Los Alamos – Nuclear Secrets

"Oct. 24, 1997, [Pentagon Official Jonathan] Fox had
been ordered to insert the conclusion in place of his
own in a memo reviewing an administration plan to share
critical nuclear technology with China. The White House
needed a rush OK in advance of
Chinese President Jian Zemin's visit..

Fox's finding was at odds with the White House by 180
degrees: ‘The proposed arrangement presents real and substantial
risk to the common defense and security of the United States.’

Fox, an arms-control officer, made the change-but only
because he says his job had been threatened. If he
didn't alter the memo, his boss at the time, Michael Johnson,
‘told me I would be lucky if I still had my job at the end of the day.’"
1

During his March 11, 1999, Signing Ceremony and Summit Closing Statements, the President advised, "…In 1997, in July, we were notified that the scope of the potential espionage might be very broad, and might be directly related to lax security at the energy labs. At that time, we moved quickly and decisively…"2

In January of 1993, Keith Fultz, Assistant Comptroller General with the United States General Accounting Office, met with Hazel O’Leary, the new Energy Secretary, to brief O’Leary about strengthening security at the three Department of Energy Labs. Congressional records indicate that security measures were relaxed, not strengthened.3

In January of 1995, the first evidence of possible spying was uncovered by Robert Hensen at the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico.4

"Although Mr. Henson is a former hydrogen bomb designer and one of the nation's top analysts of China's nuclear program, a panel of experts at first rejected his findings, concluding that China's bomb program must have come up with U.S. design features independently. The panel pressured Mr. Henson to agree. He resisted."5

Mr. Henson kept pushing the issue, but "they [Los Alamos] wanted this thing to quiet down and go away."6 By April of 1995, an intelligence expert named Larry Booth sided with Hensen.7 They took their information to Notra Trulock.8 In October 1995, Mr. Henson was fired.9

"By the fall of 1995, Charles Curtis, the former Deputy Secretary of Energy, had already brought the Federal Bureau of Investigation into the case." By November 1995, the panel essentially agreed with Mr. Henson's findings. Mr. Henson was rehired.11

In April of 1996, Notra Trulock briefed Sandy Berger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, of the potential espionage at Los Alamos.12 Sandy Berger was, at one time, a lobbyist for the Chinese Government’s trade office.13 The suspected spy was believed to still be passing secrets to the Chinese. "According to Energy officials who took part in the meeting and read highly classified materials used to prepare for it, Sandy Berger was also told how the stolen technology could fit into Beijing's overall nuclear strategy and how the W-88 technology could be used as part of a plan to rely on the mobility of truck-launched missiles with small warheads to better survive a counter-nuclear attack by the United States."14

In October of 1996, Mr. Henson was fired again.15

In November of 1996, Charles B. Curtis issued a set of new directives to immediately and considerably strengthen security, along with an anticipated completion date for each directive. Ignoring his timeline, the Department of Energy did not implement these directives until September of 1998.16

In March of 1997, Notra Trulock requested a meeting with Federico Pena, who replaced Hazel O’Leary as Secretary of Energy. Trulock had additional evidence of continued spying at Los Alamos. Victor Reis, Acting Secretary for Defense Programs, and Kenneth Baker, Acting Director for Nonproliferation, refused to allow the meeting.17

Notra Trulock later wrote a memorandum requesting permission to brief the House Intelligence Committee; Elizabeth Moler of the Energy Department denied his request. She later stated that she "could not recall" his request for a meeting; however, the memorandum "was found in her safe in her office after she left her job at the Energy Department."18

In April of 1997, the FBI requested a wiretap for suspected Los Alamos spy Wen Ho Lee.19 They would eventually request three wiretaps for Lee. News reports indicate that out of over 2,000 requests for wiretaps during the 1993-1997 time period, this was the only one the Justice Department denied.20

In July of 1997, Notra Trulock issued his second report. Sandy Berger briefed the President about the Los Alamos situation and alleged threats of Chinese espionage.21

In August of 1997, Notra Trulock briefed Gary Samore, a senior official for the National Security Council, about the Los Alamos situation.22 After the meeting, Gary Samore reportedly asked the CIA to provide an "alternative analysis" to explain why China had developed a warhead similar to the W-88."23

Louis Freeh, Director of the FBI, advised Energy Department officials that their investigation had reached the point where they could remove suspected spy Wen Ho Lee from his position at the Lab; however, the FBI did not have enough evidence to arrest him. Wen Ho Lee was not questioned until December of 1998.24

On October 6, 1998, Notra Trulock and Elizabeth Moler appeared before the Procurement Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee to answer questions regarding the security surrounding the Foreign Visitor Program.27 "Upon questioning, Moler admitted that she ordered Trulock to strike all information in his testimony that dealt with espionage activities at the labs because it ‘was not relevant’ to the subject of the hearing, the Foreign Visitor Program."28

In December of 1998, Wen Ho Lee was given his first lie detector test. According to Congressional records, his answers were deemed "deceptive."29 It will take another two months before he is given a second test, and yet another month after before he is removed from his position at the lab.30 After his removal, sensitive information known as "legacy codes" are found on his computer. The legacy codes reportedly contained America’s entire nuclear arsenal history.31

"As for Mr. Henson, the man who really discovered the problem, he also has had a moment of triumph -- sort of. He sued the University of California, which runs Los Alamos, for age discrimination in firing him. Last November the university agreed to give Mr. Henson $10,000 for legal costs and to help him get his old job back. The laboratory still admits no wrongdoing."32

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