China: Suspected Acquisition of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Secrets

CRS-41
governments cannot build the sophisticated U.S. nuclear warheads based on
computer simulation codes downloaded by Lee. Richter testified that the “crown
jewels” of U.S. nuclear weapons secrets were not the simulation codes that Lee
downloaded, but the data from over 1,000 nuclear tests. Richter also said that he
wanted Lee acquitted and that a foreign power could use the codes to help design
nuclear weapons but not a complete design. At the same hearing, Lee’s defense
attorneys also argued that FBI Special Agent Robert Messemer gave false testimony
about Lee’s alleged deception at the first hearing on his bail in December 1999.
Messemer admitted that he gave inaccurate testimony (as an “honest mistake”) and
that Lee did not lie to a colleague (Kuok-Mee Ling) about writing a “resume,” but
Messemer argued that the error was not meant to mislead the court. 164
The hearing produced a major victory for Lee’s defense on August 24, 2000,
when U.S. District Judge James Parker reversed his decision from eight months
earlier and ruled that Lee may be released on bail to be kept under strict supervision
at home. Judge Parker’s ruled that the government’s argument to keep Lee in jail
“no longer has the requisite clarity and persuasive character.” 165 Family, neighbors,
and friends planned a reception for Lee but had to repeatedly postpone it.
After a hearing on August 29, 2000, on the conditions of Lee’s release, the judge
ruled that Lee can be released on $1 million bail and with tight restrictions at home,
with a three-day stay for the prosecution to search his house, consult with the Justice
Department, and prepare for a possible appeal. The restraints would include
electronic monitoring of Lee, surveillance of his phone calls and mail, and
restrictions on visitors, including his daughter and son. However, the government
argued, unsuccessfully, that restrictions should also cover Lee’s communications
with his wife, Sylvia. 166 Lee’s family and friends offered over $2 million in their own
assets for Lee’s bail.
In an opinion dated August 31, 2000, Judge Parker discussed at length new
revelations in the case that warranted his granting of release on bail after over eight
months. He said, “while the nature of the offenses is still serious and of grave
concern, new light has been cast on the circumstances under which Dr. Lee took the
information, making them seem somewhat less troubling than they appeared to be in
December.” He noted, among many points, that top weapons designers testified that
the information Lee downloaded was less sensitive than previously described; that
FBI Agent Robert Messemer “testified falsely or inaccurately” in December 1999
about Lee; that the government had an alternative, less sinister theory that Lee sought
to enhance prospects for employment abroad; that the government never presented
direct evidence that Lee intended to harm the United States; that family, friends, and
colleagues supported Lee’s character; and that what the government had described
164 Loeb, Vernon, “Nuclear Weapons Expert Urges Bail for Lee,” Washington Post, August
17, 2000; Vernon Loeb and Walter Pincus, “Judge: Lee Can Be Freed on Bail,” Washington
Post, August 25, 2000.
165 Loeb, Vernon and Walter Pincus, “Judge: Lee Can Be Freed on Bail,” Washington Post,
August 25, 2000; Order of U.S. District Judge, August 24, 2000.
166 Vernon Loeb and Walter Pincus, “Lee Could be Freed on Bail Friday,” Washington Post,
August 30, 2000.