Two Suspects Plead Not Guilty in Navy Espionage Case : Never Intentionally Hurt U.S., Arthur Walker Claims; Whitworth to Fight Charges

Spy suspect Arthur J. Walker pleaded not guilty to espionage charges Tuesday as his attorneys attempted to draw a distinction between his case and that of his brother, John A. Walker Jr., reputed head of a spy ring that delivered classified Navy information to the Soviet Union.

“Arthur Walker’s position is that he has never done anything to intentionally injure the United States and aid a foreign country,” attorney Samuel W. Meekins Jr. said after Walker was arraigned on a seven-count espionage indictment that accused him of supplying classified information to his brother for delivery to the Soviets.

Big Payments Alleged

Former Navy radioman Jerry A. Whitworth, also suspected of being a member of the ring, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in San Francisco to a charge of conspiracy to pass defense secrets to his friend John Walker. Whitworth allegedly received $328,000 from Walker between 1975 and 1982 for this information.

Whitworth’s lawyer, James Larson, said that his client will fight the case through trial and “will make them prove it.”

Meanwhile, Meekins contended that the documents that Arthur Walker, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, allegedly gave to John Walker “involved only confidential” information--not secret or top-secret data--and that “no one has linked one piece of that information to the Russians.”

“It is time we start separating in everyone’s mind Arthur Walker from John Walker,” Meekins said.

Others Indicted

The federal government has accused John Walker, a 47-year-old retired Navy communications specialist, of marketing Navy secrets for 20 years. Also indicted in the case is John Walker’s son, Michael Lance Walker, a 22-year-old seaman on the aircraft carrier Nimitz.

Meekins and other attorneys representing Arthur Walker, 50, indicated that they would attempt to suppress statements he made to the FBI after his arrest last month in which he allegedly admitted his role in the spy ring.

The FBI has said in affidavits that the Virginia Beach, Va., resident took a job with a defense contractor in 1980 to obtain classified information for John Walker, knowing that it would be delivered to the Soviets. If the prosecution seeks to rely on those statements, Meekins said, “we will be making a motion to suppress.”

Walker responded, “Not guilty, your honor,” after U.S. District Judge J. Calvitt Clarke requested a plea at his brief arraignment Tuesday. Later, he was returned to the Virginia Beach jail where he is being held without bond.

Judge Won’t Set Bail

In San Francisco, U.S. Magistrate Frederick Woelflen refused to set bail for Whitworth, who had top-secret security clearance during his tenure in the Navy, saying that letters from two relatives attesting to his character were “not sufficient.” Whitworth, 45, quit the Navy in 1983 and was living in Davis, Calif., at the time of his arrest.

Whitworth said nothing in court except to tell Woelflen that he understood the charge against him.

Gaylord Shaw reported from Norfolk, Va., and Dan Morain reported from San Francisco.