DATE=12/10/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=WEN HO LEE ARREST (S-L)
NUMBER=2-257054
BYLINE=MIKE O'SULLIVAN
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  A former scientist at a U-S nuclear weapons 
laboratory has been indicted for mishandling 
classified information.  Wen Ho Lee, who was the focus 
of allegations over the transfer of nuclear secrets to 
China, was arrested Friday in the Western U-S state of 
New Mexico.  V-O-A's Mike O'Sullivan has details.

TEXT:  U-S officials say the scientist was indicted 
for removing nuclear secrets from a secure computer at 
the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he worked 
for nearly 20 years before being fired last March.

Mr. Lee has admitted to downloading classified 
information on his unclassified computer, but has 
denied passing the information to China.  China has 
also denied buying U-S nuclear secrets.

Officials say they have not been able to prove the 
scientist gave secret information to any country, 
including China.  But the government will allege that 
Mr. Lee illegally stored secret data on computer 
tapes.

            /// REST OPT ///

A congressional report released this year (the so-
called Cox Report) said China had obtained information 
on U-S nuclear warheads, including the (W-88) 
miniature warhead used on Trident submarines.  Mr. Lee 
has been under investigation for the past four years, 
but the government has so far been unable to link him 
to the loss of those warhead secrets.

The Taiwan-born scientist is a U-S citizen, and some 
supporters charge he was singled out because of his 
ethnic background.

The scandal over the alleged sale of secrets to China 
has resulted in tighter security at U-S Department of 
Energy laboratories. (Signed)

NEB/MOS/JP




10-Dec-1999 18:07 PM EDT (10-Dec-1999 2307 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.