Ex-Top Gun Pilot Accused of Training CCP Soldiers Loses Appeal Against US Extradition
Daniel Duggan has spent three-and-a-half years in custody over allegations he breached U.S. arms-trafficking laws by training Chinese pilots in South Africa.

A former U.S. fighter pilot accused of training Chinese soldiers is set to be extradited from Australia after his appeal was dismissed after a years-long legal battle.

Daniel Duggan has spent three-and-a-half years in custody over allegations he breached U.S. arms-trafficking laws by training Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

He was arrested at the behest of the United States in 2022 while at a supermarket in regional New South Wales (NSW), where he lived with his wife Saffrine and six children.

The Duggan family’s years-long fight against extradition was dealt a heavy blow in December 2024 when then-attorney general Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition.

They challenged the decision in the Federal Court, which handed down its ruling on April 16 in the nation’s capital.

Justice James Stellios dismissed the appeal and ordered Duggan to pay the government’s costs in a brief but bruising decision.

Elite Former US Air Force Pilot Arrested for Allegedly Training Chinese Military Pilots
An appeal against the judge’s ruling can be lodged within 28 days.

Duggan’s lawyers argued the offence he is accused of was not classified as an offence in Australia at the time, which is contrary to the requirements of an extradition treaty.

An offence must have been criminal in both the requesting and requested countries for an extradition to be legally permissible.

Duggan’s wife gathered with supporters to hear the decision being handed down.

She has been open about the crippling financial toll the legal battle has taken on her family, who estimate their legal bills amount to about half a million dollars.

Duggan has been refused Legal Aid, while an injunction placed on his family’s half-built house means they can neither sell it nor live in it.

He had been kept in a maximum security prison in central NSW around 100km from his family, his wife previously revealed.

Charges and an indictment were first filed against the Australian citizen in a sealed court case during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.

Duggan previously wrote in a letter from prison that he believed his activities were not illegal and Australian and U.S. intelligence services knew of his work.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...age&ea_med=section-1

Boo-fuckin'-hoo.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
Duggan previously wrote in a letter from prison that he believed his activities were not illegal and Australian and U.S. intelligence services knew of his work.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"...if anyone had said that sort of thing was frowned upon..."

Something tells me there is a lot more to the story. On face value (link has a paywall so I can’t read it), his appeal is denied without having met the criteria for a legal extradition?

I’ve got no sympathy for a dipshit who knew better to begin with, and put the all mighty dollar before what should be, in my opinion, a traitorous act and capital crime. But circumventing law to achieve that goal is not right.

We rolled Maduro up in the middle of the night… Just saying.

Then try him. If convicted, wrap a Chinese flag around his neck and hang him above the guard shack at NAS Fallon. That might persuade the next POS who wants some extra retirement cash.

I think I’m gonna follow this story. Thanks downtownv.

After looking this turd up on the web, it appears that he renounced his American citizenship. I’m not sure how that affects his prior oath and obligations to the US. I’m guessing that doesn’t release you from your responsibility of keeping US military secrets a secret, but I’m not an attorney.

The case against Duggan is old or, its been an ongoing saga since 2022

Former US pilot held in Australia accused of breaking US arms controls by training Chinese pilots

Ex-Marine Pilot Allegedly Tried To Source T-2 Carrier Trainer Jet For China

In a similar twist to where a USAF officer has been recently arrested this was back in Feb'26:

Former Air Force Fighter Pilot And F-35 Instructor Charged With Training Chinese Military

quote:

A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and contractor F-35 instructor has been arrested for allegedly helping to train the Chinese military. The development is the latest in a series involving former personnel from a variety of NATO nations assisting Beijing’s expanding airpower ambitions. In this case, however, bearing in mind the highly sensitive nature of the F-35 stealth jet, the potential for a damaging intelligence leak is especially significant.

The U.S. Department of Justice said ex-Air Force Maj. Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., who formerly used the callsign “Runner,” was arrested yesterday in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Described by the department as an “elite fighter pilot,” Brown, 65, is accused of illegally providing training to Chinese military pilots.
....

What's more infuriating is his handler had already been arrested and jailed for espionage...for just four years

quote:

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Brown’s contract to train Chinese military aviators was negotiated by Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors on behalf of China, the department said. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:
After looking this turd up on the web, it appears that he renounced his American citizenship. I’m not sure how that affects his prior oath and obligations to the US. I’m guessing that doesn’t release you from your responsibility of keeping US military secrets a secret, but I’m not an attorney.

There is a legal/formal process for renouncing US Citizenship, including a interview/meeting at a US Embassy and completion of official paperwork. I didn't see anything indicating he had done this.

Hang that son-of-a-bitch in a very public place with a sign around his neck saying “TRAITOR”.

Leave him there, let the buzzards and rats eat him.

This shit is happening a little too often.
Selling secrets here, giving away information there, training (basically enemy combatants) on our capabilities…

It seems that 20-40 years in fed prison isn’t much of a deterrent anymore. Maybe some of the “prison rape” stories aren’t true.

Stringing some of these pieces of shit up by the neck and leaving them there might just be!

It worked for the Romans.