Walker spy ring

John Anthony Walker
John Anthony Walker circa 1985
Born	(1937-07-28)July 28, 1937 Washington, D.C., USA
Died	August 28, 2014(2014-08-28) (aged 77) Federal Correctional Institution, Butner Low, Butner, North Carolina
Nationality	United States
Occupation	United States Navy Chief Warrant Officer and communications specialist Private investigator
Spouse(s)	Barbara Crowley (divorced)
Children	Michael Walker (son, accomplice) Laura Walker (daughter, attempted accomplice), Cynthia Walker (daughter), Margaret Ann Walker (daughter)
Motive	Financial gain

John Anthony Walker, Jr. (July 28, 1937 – August 28, 2014) was a United States Navy Chief Warrant Officer and communications specialist convicted of spying for the Soviet Union from 1968 to 1985.

In late 1985, Walker made a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, which required him to testify against his co-conspirator, former senior chief petty officer Jerry Whitworth, and provide full details of his espionage activities. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to a lesser sentence for Walker's son, former Seaman Michael Walker, who was also involved in the spy ring. During his time as a Soviet spy, Walker helped the Soviets decipher more than one million encrypted naval messages, organizing a spy operation that The New York Times reported in 1987 "is sometimes described as the most damaging Soviet spy ring in history."

After Walker's arrest, Caspar Weinberger, President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Defense, concluded that the Soviet Union made significant gains in naval warfare attributable to Walker's spying. Weinberger stated that the information Walker gave Moscow allowed the Soviets "access to weapons and sensor data and naval tactics, terrorist threats, and surface, submarine, and airborne training, readiness and tactics."John Lehman, United States Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration, stated in an interview that Walker's activities enabled the Soviets to know where US submarines were at all times. Lehman said the Walker espionage would have resulted in huge loss of American lives in the event of war.

In the June 2010 issue of Naval History Magazine, John Prados, a senior fellow with the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C., pointed out that after Walker introduced himself to Soviet officials, North Korean forces seized the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) in order to make better use of Walker's spying. Prados added that North Korea subsequently shared information gleaned from the spy ship with the Soviets, enabling them to build replicas and gain access to the US naval communications system, which continued until the system was completely revamped in the late 1980s.