Trial begins for ex-CIA man accused of spying for China

A former CIA officer betrayed the U.S. by giving a Chinese spy information about human assets and other top-secret information in exchange for $25,000, prosecutors say.

A jury heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of Kevin Mallory, 60, of Leesburg, Va.

Mallory, a former self-employed consultant, had grown suspicious about a Chinese think tank’s job offer, defense attorney Geremy Kamens said. Mallory had reportedly told CIA about the job offer, but prosecutors viewed that as an attempt to cover his tracks.

Defense lawyers countered that their client is a loyal American who was merely stringing the Chinese along to try to get them to expose details of their own intelligence operation.