Date: 2000-10-12
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. and thank her very much for taking this time and this special order to raise the concerns that she has. I have been watching the special order. and I want to tell her how much I appreciate it. because I think *that the treatment and the prosecution of Wen Ho Lee and the manner in which it was handled raises serious concerns for every American. Once again we see that when the incredible power of the government comes down on a single individual. all too often that individuals rights are crushed under the full force. And in this case we saw almost a hysteria that ran through the government. through committees of Congress. within the Department of Energy and Justice and Defense. in a frenzy to try to prove something that they may. in fact. not have had the evidence to prove. And in doing so. they focused on this individual. Wen Ho Lee. and then proceeded over the next 9 months to treat him in a manner that no American would want to be treated or have a member of their family treated. The gentlewoman has recited the litany of harsh treatments to this elderly man during his time in solitary confinement. when in fact at the same time the evidence was starting to suggest that maybe he was not guilty of all that he was charged. This is not to suggest that perhaps that Wen Ho Lee did not violate rules of protocol and perhaps even security rules. But the jump from that to that he was one of the most dangerous men in the United States. that he had transferred the crown jewels. we now find that what this -was was a lot of prosecutorial hyperbole. They were trying to make their case. They were trying to push the public to focus in on this individual because they felt it would solve a problem. We know that one of the major mistakes that law enforcement can make is to focus on a single individual too early in an investigation. So now we find out 9 months later that not only have they dropped all of the charges with respect to Wen Ho Lee. except for one out of 79 counts. but we are no further along in knowing what happened to this information and how it got into the hands of the person who walked into our embassy and dropped it on to a table. So in fact not only were his rights compromised. but in fact maybe the very investigation has been compromised because so much energy and effort was put on to the focus of Wen Ho Lee. I just want to again thank the gentlewoman for taking this time. People should not look at this case as a case. against a Chinese American or an Asian or a person who is a threat to the United States. They ought to think of this in terms of every American. We understand that this Congress has taken action against prosecutors who have exceeded their authority way beyond what can be justified. or the Internal Revenue Service. And what we really ought to have. and what I have ask d for and written the President and spoken out -on this floor for. is somehow we need a truly independent investigation. I am afraid that investigation will have to come from outside of the government. because the government is so compromised in the manner in which the investigation was handled by the various agencies and by the committees of this Congress in their rush to judgment. in their frenzy and their hysteria over this issue. But I would hope that this administration would in fact appoint an outside panel of experts who can have that security clearance. who can determine what in fact happened here. because the damage runs to our civil liberties. The damage runs to Wen Ho Lee and his family. his reputation. and it also runs to the integrity of this body. to our agencies that participated in that. The American public needs to know what happened there. Unfortunately. I think the damage also runs to the labs and to our ability to recruit. The gentlewoman is aware. as I am aware. of what has happened in the Asian community with scientists and others who wonder now if they go to work for these labs whether they will be profiled. whether they will be treated differently. are they suspect because of their travels. because of their family. because of their heritage. because of their culture? And when you see the treatment of this individual. you would be asking the same question of yourself if you wanted to determine. And yet. because of this action. we may be denying this country some of the very best scientists. mathematicians. engineers and others that are available in the world today who would love to come to work for the United States and in fact are not any of those suspected things. So I think it has been a real cost to us. to the labs and to our resources available to work on the kinds of scientific endeavors that so many at the lab do on a daytoday basis. So people ought to understand. this is not just about Wen Ho Lee. This is the ripples of this case. and how it has been handled go far beyond far beyond this individual and his treatment. But we ought to make sure that we do not forget nor can an agency simply not answer for their actions. That is what has to be done. But I do not think that they can investigate themselves because in fact they were part of the frenzy that took place around the arrest and prosecution and detainment of Wen Ho Lee. So we owe the gentlewoman a debt of. gratitude for taking this time for putting these documents in the RECORD SO that the broader public will have access to them. I want to thank the gentlewoman very much for doing so.