Plea Bargain in Walker Spy Case Hinted

WASHINGTON —  Authorities announced today that the trial of accused Soviet spy ring leader John A. Walker Jr. has been postponed, and there were reports that Walker will plead guilty in exchange for leniency for his son.

Justice Department spokesman John Russell said that instead of the trial there will be a “proceeding” at 10 a.m. Monday in Baltimore that will be “very important.”

An FBI official declined to comment on the postponement but indicated that a plea bargain may have been struck.

In San Francisco, attorney Tony Tamburello said he heard of the delay and “my understanding is that they asked Walker to testify” in the case against his client, Jerry Whitworth, often described as Walker’s best friend.

Tamburello said he had heard “that they are going to give him something in exchange. They are going to give leniency for his son, Michael.”

Charged With Espionage

Whitworth and Michael Walker have been charged with espionage for their alleged role in the spy ring.

Michael Walker is also to appear in the Baltimore court on Monday, officials said.

John Walker, 48, is accused of heading a family-and-friend spy ring that slipped secrets to the Soviet Union. Officials claim it was one of the most damaging in recent U.S. history.

Walker, arrested May 21, was charged in a federal indictment with peddling Navy secrets.

He retired from the Navy in 1976 after 21 years of service.

Whitworth’s trial was postponed earlier this week.

In August, Walker’s brother, Arthur, 51, of Virginia Beach, Va., a retired Navy lieutenant commander, was found guilty of seven counts of espionage. He is to be sentenced Nov. 12 but had hoped to testify as a witness for the prosecution at his brother’s trial.

A Justice Department official said that when Arthur Walker tried to plea-bargain, his plea was refused because it “didn’t begin to capture the gravity” of his offenses.

Confident of Conviction

In John Walker’s case, the official said, the government is very confident it will win and prosecutors would be willing only to accept an agreement that ensured an appropriate penalty.

“They’re going to have to be guilty pleas to some pretty heavy stuff,” the official said.

The FBI says the ring tracked Navy operations for up to 20 years and penetrated the world’s largest naval base in Walker’s hometown of Norfolk, Va.

Naval experts say the spy ring may have given the Soviets a road map to the United States’s undersea sensor network that warns against attack.