Media Advisory
For Immediate Release
May 21, 2002

Contact: Cecilia Chang, 510 537-2929

U.S. CONGRESSMAN MIKE HONDA COMMENDS SUPPORT GROUP SEEKING PARDON FOR WEN HO LEE

Fremont, Ca – Supporters of former Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Wen Ho Lee seek a presidential pardon for Dr. Lee’s plea of a single felony count of
mishandling classified material.  Founder of Wenholee.org and organizer of the campaign, Cecilia Chang, hopes to acquire 10,000 signatures for the pardon by June 30, 2002. “We are fighting not for Wen Ho Lee alone but for every American of Asian descent,” says Chang. “We are fighting not just against what has happened, but against what may happen in the future.”

This same time last year, the General Accounting Office concluded that FBI Assistant Director Neil J. Gallagher misled Congress about the espionage investigation at
Los Alamos National Laboratory in which Dr. Lee was identified as a suspect. Dr. Lee was detained for nine months in solitary confinement, shackled and manacled,
only to be released after the government dismissed 58 out of 59 counts against him and Dr. Lee pled guilty to one charge. Judge Parker who oversaw the case apologized to Dr. Lee in court stating, “I feel I was led astray … by the Executive Branch of our government through its Department of Justice, by its Federal Bureau of Investigation, and by its United States attorney for the District of New Mexico…. I sincerely apologize to you, Dr. Lee, for the unfair manner in which you were held in custody by the Executive Branch.”

“It is important for all Asian American communities and all Americans to understand that Wen Ho Lee was treated  unfairly by the judicial and political systems of the United States,” said U.S. Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose). “I commend Wen Ho Lee.org for raising awareness about this issue in their pursuit of justice.”

Dr. Lee’s supporters now hope to obtain a pardon on his behalf from President Bush. “We demand Wen Ho Lee’s pardon,” says Chang, “not because he is an Asian
American, but because he is an American. We are defending the integrity of our Constitution and the decency of a civilized society.”

The petition can be obtained online at www.wenholee.org

Co-sponsors
1. Sacramento Chinese American Political Action Committee, California
2. East Bay Asian Voters Consortium, California
3. Association of Northern California Chinese Schools
4. South Alameda County Peace and Justice Coalition, California
5. Joint Chinese University Alumni Association, Southern California
6. Organization of Chinese American, Seattle Chapter
 

Endorsee
1. Citizen for Better Community, Fremont, California
2. Japanese American Citizen’s Alliance, Honolulu Chapter
3. United Muslim of America, Sunnyvale, California
4. Chinese for Affirmative Action, California