Another hearing for alleged Chinese double agent

(9 Jul 2003) SHOTLIST 1. Wide shot of US federal building. 2. Close shot of building sign. 3. Mid shot walkout of Katrina Leung (centre) and lawyers. 4. Mid shot of photographers 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Katrina Leung. "I'm so very happy to be home with my husband and our son. I'm thankful and grateful for their love and support and of course the love and support of our families and our friends. It is now the time for me to put my efforts to working with my lawyers to fight the charges against me. I love America. I have been and I am a very proud and loyal American. America is my home and I cherish it. I know we will answer the charges and that my name will be cleared. Thank you." 6. Mid shot of Leung walking to car. 7. Mid shot of car departing. 8. Mid shot of FBI agent James Smith walking away from building. 9. Close shot of Smith walking. STORYLINE A US federal judge has suggested she will drop three of five charges against a woman accused of taking classified documents from an FBI agent who was her handler while she was allegedly working as a double agent for China. Los Angeles District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper on Tuesday said her reading of the law indicated that three of the charges against Katrina Leung, 49, should have specified whether she had the intent to harm the United States and benefit a foreign government. "A statute which does not have the requirement of intent does not pass constitutional muster," said the judge. The three counts at issue allege that she unlawfully retained three documents relating to national defence. The judge said her clerks searched every applicable case and could not find any in which such a charge was made and did not involve intent. Assistant US Attorney Michael Emmick argued that the requirement was met because the charge stated that she took the material "willfully". But the judge disagreed and said she would review all cases again and issue a ruling. If the three counts are dismissed, Leung would only face two counts of illegal copying of documents. Despite describing her as a double agent, the US attorney's office has not charged her with espionage. Emmick said that if the charges were dismissed he would seek a new grand jury indictment reinstating the counts and adding the necessary language regarding intent. Leung, a naturalised citizen who was born in China, made her first public comment on the case outside court. She had been in custody since April until her release last week on US two (M) million dollars bail. Flanked by her attorneys and holding hands with her husband, Kam, she said she was grateful to be back at home with her family. The government has alleged that Leung carried on a sexual relationship with now-retired FBI agent James J. Smith, 59, who is charged with fraud for filing false reports about Leung's reliability and with gross negligence for allowing her access to classified material. He is free on 250-thousand US dollars bail and attended Tuesday's hearing. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...