SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
August 15, 2001
** BELLOWS REPORT FAULTS DOE, FBI
** "IT'S NOT AN OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT"
BELLOWS REPORT FAULTS DOE, FBI
The Justice Department on Monday released two heavily censored chapters of
the so-called "Bellows Report" on the investigation of alleged Chinese
nuclear espionage at Los Alamos National Laboratory that purported to
identify Wen Ho Lee as a suspected spy.
The report, authored by federal prosecutor Randy Bellows and submitted to
Attorney General Reno in May 2000, is a case study in how not to conduct a
counterintelligence investigation.
It describes, step by step, how initial indications of possible Chinese
espionage led to a misdirected spy hunt that wasted "years investigating the
wrong crime" (page 236).
The report found that DOE officials set things off on the wrong foot by
mischaracterizing the alleged compromise of nuclear information, and then
the FBI made them worse.
"To say that DOE misled the FBI as to the predicate, and to say that DOE
improperly focused its conclusion only on Wen Ho Lee, is only to describe
half the problem. The other half was the FBI's unfortunate and unwarranted
acceptance of DOE's description of the predicate, and its unhesitating and
unquestioning acceptance of DOE's identification of Lee as 'the most logical
suspect'." (page 380)
"It is not that Wen Ho Lee should not have been *a* suspect. It was that
Wen Ho Lee should not have been the *only* suspect. After all, the case
against Wen Ho Lee could hardly be termed overwhelming" (page 376).
The Bellows report, which is generally scrupulous in its assessments, seems
weak in its discussion of allegations of racial bias against Lee (pp.
381-88). Bellows does not appear to have interviewed those who have made
such allegations, responding instead to second-hand reports in the press.
If the accusers had any evidence to support their claims, Bellows apparently
did not obtain it.
The scope of Bellows' inquiry is limited to the early investigative phase of
the Lee case, ending in March 1999, when Wen Ho Lee was fired from Los
Alamos. It does not encompass the decision to prosecute him nine months
later, the manner of his confinement, or the government's conduct of his
prosecution -- all matters of continuing controversy.
The full (declassified) text of Chapter 7 of the Bellows Report is posted
here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/bellows_chap7.html
Excerpts from Chapter 6, which was censored to the point that portions of
the remaining text are unintelligible, are posted here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/bellows_chap6.html
"IT'S NOT AN OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT"
One estimable reader objected to Secrecy News' (8/10/01) use of the term
"official secrets act" to refer to the proposed legislation to criminalize
unauthorized disclosures of classified information. Such legislation was
vetoed last year by President Clinton and is again under consideration by
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"The reference to an 'Official Secrets Act' clearly alludes to the long-time
UK law that, in part, makes it a crime for anyone, including a journalist,
to publish classified information," the reader wrote.
In contrast, he noted, "The legislation that President Clinton vetoed last
year clearly could not be used to prosecute the uncleared receiver of
classified information (such as a journalist). The legislation only
targeted the cleared holder of classified information who, without
authority, deliberately discloses such information to someone who is not
authorized to have access to it. Even then, the legislation and other
provisions of law provide safeguards and mechanisms for whistleblowers when
it is believed that the information reveals violations of law, waste, fraud
or abuse."
"Prosecuting someone who deliberately violates his/her agreed upon trust to
safeguard classified information is a far cry from prosecuting journalists,"
the reader argued sensibly.
"Finally, we cannot legitimately purport to support the broadest possible
implementation of declassification if we are unwilling to support the
safeguarding of information that is still classified under existing
provisions of law," he wrote.
But classified information can be, and long has been, effectively
safeguarded without making any and all leaks a felony.
The "anti-leak" legislation was defeated last year not because of opposition
to protecting classified information. Rather, opponents argued successfully
that the measure would have a chilling effect on legitimate interactions
between government officials and members of the public; that it would
hinder diplomats and press officers in the performance of their duties; and
that the executive branch's classification system should not be
indiscriminately fortified with a felony statute.
******************************
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation
of American Scientists.
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: [log in to unmask]
voice: (202) 454-4691
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