U.S. Rejects Request to Reduce Charges in Lee Case

The government on Tuesday refused a defense request to reduce the charges in the Wen Ho Lee case and acknowledged that files allegedly mishandled by the fired Los Alamos scientist were not classified.

In a court filing, the government also said it opposes the defense’s request to dismiss all but 10 counts of the indictment against Lee.

And, citing national security concerns, the government withheld public release of a defense response to additional allegations against the 60-year-old scientist, who is accused of breaching security at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

The court filings came as U.S. District Judge James A. Parker considered whether to grant bail for Lee, who has been in jail since December.

Lee is charged with 59 counts alleging that he “down-partitioned” and downloaded restricted material to unsecured computers and tapes. Down-partitioning refers to a lowering of an electronic security barrier, which would be necessary before downloading data to an unsecured status.

The defense contends that the materials Lee allegedly mishandled were not classified secret at the time. They were labeled “protect as restricted data,” or PARD, calling for lower levels of security. Attorneys have said PARD materials can be sent via first-class mail.

However, the prosecution said Tuesday that although the materials were labeled PARD, 19 files and one tape held higher classifications--”secret restricted data” and “confidential restricted data,” SRD and CRD.

“The government also will present evidence that Lee would have known that the information he took contained SRD and CRD even though the actual files he down-partitioned and downloaded were marked PARD,” Assistant U.S. Atty. George A. Stamboulidis says in the document.

Earlier this month, prosecutors filed a list of supplemental allegations for Lee’s trial, set to begin Nov. 6. One of the allegations is that Lee repeatedly sought access to a secure area of the lab after his electronic access badge was deactivated.

The defense’s response to the allegations was immediately sealed.