Boston: A Harvard University professor, Charles M Lieber was convicted on December 21, of US charges that he lied about his ties to a China-run recruitment program in a closely-watched case stemming from a crackdown on Chinese influence within US research, causing a stunning downfall for one of the country’s top chemists.
A federal jury in Boston found Charles Lieber, a renowned nanoscientist and the former chairman of Harvard’s chemistry department, guilty of making false statements to authorities, filing false tax returns and failing to report a Chinese bank account. Prosecutors alleged that Lieber, in his quest for a Nobel Prize, in 2011 agreed to become a “strategic scientist” at Wuhan University of Technology in China and through it participated in a Chinese recruitment drive called the Thousand Talents Program. They say China uses that program to recruit foreign researchers to share their knowledge with the country. Participation is not a crime, but prosecutors contend Lieber, 62, lied to authorities inquiring about his involvement.
Defense lawyer Marc Mukasey had countered that prosecutors had “mangled” evidence, lacked key documents to support their claims and relied too heavily on a “confused” FBI interview with the scientist after his arrest. Lieber, who is battling cancer, sat emotionless as the verdict was announced following nearly three hours of jury deliberations and a six-day trial.
“We respect the verdict and will keep up the fight,” Mukasey said.
Lieber was charged in January 2020 as part of the US Department of Justice’s “China Initiative,” which was launched during former President Donald Trump’s administration to counter suspected Chinese economic espionage and research theft. Critics contend the initiative harms academic research, racially profiles Chinese researchers and terrorized some scientists. A Tennessee professor was acquitted by a judge this year following a mistrial, and prosecutors dropped charges against six other researchers.
Lieber’s research group at Harvard had received over $15 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, which requires disclosing foreign financial conflicts of interests. The jury found that Lieber had lied about his affiliation with the Wuhan University of Technology in China and a contract he had with a Chinese talent recruitment plan to attract high-level scientists to the country.
During an interview with FBI agents following his arrest, Lieber said he was “younger and stupid” when he linked up with the Wuhan university and believed his collaboration would help boost his recognition.
