Legal Commentary

I have a profound sense of ambivalence regarding the ten Russian spies whose prosecutions effectively ended this week when they pled guilty in accordance with a US/Russian agreement, received sentences of "time served", and were deported to Russia in exchange for the release of four prisoners there.

Since none of us are privy to the actual value of their spies or our spies, we really have no way of evaluating the US' deal.  What we can say, however, is that it seems to do nothing in terms of deterrence.  True, Anna Chapman's spying days are done (at this rate, she's more likely to become a talk show host or go on some Russian reality show), but I can't imagine anyone who watched this scenario unfold decided that spying was a bad idea.  What we might have taught people is that it's probably a better idea to be a citizen of another country if you spy on the US, rather than be an American citizen spying on the US.  Had any of these spies been American citizens, do we doubt that they would be facing massive terms of imprisonment?

Nor does this do anything in terms of transparency or accountability.  Call it a fantasy, but part of me was looking forward to a trial of one of these cases.  We might have learned something about sleeper cells in the United States - how they have come about, etc.  Now, with the spies on their way, I assume much of this will revert to covert operations and secret investigations.  Maybe that's all the best for counterterrorism, but I would have appreciated the opportunity to learn something here.