(RepublicanReport.org) – National secrets are often enormously valuable and sensitive, and could have massive detrimental effects on the US if they fell into the wrong hands. That’s why the authorities take a dim view of anyone who tries to sell classified information. One married couple was recently caught in the act of trying to sell such secrets to Brazil.
In October 2021, federal agents arrested Jonathan and Diana Toebbe following an undercover sting operation. The pair thought they were offloading sensitive information to a foreign government official, but the individual was actually an undercover FBI agent. More recently, it has emerged that the country the couple thought they were dealing with was Brazil; this piece of information was not public knowledge initially.
SCOOP: Remember the Maryland couple that tried to sell US submarine secrets only to get caught by the FBI? The country had been undisclosed. Until now. It wasn’t a close ally like France. It wasn’t an adversary like Russia. It was Brazil. https://t.co/6T8EsVMpz1
— Julian E. Barnes (@julianbarnes) March 15, 2022
A Brazilian official and other concerned parties have shared some revelations about the case. Jonathan Toebbe reportedly made contact with Brazil to try to sell secret documents he stole from Washington’s US Navy Yard. The Brazilians notified the FBI of what had happened, and agents began holding an encrypted conversation with the Toebbes. The couple sought $100,000 in exchange for the stolen secrets.
According to reports, Jonathan Toebbe decided to approach Brazil with the secrets because the South American nation was wealthy enough to pay up, looking for the type of information he was selling and not hostile to the US like Russia or China.
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