FAS | Government Secrecy ||| Index | Search | Join FAS

Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: October 2000

September 2000

• Lee's Nuke Secrets Couldn't Build Bomb --Tenet, by Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters, September 27. "It was exactly the right question to ask, namely if someone did get hold of this information what could they do with it? And the answer is that different people could or could not do different things,'' said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists.
• An Analysis of the Pending "Leak" Statute by Kate Martin, Center for National Security Studies, September 27. "In violation of the First Amendment, the proposal would stifle informed public debate about the most serious matters of national defense and foreign policy."
• The New York Times Apologizes by Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, September 27. "18 months after launching its controversial coverage of Wen Ho Lee, the paper issues a carefully crafted -- and curious -- mea culpa."
• DOE Statement on the Baker-Hamilton Report, September 25. "It is imperative that action be taken to strengthen security and restore morale at the national weapons laboratories."
• State Department Briefing on Suspension of Amb. Martin Indyk's Security Clearance, daily press briefing, September 25. "We have not suspended security clearances for an Ambassador previously, prior to this. This is the first time this has happened to an Ambassador."
• Civil Liberties Groups Oppose New Counterterrorism Legislation, letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee, September 25. A pending amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act "poses grave threats to constitutional rights."
• White House Announces Investigation of Wen Ho Lee Case, press briefing, September 22. Attorney General has asked the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility to do a thorough review.
• How the New York Times helped railroad Wen Ho Lee by Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, September 21. "Its reporters relied on slim evidence, quick conclusions and loyalty to sources with an ax to grind. Too bad the paper of record learned nothing from its role in Whitewater."
• Release of Foreign Relations Volume on Southeast Asia Region, 1964-1968, September 21, 2000.
• Pentagon Press Briefing on John Deutch Investigation, September 21. "It appears that we were indeed offered an opportunity to share the information that the CIA investigators had gathered on Dr. Deutch."
• CIA Intends to Release Records on Cold War Spymaster, National Archives press release, September 20. "The CIA's announcement marks the first acknowledgement by that agency that it had any relationship with Gehlen."
• The Strange Case of the U.S. v. Wen Ho Lee, Nightline, ABC News, September 19. "Where does this leave national security, and where does this leave one man’s civil rights?"
• Pentagon Press Briefing on John Deutch Investigation, September 19. "Rather than largely duplicating the CIA's effort, we felt that the best course of action was to let that professional investigation proceed...."
• Evidence of Iraqi War Crimes Declassified remarks of Amb. David Scheffer at a State Department briefing, September 18. "The U.S. Government has undertaken a review of imagery to declassify potential evidence of both historical and more recent Iraqi criminal conduct."
• Searching for a Wen Ho Lee Scapegoat by Ian Hoffman, Albuquerque Journal, September 17. "Now, official Washington is in a whirl to pinpoint fault. And there are many players to consider."
• Sandia Lab Chief Slammed for Testimony in Wen Ho Lee Case by John Fleck, Albuquerque Journal, September 17. "Robinson indulged in hyperbole, and like much of the rest of the prosecution, overstated his case," said Aftergood, a government secrecy expert with the Federation of American Scientists.
• President Endorses Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, September 16. "This was the first multilateral agreement against bribery to be adopted anywhere in the world."
• Pentagon Press Briefing: Comments on Wen Ho Lee Case, September 14. "Do you believe that nuclear weapons data was compromised? Do you believe that the Chinese gained access to classified nuclear weapons data?"
• How FBI's Flawed Case Against Lee Unraveled by Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, September 13. "Investigators pursued questionable tactics in their zeal to prosecute a Los Alamos scientist as a spy. Careers are ruined, and still no one knows how China obtained nuclear secrets."
• White House Delays Release of Declassified Chile Documents, press statement, September 13. "The National Security Advisor has decided to delay that release temporarily in order to complete a further review of certain documents related to U.S. covert action in Chile."
• Latest Developments in the Wen Ho Lee Case, CBS News: The Early Show, September 12. Steven Aftergood, FAS: "We've seen an amazing transformation of the public image of Dr. Lee from master spy to victim of government overreaching."
• The Lessons of the Fizzled Wen Ho Lee Spy Case by Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor, September 12. "There are lots of important issues here that have barely begun to be addressed," says Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists.
• Government's Handling of Wen Ho Lee Case 'a Serious Blow to Its Credibility' , CNN Early Edition, September 11. "As recently as last week, federal prosecutors were saying that Lee was a threat to national security and should not be allowed out of prison on probation. So what has changed prosecutors' minds?"
• Order Denying Export Privileges to Peter Lee, from the Federal Register, September 11. "I have decided to deny Lee's export privileges for a period of eight years from the date of his conviction."
• Wen Ho Lee to be Freed by Ian Hoffman, Albuquerque Journal, September 10. "Who is going to apologize to Wen Ho Lee for the last nine months in solitary confinement?"
• Agencies, Employees Spar Over Lie Detector Tests by Elisabeth Frater, National Journal, September 9. "Congress imposed the requirements without considering the validity, reliability, or consequences [of polygraph testing]."
• Restricted White House Document Identical to Unclassified Version, by Pamela Hess, United Press International, September 6. "A line-by-line comparison of the restricted Presidential Decision Directive-63 with the publicly released white paper show virtually no difference between the two documents."
• Appellate Judges Latest to be Ensnared in Twisting Wen Ho Lee Case, by Richard Benke, Associated Press, September 5. "On national security matters, the courts have been sheep led around by the government," Aftergood said.
• Are There Any Nuclear Secrets Left to Steal? by William J. Broad, New York Times, September 3. "In Washington in recent years, the push for greater openness has coexisted uneasily with an equally intense desire to raise a wall around the nation's remaining nuclear secrets."
• Lee's Jail Release Still Up in the Air by Ian Hoffman, Albuquerque Journal, September 1. "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 today."

Older News: August 2000

FAS | Government Secrecy ||| Index | Search | Join FAS

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2000/09/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood