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Judge To Consider Bail for Lee
1999-12-26
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Scientist Wen Ho Lee could be held without bail for more than a year until his trial begins on charges he stole nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory. U.S. District Judge James Parker on Monday is to consider a Dec. 13 decision by U.S. Magistrate Don Svet, who ruled releasing Lee on bail would pose a ``clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.'' Parker is scheduled to hear an appeal by Lee's attorney. Prosecutors say a year's wait in jail before trial is not unlikely, and the complexities of studying a mountain of classified evidence could delay the trial an additional 10 to 12 months. Lee was fired in March and indicted Dec. 10. He was charged with transferring nuclear secrets to his desktop computer and portable data tapes and could face life in prison if convicted. The indictment doesn't accuse him of passing classified information to a foreign government. Lee has said he is innocent. Kelly and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Gorence, in court documents filed Thursday, argued that the 60-year-old Taiwan-born computer expert is a risk to flee the United States with stolen secrets if released on bail. ``Lee stole America's nuclear secrets sufficient to build a functional thermonuclear weapon,'' they wrote. ``Lee absconded with that information on computer tapes, seven of which are still missing. Those missing tapes, in the hands of an unauthorized possessor, pose a mortal danger to every American.'' Although Lee's attorneys contend the tapes were destroyed, prosecutors said there is no evidence to prove it. Other Los Alamos scientists and Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, have said Lee's actions are comparable to what other researchers and government officials do - transfer classified material from one work station to another, not always mindful of security. ``We know of no one (else) who was ever charged with committing a crime for that,'' lab computer specialist Betty Gunther told The Albuquerque Tribune. In the Tribune article Thursday, Los Alamos astrophysicist Stirling Colgate described the prosecution of Lee as ``a real American tragedy.'' Dershowitz likened the magnitude of each of 59 counts against Lee to ``jaywalking.''
Judge Denies Wen Ho Lee Bail, Warns of `Enormous Harm' (1999-12-30)Nuke Scientist Denied Bail (1999-12-30)Judge To Consider Bail for Lee (1999-12-26)Gov't Seeks To Deny Bail for Lee (1999-12-24)Wen Ho Lee Deceived His Colleagues, Washington Post Reports (1999-12-23)
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