US professor Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao wins reversal of conviction in Trump-era China probe
- Tao was among about two dozen academics who were charged as part of the so-called ‘China Initiative’
A US appeals court on Thursday tossed the conviction of a former University of Kansas professor for making a false statement related to work he was doing in China, marking a new setback for the Department of Justice in a Trump administration-era crackdown on Chinese influence within American academia.
The Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote held that prosecutors offered insufficient evidence at trial to support the sole remaining count on which jurors convicted Feng “Franklin” Tao in 2022.
Peter Zeidenberg, Tao’s lawyer, in a statement called the case a misguided prosecution that authorities pursued despite having no evidence that Tao engaged in espionage. He said the case had virtually bankrupted Tao’s family and led to his firing.
“Dr Tao is grateful that this long nightmare is finally over,” Zeidenberg said.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
