Suspected KGB uniform turned in to federal agents in alleged spy case

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Federal agents now have the suspected KGB uniform seen in photos worn by a Kapolei couple accused of being spies.

Walter Primrose and Gwynn Morrison are being held without bond.

The government included the photos in a previous court filing after Primrose and Morrison were charged with identity theft, lying to get a passport and conspiracy to commit crimes against the U.S.

Primrose’s federal public defender, Max Mizono, filed a motion Thursday asking the court to revoke the detention order so the couple can post bond until their trial.

Mizono included an email he received on Aug. 5 from Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Muehleck.

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The email to Mizono and Megan Kau, Morrison’s court appointed attorney, notified them that “a witness has said that the photos ... were taken sometime in the 1990s” and that federal agents “were given the alleged uniform.”

Mizono wrote, “Mr. Primrose’s lack of ownership and possession of the alleged KGB uniform even more strongly supports the inference that he and his co-defendant are not, in fact, Russian spies.”

Legal expert Victor Bakke agreed.

“You would think both would have their own uniforms and take pictures in their own uniforms,” he said.

Federal prosecutors said in a previous court hearing that the couple made references to espionage while in custody at the FBI building in Kapolei.

They also allegedly had suspicious items in their Kapolei home, including maps of military facilities, coded messages and invisible ink.

Mizono said the defense attorneys still have not received any discovery from the prosecution and “the government should put its money where it’s mouth is” and submit all the evidence for review.

Primrose and Morrison are accused of stealing the identities of dead babies, and living under those names for decades. Primrose served nearly two decades under a different name in the Coast Guard.

A hearing on Mizono’s motion is set for Aug. 22.

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