January 28, 2020: Arrested on a False-Statement Complaint

DOCUMENTED

Documented: on January 28, 2020, the Department of Justice announced that Dr. Charles Lieber, then Chair of Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, “was arrested this morning and charged by criminal complaint with one count of making a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement.” The release said he would appear that afternoon before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in federal court in Boston.

The same announcement packaged two other, separate China-related cases against two Chinese nationals. Those are different captions. This site does not transfer their charges onto Lieber.

The supporting affidavit is hosted by DOJ. It is probable-cause paper, not a verdict. The later jury verdict is December 21, 2021.

Rich Edson at Fox News, the Daily Caller (February 3, 2020), and National Review wrote the arrest. Those pieces are reporting or commentary.

Sources

DOJ OPA, “Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three Separate China Related Cases,” 2020-01-28 (archives). www.justice.gov (primary)

Criminal complaint / FBI affidavit PDF. www.justice.gov (primary)

Fox News, Rich Edson, “Harvard professor Charles Lieber convicted of hiding ties to China” (later conviction write-through of the case). www.foxnews.com (reporting)

Daily Caller, “Harvard Professor’s Arrest For Lying About China Ties…,” 2020-02-03. dailycaller.com (reporting)

National Review, “Charles Lieber Case: Why American Scientists Take Chinese Money,” 2020-02. www.nationalreview.com (commentary)

Opinion

The following is commentary by this site. It is not a finding of fact and not a legal conclusion.

Compiler take

They cuffed a Harvard chair on a false-statement complaint. Not a spy count. The later jury still had to find the lies. It did.