FBI Code Expert Testifies in Regan Espionage Case

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Prosecutors finished their espionage case against Brian Patrick Regan with an FBI code expert explaining how the retired Air Force master sergeant allegedly concealed letters to Iraq and Libya.

The defense then began making its arguments, hearing an expert testify that satellite pictures of Iraq, Libya and China could be bought from private companies.

Regan, 40, of Bowie, Md., is accused of offering to sell confidential documents, including satellite photos, to Iraq, Libya and China for $13 million. If convicted, he could face the death. penalty.

The last government witness, Daniel Olson, an FBI specialist in decoding secret messages, said Regan used a sophisticated code in letters to Iraq and Libya found on his computer.

Olson read excerpts from a letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein: “If I am never caught, the U.S. will never know what information was compromised.”

The first defense witness, Ray Williamson, a research professor at George Washington University’s space policy institute, said private companies would take satellite pictures of any site for a fee. One could order pictures over the Internet, he said.