Larry Downing/Reuters
Federal officials in 2013 reportedly allowed a suspected CIA mole to return to China without asking him whether he was a spy for the Chinese government. According to The New York Times, they also did not ask the ex-CIA officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, about the classified information that he allegedly stole. The Times revealed an internal debate among federal investigators over whether to arrest Lee and risk “[tipping] off the Chinese and [allowing] them to cover their tracks.” They also reportedly took into consideration China’s efforts to dismantle the American spy network there, and whether arresting Lee would complicate the U.S.’s efforts to learn more about it. Lee was arrested Monday when he arrived unexpectedly at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was charged with stealing classified information.