The Judge Was In Los Angeles? It Figures

Today's news reports that a Federal judge dismissed all charges against Chinese-American Katrina Leung. Ms. Leung, some might remember, was "accused of using an affair with an FBI agent to gain unauthorized access to classified documents." (I suppose that this is "spying" or "espionage" if done for a foreign country...but it isn't mentioned who she was supposedly trying to get the information for).

The judge charged prosecutorial misconduct, indicating that the government had purposely made sure that Ms. Leung would not have access to her former lover for information regarding her case.

Is it just me or is this one of those "huh?" moments? Isn't this exactly what the government is supposed to do in a case like this? To keep the accused spy away from the person she is accused of luring into an affair for the purpose of stealing U.S. Government secrets from? Why would she need to have any contact with this man (whose name is James J. Smith, by the way)? Isn't that what her lawyers are for?

Should Aldrich Ames have been permitted to consult with the Soviet Ambassador prior to his trial? Should Jonathan Pollard have had the chance to discuss his case with Israel's Mossad?

So Ms. Katrina Leung goes free. Is she guilty or innocent of spying? Now, it appears, we'll never know.