Prosecutors Fight Bid by Jailed Scientist

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday to reject fired nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee’s demand that they disclose which foreign nation they believe he was trying to help by allegedly breaching security at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Lee, a 60-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Taiwan, is accused of transferring nuclear secrets from secure to unsecure computers and computer tapes. He is charged with 59 counts involving security breaches and could face life in prison if convicted.

Lee’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge John Conway on May 10 to order prosecutors to name the alleged beneficiary of the restricted material, saying Lee should not have to guess what country the government believes he was trying to assist.

The government has not alleged that Lee passed any secrets to anyone, and he is not accused of espionage.

In the petition filed Wednesday, U.S. Atty. Norman Bay and other prosecutors said they are not required to prove that Lee intended to benefit a single, specific foreign nation. For prosecutors to win conviction, they must prove Lee made the alleged data transfers with the intent of injuring the United States or giving a foreign nation an advantage.

Prosecutors said disclosing too much could tie their hands at trial.

Lee’s lawyers have said that all the materials in question were part of Lee’s regular work and that the materials were not classified.

The defense said the government had “hinted” it would rely on two theories: that Lee intended to benefit China or Taiwan.