- Hu’s case is part of the Department of Justice’s controversial China Initiative which started during the Trump administration in 2018.
- The initiative aimed to prevent the transfer of trade secrets and classified information to China by rooting out suspected Chinese spies working at American universities.
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- Prosecutors cited evidence that included correspondence between the professor and University of Tennessee officials.
- However, Tennessee District Judge Thomas Varlan said some cited evidence suggested Hu did not attempt to hide his work in Beijing.
- A federal agent also admitted to using false information to pressure Hu to become a spy for the U.S. and to put him on a no-fly list, NextShark previously reported.
- Hu’s case ended in a mistrial in June after a jury was deadlocked.
- In his 52-page ruling, Varlan noted that the research awards’ governing rules were confusing, stating that prosecutors provided no evidence to prove their case.
- The judge wrote: “NASA bargained for research on a particular scientific topic in exchange for providing funding to the research project. And there is no evidence that NASA did not receive exactly the type of research that it bargained for. The government attempts to redefine the bargain in this case.”