Neither Mr. Soueid nor any other citizen of the U.S. is an agent of the Syrian Government. The accusation that a U.S. citizen is working with the Syrian Government to intimidate U.S. citizens is absolutely baseless and totally unacceptable. Contrary to the statement of the Department of Justice, Mr. Soueid is not an agent of any Syrian institution; he never worked under directions or control of any Syrian official.

That’s the Syrian embassy in Washington responding to charges against a Virginia man accused of snooping on Syrian-Americans who spoke out against President Assad. The U.S. is calling the man “an unregistered agent of the Syrian government.” You’ll find that denial on Eli Lake’s piece on the alleged spy.