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A security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, “has been arrested on suspicion of espionage.” There’s been an awful lot of that going on during the Biden administration. This spy was working for Russia and Iran, “a Norwegian security police official” reported on Thursday.
Not a good guard
One security guard wasn’t good for guarding our national security at all. Apparently, he preferred to sell our secrets to the enemy. Everyone has their price, they say.
The suspect hasn’t been named but is variously described as a “student” and “a Norwegian citizen in his 20s.”
According to police, the alleged spy was “arrested at his home on Wednesday.” The following day, a Norwegian court “ruled he could be detained for an initial four weeks, with the first week in isolation, while police investigate.”
The lowly guard was apparently sitting on a treasure trove of valuable information.
As related by Thomas Blom, who’s a lawyer for the security police service PST, “The accused man was an employee, a security guard, at the U.S. embassy in Oslo.” He seems to realize that he’s in a whole lot of trouble.
“The man was cooperating and talking to officers.” That’s a good thing.
Digital material confiscated
It’s amazing how much classified information will fit on an ordinary flash drive. As a security guard, he likely had all the time in the world to access computers in the Embassy.
As related by Blom, a “large” amount of “digital material” had been confiscated. “We have just scraped the top and we are working our way through it,” he adds.
The suspected spy already has an attorney, John Christian Elden. He has an explanation for why the guard had the data in his possession, though it’s a lame one.
Rather than taking the tricky part head-on, he decided to jump on top of the raging charges and grab them by the horns. Of course “his client had been in contact with Russian and Iranian intelligence officers.” So what?
“He has explained himself about his contact with intelligence agents from Russia and Iran.” Maybe the guard did make a few bucks off them but he was actually doing Uncle Sam a favor.
The whole core of the matter, his lawyer insists, is what sort of information he was actually selling. If it wasn’t actually “secret” information, it means that “anti-espionage laws” can’t be used. “Further investigation” will show whether the spying security guard “is guilty of a crime or not.” Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.
