-Caveat Lector- Senator says Chinese scientist had suspicious access even in early 1980s Copyright � 1999 Nando Media Copyright � 1999 Associated Press By H. JOSEF HEBERT WASHINGTON (May 5, 1999 11:28 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Authorities had indications several times in the 1980s that a nuclear scientist at the Los Alamos weapons laboratory might be involved in espionage, a senator said Wednesday. But "a tragedy of errors, lost files, omissions and bad judgment" prevented intervention. The scientist, Wen Ho Lee, was fired for security violations in early March after being removed from his top-secret job with the highest security classification only late last year. He has denied being involved in espionage and has not been charged with a crime. A growing number of senators and congressmen have questioned why Lee was allowed access to top-secret nuclear weapons data for years after his name surfaced in connection with several espionage inquiries, providing him easy access to sensitive weapons computer codes and other material. The government appeared to be "asleep at the switch," said Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, whose Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony Wednesday on security from the directors of top government nuclear weapons labs, including Los Alamos. In an opening statement, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said there were "many times when lapses and omissions" kept authorities from curtailing Lee's activities. He outlined four cases that he said raised concern about Lee, back to 1984, and added that "many other cases" still classified should have caused officials to take action against the Taiwan-born scientist. There was a "tragedy of errors, lost files, omissions and bad judgment that characterized this case" with numerous red flags to Energy Department and Los Alamos laboratory officials about security concerns involving Lee, Domenici said. Lee, who had worked at the Los Alamos weapons lab in New Mexico since 1978, had been under investigation by the FBI since 1996 concerning alleged theft by China of information on the W-88, one of the country's most sophisticated warheads. It was only recently learned that Lee also transferred more than 1,000 files of warhead computer codes from a highly classified computer system to his unclassified desktop computer where it could be accessed from outside. Most of the transfers occurred in 1994- 95, but some dated back to 1983, officials said. But Domenici said warnings about Lee were raised as early as 1984, followed by others in 1989, 1997 and 1998. In 1984, Lee "showed deception on seven questions" while taking a polygraph prompted by concerns over his contact with foreign intelligence services. Domenici said Lee was retested and cleared but nothing of the initial suspicions ever were relayed to Energy Department or lab managers. In 1989, the DOE's office in Albuquerque, N.M., noted the 1984 FBI polygraph results and relayed its concerns to DOE headquarters. "That file was lost," said Domenici. Three years later the regional office hired an outside contractor to reconstruct the Lee file. Domenici said that a year after the FBI opened a more intense investigation of Lee in connection with the W-88 theft, FBI Director Louis Freeh told then-Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Moller that Lee's security clearance and job access could be changed without affecting the investigation. That meeting, however, was never made known to Los Alamos lab managers, according to officials. John C. Browne, who took over as Los Alamos director 18 months ago, told the Senate panel that a string of communications breakdowns kept the lab from acting sooner to remove Lee from his sensitive position. Browne said he "never received any information regarding (the Freeh- Moller) meeting from DOE" nor did anyone else at the laboratory. A message on "a change in the suspect's status with the FBI" was provided to the DOE's Albuquerque office in October 1997 with no mention of the Freeh-Moller meeting, said Browne. As a result, he said, Lee was allowed to continue working with full access to some of the country's most sensitive nuclear weapons secrets with full security clearance until late 1998. While the Energy Department has said it has dramatically improved security and counter-intelligence activities at the labs, Browne said, "I am deeply concerned about the damage that might have occurred in the past and that could occur in the future." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Wingate California Director SKYWATCH INTERNATIONAL ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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