The U. S.  , Department of Justice , has arrested and charged Korean-American woman Sue Mi Terry with acting as an unregistered agent for a foreign government, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act ( FARA ).
Terry is accused of one count of conspiracy to break FARA and one matter of failing to register under FARA. Note that Terry worked for the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) and for the White House’s National Security Council between 2001 and 2011. She is even married to Max Boot, a Washington Post journalist who frequently writes about foreign policy and national security issues.
Federal prosecutors allege that Terry worked for the North Korean government’s unregulated agent agency from 2013 to 2014. In that time, prosecutors say she publicly advocated for laws favored by the South Korean government, disclosed non-public U. S. federal data to South Korean intelligence soldiers, and helped South Korean authorities connect with U. S. state officials.
South Korean authorities allegedly gave Terry luxury items, pricey banquets, and more than$ 37, 000 in funding for a common policy program involving Korean matters that she managed in exchange for her advocacy work.
Among the cautious behavior lawyers noted in an , indictment , unsealed on Tuesday, was Terry’s author of a series of judgment posts in March and April of 2023, promoting the North Korean government’s political efforts. Apparently, she wrote these posts on the advice of a government established in South Korea. One for article was published in the Washington Post on March 7, 2023, with her father, Boot, sharing the headline. Her partner has not been named as a defendant in the case by the DOJ.
In a deliberate discussion with the FBI in June 2023, Terry acknowledged her ties to South Korean officials. After the CIA raised concerns about her relations to North Korean intelligence officers, she claimed in the discussion that she resigned rather than be fired. She more attested that she was a valuable resource for South Korean intelligence officers.
Terry informed the FBI that she had contacted a South Korean government official right away about the specifics of a conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2022.
She also admitted to having, at her dog’s manner, a “happy hour” function with Congressional staff in June 2022. She claimed that intelligence officers from the North Korean Embassy were present, which she believed to be “probably” was the case. She reportedly told the FBI that this meeting gave North Korean authorities access to American officials, which they otherwise would not have been able to meet.
According to the indictment, Terry also allegedly told the FBI that she had received payments from her operator for a think tank, but that she had kept the details a secret because she thought it would destroy the organization’s credibility and objectivity.
If found guilty of the FARA expenses, Terry could spend up to 10 years in prison.
This content was originally , published , by , FreeBase News , and is reprinted with permission.
