NUCLEAR PHYSICIST RELEASED AFTER REACHING PLEA AGREEMENT Nuclear physicist Wen Ho Lee was finally released from nine months of solitary confinement after reaching a plea deal. Lee, who formerly worked for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, was imprisoned last December after being charged with 59 counts of mishandling nuclear secrets. Despite these charges, which could have resulted in Lee’s imprisonment for life, the government agreed to a plea deal in which Lee pled guilty to one count of downloading classified information to an unsecure computer and was sentenced to time served.
While announcing the deal, the judge in the case had some very harsh words for the government, saying that its actions had the effect of “embarrassing our entire nation.” The case against Lee has been the subject of intense criticism almost from the time he was arrested. Many charged that the government singled him out because of his ethnic background. Lee was born in Taiwan and became a US citizen almost 30 years ago. The judge’s comments when Lee was released indicate that he may have grown to share this suspicion. He apologized to Lee “for the unfair manner you were held in custody,” and urged the Departments of Energy and Justice to also apologize to him. The judge added that he had been misled by the government last December when he ordered Lee’s pre-trial solitary confinement.
Many see the plea deal as an attempt by the government to save face as its case against Lee appeared to suddenly collapse. Initially, Lee was set for release, to be kept under house arrest until his trial. The government appealed this order and Lee continued to be detained. Now, less than two weeks later, Lee has not only been released, he is not going to be tried.
Government officials maintain that Lee was not a victim of racial profiling, but was prosecuted for his actions. Asked by reporters if the Justice Department would apologize to Lee, Attorney General Janet Reno said no, and blamed Lee for his treatment, saying “I think Dr. Lee had the opportunity from the beginning to resolve this matter and he chose not to.” President Clinton, on the other hand, has expressed concern about the case, saying “All of a sudden they reach a plea agreement which will, if anything, make his alleged offense look modest compared to the claims that were made against him. So the whole thing was quite troubling to me.”
Because a plea agreement has been reached, no further action will be taken on Lee’s selective prosecution claim. The judge had ordered the government to turn over many documents related to that claim. It now seems that, unless the Justice Department conducts an internal investigation, the extent to which Lee’s ethnic background was a factor in the prosecution will go unknown. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
