Free Republic

Jonathan and Diana Toebbe pleaded guilty for a second time on Tuesday to federal charges that they tried to sell secrets about U.S. submarine nuclear propulsion systems to a foreign country. The couple originally pleaded guilty in February but a judge threw out the plea agreements last month after deciding the sentences called for were too low. At the time of his plea, Toebbe conceded he sent a package to a foreign government, listing a return address in Pittsburgh that contained a sample of restricted data and instructions for establishing relationship to buy additional restricted data. Toebbe said he began...

The Navy submarine engineer and his leftist wife who were both charged with spying on the U.S. for an unidentified foreign government were ordered held without bail during a court appearance Tuesday. Jonathan Toebbe, 42, and his wife, Diana, 45, wore jail-issued orange jumpsuits and were handcuffed as they stood before a judge in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The couple was scheduled for a detention hearing on Friday at 11am and a preliminary examination into their case was set for October 20, at 1pm. The Toebbes, who were given a court-appointed counsel after the hearing, could face either life in prison...