Chemist Feng “Franklin” Tao acquitted of wire fraud

On Sept. 19, a federal judge acquitted University of Kansas chemist Feng "Franklin" Tao of three of the four counts against him for undisclosed ties to a university in China. Tao stood trial earlier this year on allegations that he had defrauded the University of Kansas, the US National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Energy when he failed to disclose his ties to Fuzhou University (FZU) while conducting research funded by the agencies. Federal prosecutors brought the charges against Tao under the Department of Justice's China Initiative, a controversial program intended to prevent economic espionage amid growing tensions with the Chinese government. In February, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen acknowledged concerns from the civil rights community that the initiative "fueled a narrative of intolerance and bias" and contributed to a "chilling atmosphere for scientists and scholars." Though the DOJ announced that it would drop the name and redirect