Kendall Myers
Kendall Myers | |
---|---|
Born | Walter Kendall Myers April 15, 1937 |
Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University (PhD) |
Occupation | former FSI official |
Criminal charges | |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without possibility of parole |
Criminal status | Incarcerated at ADX Florence |
Spouse |
Gwendolyn Myers (m. 1982) |
Espionage activity | |
Country | USA |
Allegiance | Cuba |
Service years | 1977–2009 |
Codename | Agent 202 |
Walter Kendall Myers (born April 15, 1937) He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to life imprisonment by a U.S. federal court in July 2010.
Background
Kendall Myers is the grandson of Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor and great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell.[5] He is also related to William Howard Taft through his father. He was educated at Mercersburg Academy,[6] a private preparatory boarding school in the borough of Mercersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, followed by Brown University in the city of Providence, Rhode Island, from which he graduated, and earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.[5] In 1977 he began working for the U.S. State Department as a Contract Instructor at its Foreign Service Institute,[7] and for 20 years had been a part-time faculty member at Johns Hopkins' Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.[7] From 2000 until his retirement in October 2007, he worked as a European analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). Myers’ State Department service was primarily in domestic positions. Myers’ spouse, Gwendolyn Myers, was never employed by the U.S. Department of State.[4]
US–UK "special relationship" controversy
In November 2006, Myers created controversy by describing the "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom as "one sided" and a "myth".[8][9] He said that he was "ashamed" of the treatment of Prime Minister Tony Blair by US President George W. Bush.
In response, then UK MP Denis MacShane said, "After the Republican defeat in the midterm election, every little rat who feasted during the Bush years is now leaving the ship. I would respect this gentleman, who I have never heard of, if he had had the guts to make any of these points two or five years ago."[9]
The US State Department distanced itself from Myers' comments, stating, "He was speaking as an academic, not as a representative of the State Department."[9]
Espionage charge
On June 4, 2009, Myers was arrested and charged, along with his wife Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, with acting as an illegal agent of the
Alleged motive
It is alleged that the Myers' actions may not have been prompted by greed, but more by ideology.
Plea
The Myerses pleaded guilty on November 20, 2009, at a hearing before Judge
Sentence
On July 16, 2010, Kendall Myers was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.[16] His wife Gwendolyn was sentenced to a total of 81 months in prison.[17] Myers is currently incarcerated at the federal ADX Florence supermax facility in Colorado.
Reaction
United States
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered that a damage assessment be done to investigate the extent of damage done to United States security.[13] In addition, the Secretary directed the department to conduct a comprehensive damage assessment in coordination with the intelligence community in accordance with established damages protocols and regulations.[4]
Cuba
I can't help but admire their disinterested and courageous conduct on behalf of Cuba. Those who in one form or another have helped to protect the Cuban people from the terrorist plans and assassination plots organised by various U.S. administrations have done so at the initiative of their own conscience and are deserving, in my judgment, of all the honours in the world.
— Fidel Castro, days after the Myers couple's arrest [18]
Upon hearing the news of Myers' arrest, Fidel Castro stated that the case read like "an espionage comic strip".[18] The former Cuban dictator declined to say whether the Myers couple really had passed secrets to the Cuban government, but added that they deserved praise if they did.[18]
See also
References
- Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive
- ^ "Couple indicted on charges of spying for Cuba". NBC News. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ Cuban Spies Arrested "Arrest of Walter Kendall Myers". Retrieved 2012-05-17.
- ^ a b c d "Arrest of Walter Kendall Myers". Retrieved 2012-05-17.
- ^ a b Jason Ryan; Theresa Cook; Lisa Chinn (June 5, 2009). "Couple Accused of Spying for Cuba". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ Mary Beth Sheridan and Del Quentin Wilber (June 7, 2009). "D.C. Couple's Disdain for U.S. Policies May Have Led to Alleged Spying for Cuba". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Del Quentin Wilber; Mary Beth Sheridan (June 6, 2009). "State Dept. Retiree Accused of Spying". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ Toby Harnden (June 5, 2009). "Ex-US State official Kendall Myers and wife Gwendolyn charged with spying for Cuba". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c Tom Baldwin; Philip Webster (November 30, 2006). "US State Department official – relationship is one-sided". timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ Myers' indictment
- ^ a b c d e "Ex-State official, wife accused of spying for Cuba". CNN.com. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "D.C. Couple Is Indicted on Charges of Spying for Cuba". washingtonpost.com. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ a b "Retired U.S. State Official, Wife Indicted on Charges of Spying for Cuba". foxnews.com. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
- ^ Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 2012: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. 2011.
- ^ "Former State Department Official and Wife Plead Guilty in 30-Year Espionage Conspiracy". U.S. Department of Justice. 20 November 2009.
- ^ "Former State Department Official Sentenced to Life in Prison for Nearly 30-year Espionage Conspiracy, Wife of Official Sentenced to Nearly Seven Years in Prison for Her Role". U.S. Department of Justice. 16 July 2010.
- ^ Yost, Pete (16 July 2010). "In Cuban spy case, man gets life, wife 5 years". MSNBC. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Alleged Cuban Spies Given Praise From Castro by The Huffington Post, June 8, 2009