Reno: No Apology

* Re “Clinton Criticizes Justice Dept. Over Wen Ho Lee Case,” Sept. 15: How sad it is to see Janet Reno, whom my daughter greatly admired as the first woman attorney general and the protector of all Americans, justify the detention of Dr. Wen Ho Lee in solitary imprisonment and shackled hand and foot. He had every chance to explain himself.

It is indeed sad that in America, the land of vaunted freedom, a Chinese American scientist who devoted more than 20 years of his life to help make America the strongest superpower must prove that he is innocent, rather than being innocent until proven guilty.

YOONG JUN FAH

La Canada

*

Just when I thought I had seen all of Bill Clinton’s skills, he came through with a classic adaptation of Harry Truman’s desk sign. With Bill Clinton, “The buck stops over there.”

DICK VAN KIRK

Arcadia

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I am a naturalized Chinese American. In my opinion, The Times was too much in a rush to scold the U.S. government’s conduct in handling Lee (editorials, Sept. 14-15); after all, Lee did plead guilty to one count of felony violation of regulations designed to safeguard national security.

The government’s measures must correspond to the gravity of the possible consequences of the violation involved. Each time a scientist downloads secret nuclear weapons codes on a tape for work at home we run the risk that a foreign spy will acquire the sensitive information and compromise national security. Although Lee pleaded guilty only to one count of illegal downloading, the chances are that he probably illegally downloaded hundreds of other times. The government’s conduct is understandable in light of the possible what-if scenarios. Only Lee knows for sure why he did the illegally downloading, how much he downloaded and what he did with the downloaded material.

JAMES LI

Anaheim

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The run-amok persecution of Lee reflects pervasive problems at the Justice Department. Sadly, the racism, arrogance and “win at all costs” mentality displayed by the federal prosecutors is all too typical. Few of those wrongfully targeted are lucky enough to be vindicated. Given how inhumanely he was treated, it is hard to view Lee as fortunate. Anyone familiar with the federal criminal justice system, however, knows that he is.

EVAN A. JENNESS

Deputy Federal Public Defender

Los Angeles