The Sixth Bureau 4. The Duck Analogy
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Mar 2, 2026 Bradley Hall, an FBI counterintelligence special agent who led the investigation, shares firsthand details. He walks through spotting initial leads like secondary airline screening and cash. The story follows flipping an insider, manipulating contacts with digital clues, and staging a European meeting that forces a major confrontation.
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How A Routine Airport Flag Sparked The Case
- The FBI often detects foreign intelligence contacts through travel and digital footprints rather than the initial meeting itself.
- David Jun hit travel 'SSSS' flags and carried $16,000 cash, which triggered secondary screening and unlocked the investigation.
GE's Risky Decision To Help The FBI
- GE debated cooperating with the FBI because assisting would expose breaches and risk defense contracts and China business.
- Ultimately some C-suite leaders agreed to help, enabling an unprecedented joint operation against the MSS target.
How Bad Tradecraft Produced A Spy's Resume
- Poor tradecraft and reliance on commercial tech created decisive digital breadcrumbs linking Shu to the MSS.
- A Gmail and iCloud account held an MSS cadre form — effectively Xu Yanjun's resume — which proved he was an intelligence officer.