{"id":2477950,"date":"2025-08-23T14:05:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T18:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-sailor-convicted-of-selling-military-secrets-to-china\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T14:06:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T18:06:00","slug":"u-s-navy-sailor-convicted-of-selling-military-secrets-to-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-sailor-convicted-of-selling-military-secrets-to-china\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Navy Sailor Convicted of Selling Military Secrets to China"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fu-s-navy-sailor-convicted-of-selling-military-secrets-to-china%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2477950&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A U.S. Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei (also known as Patrick Wei), has been convicted by a federal jury for espionage and export violations after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-grave-betrayal-u-s-intelligence-officer-accused-of-selling-military-secrets-to-china\/\" title=\"\u2018A Grave Betrayal\u2019: U.S. Intelligence Officer Accused Of Selling ... To ...\">selling military secrets<\/a> to China.Wei, 25, was found guilty of six out of seven charges, including espionage and conspiracy to commit espionage, which <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >carry potential life sentences<\/a> and substantial fines. He joined the Navy in 2021 and was stationed on the USS Essex. Begining in 2022, a Chinese intelligence officer, disguised as a naval enthusiast on social media, elicited sensitive information from Wei about the Essex and other naval assets at naval Base San Diego. Wei sent photographs, videos, technical manuals, and movement details of U.S. Navy ships in exchange for $12,000. Even though Wei acknowledged the espionage activity, his defence claimed he did not intend to harm the United States, believing the recipient&#8217;s affiliation was unclear. Wei was arrested in August 2023 and faces sentencing in December 2025. U.S. officials condemned his actions as a severe betrayal that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/terror-suspects-caught-crossing-mexico-border\/\" title=\"Terror Suspects Caught Crossing Mexico Border\">endangered national security<\/a> and the safety of fellow service members.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A federal jury convicted a U.S. Navy sailor of espionage and export violations on Wednesday due to his sale of military secrets to China.<\/p>\n<p>Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, was convicted of six of the seven crimes he stood trial for, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2025\/08\/21\/u-s-navy-sailor-faces-life-in-prison-for-selling-secrets-to-china\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Naval Institute<\/a>. Those crimes included espionage and conspiracy to commit espionage &mdash; both punishable by life in prison and a $250,000 fine.<\/p>\n<p>The court also convicted Wei, 25, of conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act and three counts of violating the law. He was acquitted of naturalization <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/deep-dive-multiple-leaders-michigan-muslim-community-caught-ballot-stuffing-residency-fraud-forgery-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The defendant, who took an oath to protect our Nation and was entrusted with a security clearance as a petty officer in the United States Navy, sold out his country for $12,000,&rdquo; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/us-navy-sailor-convicted-spying-china\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He violated his oath, betrayed his uniform and fellow sailors, and turned his back on his adopted nation for money,&rdquo; Eisenberg said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">US Navy sailor Jinchao &ldquo;Patrick&rdquo; Wei has been convicted of espionage for selling classified ship secrets to a Chinese agent. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XEiwzBpek8\">https:\/\/t.co\/XEiwzBpek8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ARISEtv\/status\/1958463931963298029?\">August 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>After joining the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/joe-rogan-admits-make-sense-navy-seal-vet-tells-truth-scripture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Navy<\/a> in 2021, Wei was stationed on the USS Essex, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-decommissions-uss-bonhomme-richard-ship-to-be-dismantled-after-massive-fire\/\" title=\"U.S. ... decommissions USS Bonhomme Richard, ship to be dismantled after massive fire\">amphibious assault ship<\/a> on which he worked as a machinist&rsquo;s mate 3rd class.<\/p>\n<p>In February 2022, a Chinese intelligence officer posing as a naval enthusiast approached Wei on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next 18 months, the officer wanted details about the Essex and information about other ships at Naval Base San Diego, where Wei was stationed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He then committed espionage by sending photographs and videos of U.S. Navy vessels, ship movement information, technical manuals, and weapons capabilities to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-eric-swalwell-gets-roasted-calling-chinese-agent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chinese intelligence officer<\/a>,&rdquo; Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI&rsquo;s Counterintelligence Division remarked.<\/p>\n<p>The intelligence officer ultimately paid Wei a total of $12,000 for the information he sent.<\/p>\n<p>Wei recognized early on that the &ldquo;naval enthusiast&rdquo; wasn&rsquo;t who he pretended to be.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Wei told his friend that he is &lsquo;no idiot&rsquo; and that &lsquo;this is quite obviously f***ing espionage,&rsquo;&rdquo; USNI reported.<\/p>\n<p>He was arrested in August 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Wei knew what he did was wrong, but &ldquo;never intended to harm the United States,&rdquo; his defense attorney said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/us-navy-sailor-convicted-espionage-selling-secrets-chinese-intelligenc-rcna226262\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I do not believe that Jinchao truly believed his actions were benefiting the People&rsquo;s Republic of China, but rather were for the apparent personal or professional benefit of the recipient whose affiliation with the Chinese government remained unclear, despite an extremely thorough and lengthy investigation by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-scott-jennings-uses-john-boltons-words-wake-fbi-raid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FBI<\/a> and NCIS,&rdquo; attorney Sean Jones said in a Thursday statement.<\/p>\n<p>Wei will reportedly face sentencing on Dec. 1.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, each count of violating the Arms Export Control Act is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, according to USNI.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The defendant&rsquo;s actions represent an egregious betrayal of the trust placed in him as a member of the U.S. military,&rdquo; U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By trading military secrets to the People&rsquo;s Republic of China for cash, he jeopardized not only the lives of his fellow sailors but also the security of the entire nation and our allies,&rdquo; Gordon added.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ]; 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( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal jury found a U.S. Navy sailor guilty on Wednesday of espionage and export law violations for selling military secrets to China. Jinchao Wei, also called Patrick Wei, was convicted on six out of seven charges he faced, as reported by the U.S. Naval Institute. These charges included espionage and conspiracy to commit espionage-both carrying potential life sentences and fines up to $250,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2477951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-59.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[12646,61846,51976],"class_list":["post-2477950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-espionage","tag-military-secrets","tag-u-s-navy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-59.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2477950"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2477954,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477950\/revisions\/2477954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2477951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2477950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2477950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2477950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}