WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Tuesday threw out plea deals for a Maryland couple who tried to sell underwater secrets to a foreign country, saying the prison time for one of the defendants was less than what some drug traffickers are getting. low level
The couple, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, pleaded guilty in February to charges of participating in a conspiracy to sell underwater secrets. Their plot had begun to unravel almost as soon as it was set in motion, when Brazilian intelligence officials turned over to the FBI a letter the pair had written anonymously in 2020, offering sell nuclear secrets. The revelation began a long effort to learn the couple’s identity and recover the secrets they stole.
Mr. Toebbe had accepted a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for 12 years, while Ms. Toebbe agreed to serve three years, which would likely have seen her released in two years.
The judge’s decision forced the Toebbes to withdraw their pleas, and Judge Gina M. Groh of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia set a trial date for January. Attorneys will now have to see if they can reach a new plea deal that Judge Groh can accept or continue with the trial.
In his comments, Judge Groh suggested he would only accept a deal within the sentencing guidelines. This is likely to mean that both Mr and Ms Toebbe will face prison terms of more than 15 years. Such a long sentence could prompt Ms. Toebbe to go to trial to see if a jury would acquit her.
The case captivated many. It combined the spy book craft the couple tried to use, memory cards hidden in peanut butter sandwiches, gum wrappers and Band-Aid boxes, with the stresses of suburban life, like frantic searches for babysitters so they could make a dead drop
Credit…West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility, via Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
But the case also raised questions about why a couple with a comfortable life in a middle-class neighborhood in Annapolis, Maryland, would risk everything to try to sell secrets to a foreign government. In court, a lawyer for Mrs. Toebbe referred to the personal difficulties she had to contend with, without elaborating.
Even as Tuesday’s hearing began, Judge Groh expressed skepticism about the plea deals, suggesting the deal would get Ms. Toebbe out of prison too soon.
Judge Groh said Ms Toebbe’s crime made her “a criminal of the worst kind, which is why the 36 months bothers me”.
“There are lower-level drug dealers who go to prison for more than 36 months,” the judge said.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys argued that the plea deals were fair. In Mrs. Toebbe’s case, she would never be able to work as a teacher and would be separated from her children for a long time.
“She’s going to be somebody who’s going to live the rest of her life with that scarlet letter,” said Barry P. Beck, Ms. Toebbe’s lawyer.
Prosecutors pointed out that Mr. Toebbe, who had been trained in both nuclear propulsion and the handling of classified data, bore most of the responsibility. But they added that he had cooperated with the Navy’s efforts to do a damage assessment and that the information he had passed on was classified only as confidential, not secret or top secret.
“His cooperation after the plea was substantial, very substantial,” said Jarod J. Douglas, an assistant United States attorney. “It was critical to a broader assessment of the defendants’ conduct that we may never have known about. The Navy would never have known what their conduct was and what its scope was without their cooperation.”
But Judge Groh was not convinced. After a break, he read an impact statement presented by Navy Vice Admiral William Houston that described the damage the Toebbes had done to the submarine fleet and national security.
“The nation has spent billions of dollars developing naval nuclear propulsion technology,” Judge Groh said, reading the statement. “Mr. Toebbe’s actions have compromised the integrity of this protected information, thereby undermining the military advantage provided by decades of research and development.”
The information Mr. Toebbe stole from the Navy, the statement said, could give foreign navies an opportunity to close the gap with the United States that would require extraordinary effort and resources to restore.
After the hearing, Edward B. MacMahon, Ms. Toebbe’s lawyer, said the defense would return to work on the case.
“We felt that this request represented a fair resolution of the case and we are disappointed that the judge did not accept it,” said Mr. MacMahon.
Evidence presented earlier in the trial showed that Mr. Toebbe struggled with questions about which country to approach, and Ms. Toebbe had less qualms.
Ms. Toebbe, a high school teacher with a Ph.D. in archaeology, had been deeply critical of President Donald J. Trump and had openly considered leaving the United States, former students said. But Ms. Toebbe’s defense lawyers pointed out that the distaste for Mr. Trump or the state of American politics was nothing unusual.
The US government has never acknowledged which country the pair approached, as it has sought to keep many details, including how Mr Toebbe stole US Navy secrets in Washington, from the court record.
