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Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit

By TChris, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 04:20:10 PM EST
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by TChris

Wen Ho Lee lost his liberty (in solitary confinement) for nine months, but he's more concerned about his loss of reputation. Lee sued the Departments of Energy and Justice for violating his right to privacy "by leaking information that he was under investigation as a spy for China." The government is paying Lee $895,000 to cover his legal fees and associated taxes.

Lee subpoenaed five reporters to prove the source of the leaks. The reporters refused to disclose their sources, resulting in contempt findings, fines and jail sentences. The five media entities (AP, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and ABC) are sweetening the settlement with another $750,000, essentially buying the freedom (and silence) of their reporters by ending the lawsuit.

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    Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#1)
    by jimcee on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 04:53:41 PM EST
    And are they contemporary American journalists at thier finest? Or maybe at thier worst?

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 06:19:14 PM EST
    Another example of the chimpboy and the rethugs undermining democracy. I'm sure this was done to benefit Haliburton and probably tied into Deibold too.

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#3)
    by Sailor on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 07:12:06 PM EST
    The gov't leaked classified info to solve a political problem ... sound familiar?

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 07:16:58 PM EST
    Sailor, aren't leakers supposed to be given a quick trial, then a cigarette and a blindfold? Thought I heard something to that effect recently around here...

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 09:35:13 PM EST
    It was obvious from the beginning that Wen Ho Lee's treatment was a disgrace. Its also a disgrace that it took this long to set the record straight.

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#6)
    by cpinva on Sun Jun 04, 2006 at 07:41:33 AM EST
    this whole case seems to typify a common malady among "journalists" today: the failure to thoroughly check the facts, in a story of this magnitude. there have been several recent cases where the reported facts differed entirely from the actual ones. there have been stories that turned out to be made up entirely. each time one is exposed, the publication involved vows to tighten their editing standards, so as to not let it happen again. apparently, they aren't doing a very good job of it. why should we believe anything these people tell us, given their failure to do the basic leg work on a story this big? if they don't bother their pretty little, well paid heads on something like this, imagine the probably complete lack of editorial oversight that must go into the smaller stories.

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#7)
    by ksh on Sun Jun 04, 2006 at 03:14:25 PM EST
    TChris, does this settlement strike you as low for the harms alleged? Especially the amount paid by the government.

    Re: Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit (none / 0) (#8)
    by squeaky on Mon Jun 05, 2006 at 08:42:08 AM EST
    Eric Boehlert has an excellent in depth piece thourougly indicting the NYT for reckless reporting. Jeff Gerth of Whitwater infame was the hack who, not satisfied with his Whitewater sliming of Clinton so continued onto Lee; it was all Clinton's fault according to Gerth and his co-author Risen. The FBI took notice:
    But according to FBI transcripts, Lee, 59, in his halting English, insisted he was innocent. "I believe [God] will make the final judgment for my case. And I depend on him." "You know what?" shot back the agent. "The Rosenbergs professed their innocence. They weren't concerned either. The Rosenbergs are dead. They electrocuted them," he said, referring to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of leaking Los Alamos secrets to the Soviet Union in the 1950s. The agents used an important prop to dramatize to Lee his dire situation: a copy of the Times' March 6 article. "This is a big problem," stressed the FBI investigator. "I think you need to read this article, because there's some things that have been raised by Washington that we have got to get resolved."
    The NYT has not apologized, are we surprised? Eric Boehlert via atrios

    Wen Ho Lee Settles Suit | 8 comments (8 topical)