Wen Ho Lee Back in Solitary Confinement

Sept. 12 -- After nearly being freed on a plea deal Monday, fired Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee hopes prosecutors and his attorneys will reach an agreement Wednesday that will enable him to return home for the first time in nine and a half months.

Earlier this week, government officials announced that the Chinese-American scientist would agree to plead guilty to one felony charge — downloading restricted material to an unsecured computer — and be sentenced to the nine months he has already served in jail. But at the beginning of Monday’s hearing, Lee was returned to solitary confinement when both sides announced they had reached a snag in plea negotiations.

U.S. District Judge James Parker in Albuquerque, N.M., gave the lawyers until Wednesday resolve their differences.

Parker had said a few hours earlier Monday that both sides were discussing possible amendments to the plea agreement, which would end what has proved to be an embarrassing case to the government. Justice Department officials in Washington refused to discuss the reason for the postponement and lawyers in Albuquerque were not available for comment.

Monday’s hearing had been delayed twice during the day. Lee’s daughter, Alberta, left the packed courtroom in tears and her mother, Sylvia, appeared dazed.

No Additional Prison Time Expected

If both sides iron-out their differences, the plea bargain will be a dramatic turnaround for the U.S. government, which, just months ago, alleged that Lee had stolen the “crown jewels” of the nuclear weapons program. Lee was never formally charged with spying, but he was charged with 59 counts of mishandling nuclear secrets. He has spent 275 days in prison.

“The issue here is — are we getting the tapes back and we find out what happened to those tapes. I think that is the key,” Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., before the postponement was announced. “The plea bargain enables us to get that information.”