An important story of corruption and possible espionage at the highest level of the State Department: Powell aide in Taiwan spy storm. (Hat tip: SoCalJustice.)

Donald Keyser, who retired in July as principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was followed on September 4 by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to a Washington restaurant where he was seen handing over some documents to two Taiwanese agents.

The documents were described by court papers filed yesterday in Virginia as something “derived from material to which Keyser had access as a result of his employment with the Department of State”.

The Washington Post and The New York Times said the court documents did not mention Keyser accepting any money for the documents, which he told FBI agents contained “talking points” that he often would prepare for his meetings with the Taiwanese

Keyser was not charged with spying in the court papers but with violating State Department rules by failing to disclose a side trip he took to Taiwan last year during a visit to China and Japan.