Does this have anything to do with stuff like COVID?:
Harvard professor Charles M. Lieber was found guilty of lying to government authorities about his ties to China in federal court on Tuesday, concluding a stunning downfall for one of the country’s top chemists.
A federal jury found Lieber guilty on all six felony charges, including two counts of making false statements and four related tax offenses. Federal prosecutors said Lieber, 62, chased money and Nobel hopes past the limits of the law by concealing his ties to China’s Thousand Talents Program in misleading statements to investigators and falsely-reported tax returns.
Jurors deliberated for just shy of three hours before coming to a verdict Tuesday evening. Lieber showed little reaction as the decision was read in court.
Lieber’s conviction marks a high-profile victory for the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, which some critics have accused of targeting individuals of Chinese descent and straying from its original goals. The closely-watched Lieber case was brought as part of a crackdown on academic espionage at American universities.
Isabella B. Cho, Brandon L. Kingdollar, and Mayesha R. Soshi,, “Harvard Professor Charles Lieber Found Guilty of Lying About China Ties” at Harvard Crimson (December 22, 2021)
I doubt there’s a crackdown. China has been sending thousands of spies to universities and corporations and military research facilities since the ’80s, with active encouragement from government and univ admins.
The lying charge is usually a cover for a different failure or sin. Often FBI will charge someone with lying after he refused to be recruited as an informant, or disobeyed orders and played a double game.
When the whole organization is bought out and compromised, there will be no justice.
No. He was arrested in January 2020, so his actions and the decision to investigate him predate covid.