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

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Taiwan). 196 Aside from the implications of these issues for Lee’s case, these issues
raised questions about the effectiveness of the government’s approach in countering
PRC espionage in general and in investigating the W88 case in particular.
In his public statement on “60 Minutes” on August 1, 1999, Lee said he believed
he was being made a scapegoat by investigators, because he was the only Asian
American working on nuclear weapon designs in the sensitive X Division at Los
Alamos in the past 18 years. Ed Curran, head of counterintelligence at DOE, was
quoted on the same show as expressing concern that “since Wen Ho Lee has not been
proven guilty of anything and thus must be presumed innocent, the surfacing of his
name has been devastating to his family and to his life.”
The National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium wrote a letter to
Secretary Richardson on August 5, 1999, denouncing his accusation that Lee used the
“race card” and expressing concerns about racial profiling. On August 10, 1999, the
Committee of 100, an organization comprised of prominent Americans of Chinese
descent, sent a letter to Attorney General Reno and Secretary of Energy Richardson
expressing concerns about “selective investigation” based on Lee’s ethnicity. The
letter said, “Dr. Lee and the nation deserve a case made on the merits of a thorough
and professional investigation, not a racist witchhunt.” The Coalition of Asian
Pacific American Federal Employee Organizations (CAPAFEO) presented a position
paper to President Clinton on September 30, 1999, which urged the Administration
“to take strong and effective measures to protect the rights and civil liberties of
Americans of Asian descent by vigorously enforcing our nation’s laws which prohibit
discrimination based on race of national origin.” The group wrote that “while law
enforcement and counter-intelligence agencies must be ever vigilant, in their zeal,
they must also be careful to safeguard the civil and employment rights of all
Americans.” 197
In August 1999, Robert Vrooman, former head of counterintelligence at Los
Alamos, publicly said that Wen Ho Lee was targeted because he is an American of
Chinese descent and that the case against “was built on thin air.” Vrooman issued
his comments after Secretary Richardson recommended disciplinary action against
him and two other former Los Alamos officials for alleged mishandling of the
counterintelligence investigation. Vrooman said that “Lee’s ethnicity was a major
factor” in targeting him, while “a lot of Caucasians” were not investigated. Vrooman
also said that a detailed description of the W88 warhead was distributed to 548
recipients throughout the government, military, and defense companies, so the
information could have leaked from many sources. 198 Two others who were involved
196 Loeb, Vernon, “Spy Probe Worries Chinese Americans,” Washington Post, August 14,
1999.
197 Coalition of Asian Pacific American Federal Employee Organizations (CAPAFEO), “Los
Alamos Position Paper,” sent to President Clinton on September 30,1999 and presented to
the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus on October 5, 1999.
198 Loeb, Vernon, “Ex-Official: Bomb Lab Case Lacks Evidence,” Washington Post, August
17, 1999; William J. Broad, “Official Asserts Spy Case Suspect Was a Bias Victim,” New
York Times, August 18, 1999.