WEN HO LEE

	September 13, 2000
	A background report on Wen Ho Lee's release. This is followed by an interview with a prosecutor for the case and then a panel discussion.

GWEN IFILL: After nine months in prison, Wen Ho Lee walked out of a federal courthouse today, a free man. SPOKESMAN: Dr. Lee is free today. It may have been too long coming, but it's a sweet day indeed, and., again, we'd like to thank those in the community who supported Dr. Lee in the dark days, when he was falsely accused of not being a loyal American. Thank you very much. GWEN IFILL: The government had accused Lee of stealing the "crown jewels" of the American nuclear weapons program, and compromising national security. But in the end, prosecutors were unable to prove their original and most explosive accusation: That Lee was plotting espionage. As part of a plea agreement worked out with prosecutors today, Lee pled guilty to just one of the 59 charges lodged against him. He admitted improperly downloading nuclear weapons data from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. That charge is a felony. Lee was sentenced to about nine months in prison-- the time he has already served. The other counts, some of which carried life sentences, have been dropped. In return, Lee agreed to cooperate fully with government prosecutors who want to know why he copied files onto a non- secure computer, what he did with the files, and what happened to the seven computer tapes containing the data, which Lee says have been destroyed. Lee was fired from his job as a Los Alamos scientist in March of last year. At the time, the government suggested he was guilty of espionage, providing sensitive missile technology to China. He was indicted in December by an Albuquerque grand jury, and has remained in virtual solitary confinement, his lawyers said, until today. Throughout the investigation, Lee-- who was born in Taiwan but is now an American citizen-- has maintained his innocence. WEN HO LEE: I never gave any classified information to any unauthorized person, period. I'm innocent. GWEN IFILL: Scientists from several national professional academies have defended Lee, complaining to Attorney General Janet Reno that Lee had been subject to "cruel and degrading treatment." U.S. District Judge James Parker had harsh words for federal authorities at today's hearing. He apologized to Lee, saying that the Departments of Justice and Energy have "embarrassed our entire nation and each of us who is a citizen of it. I sincerely apologize to you, Dr. Lee, for the unfair manner in which you were held."