Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE — Wen Ho Lee's odds of going home — from jail into perhaps the wispiest form of freedom outside of a prison — remained up in the air as today's noon deadline for his release approached and backers readied a celebratory welcome.
September 1, 2000
Lee's Jail Release Still Up in the Air
By Ian Hoffman Journal Northern BureauU.S. District Judge James A. Parker issued his formal order of release, held under seal until review for secrets, but prosecutors stayed mum on their intent to fight Lee's release.
They could drop those plans entirely or press for Lee to remained jailed while they make an emergency appeal to an appellate court in Denver.
Meanwhile, leaders of three of the nation's most prestigious scientific groups weighed in with protests to Attorney General Janet Reno, saying Lee is "a victim of unjust treatment" and "inaccurate and detrimental testimony" by the FBI.
All day, 30 FBI agents and technicians swept Lee's White Rock home in search of seven unaccounted-for tapes of U.S. nuclear-weapons data or other evidence against the 60-year-old scientist.
By late afternoon, they apparently had come away empty-handed, unearthing for example an old Coors beer can while sweeping the back yard with metal detectors. The search continued into the night, but Lee attorneys say the tapes were destroyed more than a year ago.
"Those tapes are not here," Lee defense attorney Nancy Hollander said outside the house. "We don't believe they're going to find anything."
Parker's ruling is the triggering event for an appeal, but its late issuance Thursday afternoon boosted the likelihood that prosecutors will seek to keep Lee jailed longer while they weigh the merits of an appeal.
Parker signaled Tuesday that he might consider delaying Lee's release today at noon if the ruling was late. The judge has taken pains to give each side abundant opportunities to make their cases, suggesting that he might be open to such a request. Yet he also warned prosecutors that they "might have to live with" Lee's release if they hadn't won a stay from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals by the deadline.
Justice Department spokeswoman Carole Florman said the agency would study the scientists' letter and "respond appropriately."
The scientists urged Reno to "rectify any wrongs to which Dr. Lee has been subjected" and discipline Justice Department officials who may be at fault.
"We also urge that those responsible for any injustice that he has suffered be held accountable," wrote the presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
The academies and the institute count many of the nation's Nobel Prize winners in their membership, which is by election only. Their 4,800 members are regarded as the cream of the U.S. science, the leaders in their fields.
"We are concerned that inaccurate and detrimental testimony by government officials resulted in Dr. Lee needlessly spending eight months in prison under harsh and questionable conditions of confinement," they wrote.
"We're not in a position to judge his guilt or innocence," said engineering academy president William Wulf in an interview. He co-signed the letter with NAS president Bruce Alberts and institute president Kenneth I. Shine. "But the way in which he has been treated is, in my view, un-American."
"Based on what I know, holding him as long as they have is unconscionable," Wulf said. "Holding him any longer is just beyond the pale."
The letter from the academies and the institute suggests the Lee case is resonating among rank-and-file scientists.
"It illustrates the loss of public confidence in the prosecution's behavior," said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists. "The national academies are the very definition of the mainstream scientific establishment. And the fact they perceive injustice here says that the government is losing the battle for public opinion."
If released, Lee would be coming home to his wife and a privacy he hasn't known since being incarcerated at the Santa Fe County Jail, where guards have checked on him several times an hour. But he won't be able to leave the house or even venture into the front yard, except for emergency medical attention or to confer with his attorneys.
His phone will be tapped 24 hours a day, with Mandarin-speaking agents or specialized surveillance officers listening in. His wife, Sylvia, must fax a notice to the FBI at least four hours before going to the grocery store or anywhere else. She and every package or envelope entering or leaving the house can be searched on demand.
Legal experts say they don't know all of the details of all federal criminal cases in the country but believe the conditions of Lee's release are "darned closed to unprecedented," according to Robert Weisberg, a 20-year criminal law professor at Stanford University.
"The only thing that might come close is a few John Gotti-type cases," Weisberg said.
The conditions are perhaps most intrusive on Lee's wife and children, none of whom are charged with a crime.
"It's the equivalent of her (Lee's wife) living in jail with him and agreeing to be searched and monitored while she's in the cell," Weisberg said.