A civilian professor at an Air Force college pleaded guilty to failing to disclose information regarding his relationship with a Chinese official, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
Xiaoming Zhang, a naturalized American citizen and associate professor who teaches at the Air War College on Maxwell Air Force Base located in Montgomery, Alabama, admitted to making false and “misleading” statements about his relationship, according to the DOJ’s statement on Monday. Zhang and the Chinese official carried on a relationship between December 2012 and January 2017, meeting six times and exchanging more than three dozen emails.
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As part of Zhang’s position at the college, he held a security clearance that required him to divulge any relationships he may have with foreign government officials or contacts. In an attempt to cover his tracks, Zhang attempted to make false and misleading statements to federal agents regarding his relationship, according to the statement.
In August 2017, when being interviewed by agents from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management regarding his clearance, Zhang denied even knowing the Chinese official in question, according to the statement.
After making further inaccurate statements to federal agents, Zhang eventually came clean in July 2020 regarding the extent of his relationship with the official. He admitted that he had met the official in China on multiple occasions. He also admitted that he had been trying to hide the relationship due to it being “improper,” according to the statement.
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Following his admission, Zhang is set to face a maximum of five years in prison, according to the DOJ’s statement.
