Donald Trump

Alleged Spy Wanted to Flee U.S. Because She Hated Donald Trump, Not to Duck Arrest, Say Her Lawyers

Former Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana are charged with trying to sell U.S. secrets to an unnamed foreign country

The residence of Jonathan and Diana Toebbe
AP Photo/Brian Witte

Lawyers for a Maryland woman who has been jailed along with her husband on espionage-related charges have made a new request for bail, arguing her plans to flee the country stemmed from her disgust with Donald Trump — not because she feared arrest.

In court papers filed Wednesday, lawyers for Diana Toebbe introduced a text message exchange between her and her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, a former U.S. Navy nuclear engineer who is accused of trying to sell American secrets to an unnamed country. Diana Toebbe, who had been a high school teacher, is charged with helping him. They have pleaded not guilty. The couple has two young children.

In arguing she should be detained without bail while waiting for a trial, prosecutors had shown a judge a shorter version of the exchange in which Jonathan Toebbe says to his wife, “We’ve got passports, and some savings. In a real pinch we can flee,” and she responds, “Right. Let’s go sooner rather than later.”

Read the full story at NBCNews.com

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