A trial is under way for a former CIA case officer accused of giving top-secret documents to the Chinese.

Kevin Mallory of Leesburg, Virginia, was charged last year under federal espionage statutes with delivering defense information to a foreign government.

Prosecutors say they caught Mallory last year after he returned to the U.S. on a flight from Shanghai with more than $16,000 in undeclared cash.

Mallory has argued in court papers that he never provided anything of value to the Chinese and that he was engaging them to try to gain information about their intelligence operations.

A jury was selected Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, and opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday morning. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

(AP)