19 Oct 2021 Left-Wing Ties of Domestic Spies

Big-budget movies such as “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and “True Lies” have pushed storylines of the shock of someone discovering their spouse or significant other is involved in espionage. But the reality appears to be more like the overlooked “Arlington Road,” in which a couple is all-in together in their clandestine work.

The recent arrest of a Maryland couple for attempting to sell American nuclear secrets also adds to the trend of these destructive duos having clear left-wing political agendas. Not that this gets a lot – or any – press coverage.

“[S]trangely enough,” writes Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, “husband and wife traitor teams are often linked to left-wing politics. Why hasn’t the establishment media focused on this tie?”

As Horace explains in a commentary published by American Greatness, “very little media coverage has focused on their progressive political background – the most likely key to their misdeeds.”

In the recent case of Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, the couple sought to sell submarine nuclear reactor information to an still-unnamed foreign government when they were caught by an FBI sting operation. Diana acted as a lookout as Jonathan left a computer memory card hidden in a peanut butter sandwich at a “dead drop” in West Virginia.

The Toebbes were high-profile in their politics. They flew a Black Lives Matter flag in their yard. Diana, whose social media echoed this radicalism, once posted: “America is temporarily out of order. We hope to restore service as quickly as possible.”

Horace notes that the media’s apparent lack of interest in their politics is part of a trend:

Unfortunately, little to no attention is given to their “woke” motivations.

But this isn’t surprising. In fact, a look at four earlier major treason cases reveals a similar trend: husbands and wives sell out their country and the media reports either that there is no motive for their treachery or they attribute their bad acts to mere greed.

Horace asks: “Is it possible that the hatred for country that undergirds so much of progressivism is the catalyst for this profound level of perfidy?” Consider how so many modern spy stories had love connections working against the interests of the United States:

• Robert Hanssen willingly helped the Soviet Union obtain information on American intelligence assets while his wife – who had known what he was doing – did nothing to stop him.
• Aldrich Ames revealed the identities of undercover agents later jailed and executed by the Soviets, believing that socialism would bring about “economic and social justice” – and his wife aided and abetted him after she discovered his deadly secret.
• Edward Lee Howard defected to the Soviet Union after selling American secrets, and his wife was a key element in his escape from the United States.
• Julius Rosenberg and his wife, Ethel, were executed in 1953 for passing along military secrets to the Soviets – and their veracity was later confirmed after the fall of the Soviet Union despite leftists’ decades-long defense of them.

“How many cases involving couples motivated by left-wing ideas must we see before the media starts asking if there is any correlation to treasonous behavior against America and left-wing ideology?” Horace asks.

To read all of Horace’s commentary – “Left-Wing Ties of Spy Couple Follow in the Grand Tradition of Treasonous Leftist Couples” – at American Greatness, click here. It is also available at the Tennessee Star.