(WRAL) WASHINGTON — A former State Department employee who held a top-secret clearance pleaded guilty Wednesday to misleading investigators about her contacts with Chinese intelligence agents.
Court documents accuse Candace Marie Claiborne, 63, of knowingly supplying information to Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for "tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and benefits" over a five-year period. According to the Justice Department , she received "Chinese New Year's gifts, international travel and vacations, tuition at a Chinese fashion school, a fully furnished apartment, a monthly stipend and numerous cash payments."
In exchange, Claiborne "provided copies of internal documents from the State Department on topics ranging from U.S. economic strategies to visits by dignitaries between the two countries," the government said.
Advertisement - story continues below
