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U.S. senator releases report on "China spy" probe
2000-03-08
WASHINGTON - A U.S. senator Wednesday released a report detailing a series of ``errors and omissions'' in the government investigation of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, who in 1999 was identified as the prime suspect in an espionage case at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Reuters reported. The report, released by Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, listed several missteps by the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice during an investigation of Lee, who was suspected of leaking U.S. nuclear weapons secrets to China. It also set out a case for remedial legislation, introduced by Specter, now working its way through the Senate. The report focused on the Justice Department's refusal to authorize a wiretap of Lee requested by the FBI. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requires probable cause before the government can conduct electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens but Reno has said the Justice Department found little evidence to justify monitoring Wen Ho Lee. Several senators, however, contend that a wiretap could have prevented a breach of national security. ``The purpose of counter-intelligence is to identify suspicious conduct and then pursue an investigation to prevent or minimize access by foreign agents to our secrets,'' the report said. ``The investigation of Dr. Lee since 1982 has been characterized by a series of errors and omissions by the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice, including the FBI, which have permitted Dr. Lee to threaten U.S. supremacy by putting at risk information that could change the global strategic balance.'' Lee, who has not been charged with espionage, is in jail awaiting trial on 59 counts of downloading classified nuclear secrets onto unsecured computers. He faces the possibility of life imprisonment. To prevent what he called ``future lapses like the one that plagued the investigation of Dr. Wen Ho Lee'' Specter proposed the Counterintelligence Reform Act to reform the process for approval or denial of FISA wiretap requests and to establish a follow-up procedure.
Data in US nuclear spy case reclassified (2000-04-16)US said China intensified spying (2000-03-09)U.S. senator releases report on "China spy" probe (2000-03-08)Fired nuke scientist to go on trial in November (2000-02-18)Wen Ho Lee's Attorneys Ask Court to Grant Him Bail (2000-01-19)
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