LOS ANGELES, May 12 (UPI) -- A former FBI agent pleaded guilty in California Wednesday to lying about his affair with a woman who has since been charged with being a Chinese double agent.
The Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's office said James Smith, 60, Westlake Village, faces a maximum of 5 years in prison, however he will not be sentenced until February and has agreed to continue helping his former colleagues determine if his actions caused any harm to national security.
Smith had been a senior counterintelligence officer with the FBI's Los Angeles office when he concealed his 20-year affair with Katrina Leung during a routine security interview in 2000.
Smith and Leung were arrested last year on charges she routinely passed on to Chinese intelligence officials sensitive FBI information she took from Smith.
Leung, a longtime Los Angeles County resident, is awaiting trial on charges involving possession of documents related to national defense.
