American Notes ESPIONAGE

The judgment was swift. After nearly four hours of deliberation, an eight-man military jury found Marine Sergeant Clayton Lonetree guilty on 13 counts of espionage and related charges. Lonetree, 25, who was accused of disclosing to the Soviets the identities of U.S. intelligence agents while serving as a guard at the U.S. embassies in Moscow and Vienna, now faces possible life imprisonment. His attorneys said they would appeal the conviction.

The defense insisted throughout the month-long trial that Lonetree had provided nothing of value to the Soviets, and disputed the validity of the two sworn confessions he had given investigators last December. Defense Lawyer William Kunstler argued that the Marine guard was guilty of nothing more than falling in love with a Soviet translator at the embassy. Lonetree, said Kunstler, had given the KGB useless documents in a fumbled attempt to be a free-lance double agent. Retorted Prosecuting Attorney Major David Beck: "To become a double agent, you must first become a spy."

Lonetree's conviction was the first in the shrinking Marine spy scandal; despite earlier claims, the military never produced evidence that Lonetree or other Marine guards allowed KGB agents inside the Moscow embassy. The Navy had earlier dropped similar accusations of espionage against Lonetree's fellow guard, Corporal Arnold Bracy. Two other Marines await courts-martial on lesser charges.