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)
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Source: Voice of America
.