(U.S. Navy)
"Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption – be it bribes or illegal contracts – and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold," Pirro continued.
Burke, who served as vice chief of naval operations, was once the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer.
According to court documents and as the evidence proved at trial, from 2020 to 2022, Burke was a four-star admiral who oversaw U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel.
Yongchul "Charlie" Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of a company not named by the DOJ, allegedly participated in the scheme to get a government contract in exchange for offering Burke a position with the company.
The company provided a training program for a small part of the Navy from 2018 and 2019, before their contract was terminated.
FORMER US ARMY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST SENTENCED FOR SELLING SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS TO CHINESE NATIONAL
U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Robert Burke testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Both Kim and Messenger were arrested in May 2024 and were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery and could face 20 years in prison.
Parlatore told Fox News Digital that they are "obviously disappointed by the verdict," but said "this is a result of the fact that the jury did not get to hear the whole story."
"The investigation was very poorly conducted. It was conducted by the exact same investigator who completely screwed up the Fat Leonard case," Paralore said.
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"They didn't do any research and so you have an incompetent and unethical, corrupt investigator relying upon the word of a known liar, building this terrible case. And ultimately, the only way that they could bring it to a conviction was to only present certain evidence to the jury," Paralore continued.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navys-former-second-in-command-convicted-historic-corruption-case