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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."
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