dealing with Chinese agents.

There's a lot about this case that doesn't make a lot of sense - unless (and let's say this quietly) the current administration desires to keep China happy.

For a proper punishment for treachery of this sort, one need look no further than the Navy cryptologist John Anthony Walker, a US Navy Chief Warrant Officer convicted in 1985 of spying for the Soviet Union. From 1967 to 1985, Walker had been receiving cash from the Soviets in return for handing over classified communications technology and data. Walker was arrested on the USS Nimitz after investigators found his footlocker full of classified materials. After a plea bargain, Walker was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2014.

That's a more appropriate price to pay for selling classified information to an unfriendly nation. The sentence meted out to Zhao is not.