-
- WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - The
government scientist fired in the Chinese spying
scandal has told investigators
that he cannot account for several
computer diskettes containing nuclear
secrets, the Washington Post said
on Saturday.
-
- The newspaper quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying
the
transfer increases the magnitude of the alleged violation by Wen Ho
Lee, a former government scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
in New Mexico.
-
- Lee was fired by Department of Energy officials earlier
this
year for violating lab security procedures, but has denied allegations
he passed information to China. China has steadfastly denied
spying.
-
- The Post quoted a congressional source as saying there
were
indications that Lee copied nuclear weapons computer codes onto diskettes.
Lee has failed to turn over some of them to investigators, and says he
does not know their whereabouts.
-
- "At least two high-density
(diskettes) that he purchased
are missing," the Post quoted an
official familiar with the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe
as saying.
-
- The paper said FBI Director Louis Freeh briefed some
members of
Congress about the case this week, saying he expects Lee to
be indicted
for gross negligence in handling classified information.
-
- On Friday, the Post
reported - again quoting unnamed
sources - that the FBI had found new
evidence suggesting China may have
stolen information about the most
advanced U.S. nuclear warhead from one
of the weapon's
assemblers.
-
- The discovery resulted in a widening of the evidence
that
previously focused almost entirely on Lee and the Los Alamos, the
Post
said on Friday.
|
