Tag Archives: under-the-obama

Spy for Russia, get caught, and get paid $2000 a month for life. Some would say that this is not justice served in the face of laughing in the face of National Security. In a rapidly arranged spy swap, the U.S. government agreed Thursday to send Russia 10 agents who had burrowed into American society — two of them in Seattle — and in return won the release of four jailed Russians accused of passing information to the West. The 10 agents, who pleaded guilty Thursday to acting as unregistered foreign agents, were deported hours later. They had endured only a few days in jail since their arrests in the United States last month. In previous cases, spies spent years behind bars before being exchanged. U.S. officials said there was no point in holding the Russian agents, since authorities had monitored their activities for years and had unraveled their network. Obama administration officials said they had been eager to win the release of the four Russians, some of whom had spent long stretches in prison and were in poor health. The deal was expected to remove an irritant from the U.S.-Russian relationship, which has improved markedly under the Obama administration. But one senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that “vestiges of an old Russia” were evident in the case. “Frankly, that's why we were as aggressive in rolling up this operation as we were,” the official said. Peruvian-born Vicky Pelaez, the only non-Russian among the agents, began crying after she saw a loved one among the onlookers. Anna Chapman, the Russian diplomat's daughter whose photos have become an Internet sensation, played with her red hair. Most of the others were stony-faced. Pelaez's attorney, John Rodriguez, said a private plane had been expected to take the 10 to Russia. He said his client had been given only 24 hours to say yes or no to the “all or nothing” deal for deportation. He said in court that the Russian government had promised Pelaez $2,000 a month for life, housing and documents to allow her children to visit Russia and have all their expenses paid. She decided to go home to her native Peru instead. Peru's foreign minister, Jose Antonio Garcia, said Pelaez had committed no crime in her homeland and would be “received like any other Peruvian citizen.” http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gl2yhEUbdg8/Sm-clhCBaWI/AAAAAAAAGlo/SWO2V_FeOkY/s400/d… added by: jubal