Statement for Media Regarding Sentencing of Dr. John Harold Rogers
Yesterday, July 15, 2026, the Honorable Dabney L. Friedrich sentenced Dr. John Harold Rogers to thirty-eight months incarceration. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia issued a press release, and various media outlets have since requested comment from Dr. Rogers and his attorneys.
STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF DR. ROGERS AND HIS ATTORNEYS:
The DOJ accused Dr. Rogers of conspiring with Chinese agents to commit economic espionage against the Federal Reserve and the United States. Dr. Rogers is immeasurably grateful for the jury's hard work and careful attention to the evidence when it found Dr. Rogers not guilty of conspiring to commit economic espionage. Unfortunately, the jury did find Dr. Rogers guilty of a false statement--one answer Dr. Rogers gave to agents from the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve during a two-hour-long interview, without the benefit of counsel, that Dr. Rogers initiated seeking the government's help when online scammers had attempted to extort him and threatened to kidnap his then-18-month-old child. When asked whether he had shared any sensitive Federal Reserve information, Dr. Rogers replied, "Never." As Dr. Rogers admitted when he took the stand in his own defense, Dr. Rogers had in fact sent one document to a co-author at a Chinese university several years earlier.
It is a sad commentary on the state of our law enforcement agencies entrusted to protect all of us that those in power cannot respect or accept the considered judgment of the jury--one of the hallmarks of American justice enshrined in our Constitution. Despite his acquittal on one of the most serious charges that can be leveled against any U.S. citizen, the government persists in its obstinate belief that Dr. Rogers is in fact a spy for the Chinese, which he is not, and has never been.
The government brought what it considered to be a sprawling case of espionage and intrigue, which, had Dr. Rogers been convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Economic Espionage, would have carried a maximum fifteen-year sentence. The reality is that after having wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, the government lost this case.