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US Department
of Justice Response to the AAAS March 28, 2000 Mr. Irving A. Lerch Chair Dear Mr. Lerch: The Attorney General has asked me to respond to your letter of February 29, 2000, expressing your concern about the conditions of Wen Ho Lee's pretrial confinement and the perception you believe has been created by these conditions that he is being punished before his trial. You also noted that this perception of injustice is making the recruitment and retention of the best scientists at our National Laboratories more difficult. Although I am not able to comment in detail about a pending case, I hope you will find the following information useful. Testimony at Dr. Lee's detention hearing established that he downloaded onto portable computer tapes some of our country's most sensitive nuclear secrets. Seven of those tapes are missing. As United States District Judge Parker noted in his memorandum opinion setting forth his reasons for ordering Dr. Lee's detention: "The Government offered considerable information that Dr. Lee's release from custody at this time poses a danger to the United States because of the risk that Dr. Lee will find a way to, and will be inclined to, reveal to unauthorized persons the location of the seven missing tapes or to assist an unauthorized possessor in understanding and utilizing the information contained in the tapes." The conditions of Dr. Lee's confinement are intended to ensure that such communications do not take place. Accordingly, certain measures are in effect to monitor Dr. Lee's communications with persons other than his attorneys. In all other respects, Dr. Lee is subject to the same conditions as the other prisoners placed in administrative detention. Indeed, the facility where he is being held has allowed him to have longer visitation periods with his family than is permitted for others similarly-situated. We have been able to accommodate the Lee family by arranging for a Mandarin language interpreter to be present for several meetings so that Dr. Lee's family can speak with him in his native language. As for recruitment and retention of scientists at the National Laboratories (DOE laboratories), Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson has frequently stated that the alleged actions of any individual should not, do not, and will not reflect on any other American citizen, that Asian Pacific Americans are valued employees of the DOE laboratories, and that he will not let any adverse climate exist that would imperil this relationship. As you may know, Secretary Richardson commissioned a Task Force Against Racial Profiling in June 1999 to investigate the climate at DOE's facilities and make recommendations to ensure that the DOE's policies against racial profiling are carried out effectively. The Secretary formed the task force out of concern that Asian Pacific Americans at DOE laboratories felt that their patriotism and loyalty were being questioned in the wake of allegations of Chinese espionage, and that this atmosphere would affect recruitment and retention at DOE laboratories. The Task Force's Report was released on January 19, 2000, and is available at http://www.doe.gov/news/docs/rporfilerpt.pdf.* Secretary Richardson announced several actions to address the Report's findings, including the appointment of Jeremy Wu to serve in a newly created position of National Ombudsman and Director of the Office of the Ombudsman for DOE to be available for any employees who may have concerns and to monitor and review diversity management policies, and the expansion of outreach at leading universities to combat the recruitment and retention problems being experienced throughout the DOE laboratories. In short, the Department of Energy is taking steps that should improve recruitment and retention at DOE laboratories so that it can continue to conduct leading edge science and protect our national security. Thank you for taking the time to write to express your concerns. Sincerely, James K. Robinson * Website obsolete as of 7/17/07.
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 Copyright 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. |
