US moves to drop spy charges against Temple professor

PHILADELPHIA Federal prosecutors are seeking to dismiss their case against a Temple University professor accused of selling sensitive U.S. defense technology to entities in China.

Xiaoxing Xi has remained a faculty member at the university but stepped down as chairman of the school’s physics department since being charged in May with four counts of wire fraud.

In a motion to dismiss, filed late Friday, prosecutors said that since they filed the charges, “additional information came to the attention of the government” that warranted the case being dropped.

The document did not elaborate other than to say it was being dismissed without prejudice.

A spokeswoman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

Xi’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, said the government decided to drop its case after a meeting last month in which he argued that the emails the case hinged on were “just routine academic collaborations” between Xi and Chinese contacts.

He said Xi is not cooperating with prosecutors on any other investigations as a condition of the case’s being dismissed.

“It was our contention all along that these emails were innocent and did not reflect the transfer of any restricted information or information that was covered by a nondisclosure agreement,” Zeidenberg said. “I think the government simply misunderstood what was being discussed in these communications.”

Xi’s daughter, Joyce, when reached at the family’s Penn Valley home, said her father was not available.

“We’re relieved that the indictment again my father has been dismissed,” she said.

A judge has yet to rule on the motion.

Xi, regarded as a leader in superconductor research, had pleaded not guilty and posted $100,000 bail after his May arrest. In their indictment, prosecutors accused him of plotting to exploit technology he purchased from a U.S. company for the benefit of Chinese entities, including its government.

Prosecutors said that in 2002, Xi worked at a U.S. company that invented a device that revolutionized his field. A year later, he purchased the device for one year to continue his testing. But prosecutors said he violated the agreement to not reproduce, sell, transfer, or attempt to reverse-engineer it.

They cited several emails Xi sent in 2010 to Chinese contacts. Xi, authorities said, offered to build a world-class thin-film laboratory in China.

Thin-film research allows engineers to eliminate resistance in the conduction of electricity and has applications ranging from building smaller circuits for smartphones to improving speed in computers. The research also has military applications.

Temple spokesman Ray Betzner said it was “too soon to say” whether Xi would be reinstated as chairman.

“We’re very pleased that with this matter behind him, Professor Xi can once again turn his full attention to conducting his research,” Betzner said.

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