President William Jefferson Clinton
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Clinton:

        We understand that you intend to meet with the Attorney General soon
to discuss the prosecution and pretrial detention of former Department of
Energy employee Wen Ho Lee.

        We ask that during your conversation and in any ensuing discussions,
you not limit the scope of your inquiries merely to the issue of bail, but
rather expand the dialogue to include the roles taken by each federal agency
and to deliver to Americans all of the relevant facts surrounding the past
nine months.  We also ask that you direct all the agencies involved to take
immediate action to assure their employees and all Americans that this
fateful combination of security breaches and misdirect investigations will
never happen again.

        It is increasingly clear from media reports of this case that the
agencies involved made indiscriminate leaks to the media and moved their
investigation forward based upon false or misleading information.  We are
especially concerned about the role of the Department of Energy, the
previously undisputed international leader in nuclear research.  This
Department's responsibility as the steward of international nuclear weapons
and information requires impenetrable security and the flawless execution of
investigations.  Instead of fulfilling these duties, when faced with obvious
and repeated security breaches, the Department initiated a process that led
other governmental agencies to join in a sensational media frenzy that
climaxed with the wide assumption that Dr. Lee was a spy.

        The federal government, at the insistence of the Department of
Energy and its national security experts, led this nation to believe that
Dr. Lee sacrificed the secrecy of highly classified nuclear weapon design
information.  In June of this year, an unnamed senior Department of energy
official was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as alleging that the records
under discussion in the case were, "like a road map . . . It's not just a
blueprint, it's the complete diary of everything that led to the blueprints.
It's staggering.  And irreplaceable."  It is a disgrace upon the Department
involved in this investigation that after investigators failed to strong-arm
Dr. Lee into a confession behind closed doors, high-ranking officials began
an anonymous and slanderous campaign against Dr. Lee in the media.

        It is our fear that the poor judgement and false accusations that
drove this case have done greater damage to our national security and the
strength of our scientific community than the actions of the accused.  This
investigation's shortcomings have done a grave disservice to our national
security.  There is already evidence that the effects of this investigation
have dramatically decreased lab morale and production.  There is no question
that these events have frightened off some of the brightest scientists in
our country and made them doubt that national security laboratories are a
safe or rewarding place to do research.  Without the brilliant scientists
performing critical research, the United States is at risk of losing the
technological advantage that has served us so well since the Cold War.

        For these reasons we must move quickly to restore the reputation of
our federal government and assure the American people that this scale of
false accusations will not be tolerated.  The agencies involved owe Congress
and the American people a complete explanation of how after failing in their
role to protect our national security, they could maliciously pursue a
slanderous, sensationalist, and inaccurate investigation.

Sincerely,

Signers:

Rep. Robert Matsui
Rep. Patsy Mink
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Barney Frank
Rep. David Wu
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
Rep. Anna Eshoo