'I want him voted down': UT professor fights prosecutor's promotion

Anming Hu is rebuilding his lab in the Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus.

Asian communities and advocates in East Tennessee and across the nation are anxious and frustrated that the prosecutor who helped wrongfully mount an espionage case against a University of Tennessee professor has been nominated to serve as the head prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The professor himself is fighting back.

President Joe Biden named Casey Arrowood, an assistant attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, to lead the district. The Senate must confirm the nomination.

The nomination shocked Chinese and Asian community members who say Arrowood and the Justice Department’s handling of Anming Hu’s case make him unqualified. Hu told Knox News he’s still living with the pain and embarrassment of being labeled as a spy for China.

“We were damaged so deep and hurt so loud,” Hu said. “It still is a very painful and really, really bad memory in our brain and our heart.

Professor Anming Hu enters the Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse in Knoxville in 2021. A judge acquitted him.

“I know in my case, he isn’t fair. He didn’t pursue justice,” Hu said. “He just pursued innocent people.”

From the archives:Anming Hu, professor falsely accused of espionage, reinstated by University of Tennessee

Hu was pursued by federal investigators during the Trump administration and eventually charged in February 2020 with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements, plus lost his job at UT. The first trial against Hu ended in a deadlocked jury, but acting lead attorney Francis M. Hamilton III and Arrowood pushed for a retrial.

Hu was ultimately acquitted by Judge Thomas Varlan in September 2021.

He fought for his job back and is working to rebuild his world-renowned nanotechnology lab.

But advocates are still weary of Arrowood’s decision to bring charges, which many say were rooted in racism. They argue the Trump-era “China Initiative” targeting Chinese professors working in America has had a chilling effect on the scientific research community.

“There’s no way he is qualified to uphold justice in our country and in our districts in our state,” Christine Lai, a health economist at Vanderbilt University, told Knox News.

Arrowwood declined to answer questions from Knox News and instead through a spokeswoman sent a brief statement: “n response to your questions yesterday, Mr. Arrowood asked me to convey to you that he is honored to be nominated and looks forward to the confirmation process.”

It’s been three months since Biden made the nomination and the Senate still hasn’t acted, and advocacy groups aren’t letting up their opposition. They have called on Biden to withdraw the nomination.

“(Hu) is still a victim and this (case) damaged his professional reputation,” Peng Song, a principal chemist at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee, told Knox News in an interview. “Then the person who made the mistake got promoted? That will most definitely have a chilling effect on free academic exchange for sure.”

Advocates leave signs reading "equal justice" and "stop racial profiling" outside the Knoxville federal courthouse during University of Tennessee professor Anming Hu's trial.

If the Senate doesn’t take up the nomination this session − which ends Jan. 3 − it will be returned to Biden. He’ll have to re-submit the nomination during the next session if he again selects Arrowood.

Several people, including Hu, hope it doesn’t come to that. Advocacy groups, scientists and researchers have submitted letters to the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee asking for Biden to either withdraw the nomination or for the committee to vote Arrowood down.

“I want him to be voted down. The Senate committee, that’s their responsibility. That’s their authority,” Hu said.

If Arrowood is promoted, Hu, Lai and Song worry not just for the Chinese and Chinese American community, but communities of all races and backgrounds, and Hu is ready to make his voice heard.

“What will this country be if this happens?” Hu said. “This kind of stuff is really, really shocking. If I have a chance, I will stand out and protest his nomination. I can testify to our senators based on the facts. If they think he’s qualified, let’s talk about that. Check what he did to my case.”

Becca Wright (she/her) covers the University of Tennessee and statewide higher education for Knox News. She can be reached at becca.wright@knoxnews.com or 865-466-3731. You can follow her on Twitter @beccamariewrong. Our newsroom is dedicated to the public good, and you can support that by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.