American Notes ESPIONAGE

The Marine spy scandal has largely fizzled away in spasms of dropped charges and repudiated testimony. But last week the Marines began the court martial of Sergeant Clayton Lonetree for espionage and disclosure to the Soviets of the identities of U.S. agents, while he served as a guard at the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Though Lonetree could be sentenced to life in prison, his actual crime, says Defense Attorney William Kunstler, was merely to have fallen in love with Violetta Seina, a Soviet translator at the embassy.

As the trial began, the White House received a classified study by a team headed by ex-Defense Secretary Melvin Laird. The study blamed U.S. personnel for a "deterioration of security practices" at the Moscow embassy. Among its recommendations: once Marine guards have served in Moscow, they should be transferred out of the security force to prevent KGB infiltration.