DATE=9/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=WIN HO LEE / L
NUMBER=2-266375
BYLINE=MIKE O'SULLIVAN
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The expected release of Wen Ho Lee -- the
Chinese-American scientist accused of mishandling
nuclear secrets -- has been delayed. Monday, the
judge in the case postponed a hearing until Wednesday
-- saying details of the agreement still need to be
worked out. Mike O'Sullivan reports the scientist is
reported to have agreed to plead guilty to one felony
count of mishandling secret data in exchange for his
release.
Text: The former scientist at the Los Alamos Nuclear
Laboratory was fired last year and arrested in
December. His spent nine months in prison and --
under a plea agreement was widely reported Monday --
would be released for time already served, in return
for the plea.
Mr. Lee was initially suspected of spying for China,
but federal authorities later admitted they had no
evidence he had passed information to another nation.
Still, they say he downloaded hundreds of thousands of
pages of sensitive data on computer tapes.
Prosecutors called the data the "crown jewels" of the
U-S nuclear program. However, Mr. Lee's supporters
say much of the information is found in the public
record.
Last month, the government's case started to break
down when a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent
admitted he made erroneous statements in court, last
December.
News reports quote government sources as saying --
under the current agreement -- the scientist will
received immunity from further prosecution, as long as
he cooperates with the investigation.
Mr. Lee is a naturalized U-S citizen who was born in
Taiwan. He had wide support among Asian-Americans,
many of whom believed he was targeted because of his
ethnic background. He was held under conditions that
critics say were unusually harsh, which drew protests
from many prominent scientists. During most of his
time in prison, Mr. Lee was shackled in solitary
confinement. Federal authorities said he posed a
security risk and could pass along sensitive data to
outsiders.
Mr. Lee has always maintained his innocence, but has
never explained the whereabouts of the missing data to
the satisfaction of federal investigators. U-S
Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson, who oversees the
nuclear program, says the location of the missing data
is the key to the negotiated agreement. Neither
defense attorneys nor prosecutors had any comment
Monday. (Signed)
NEB / MO'S / WD
11-Sep-2000 23:29 PM LOC (12-Sep-2000 0329 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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