| For Immediate Release May 23, 2001 |
Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SEEKS TO BLOCK ORAL TESTIMONY BY WEN HO LEE Hearing Set for 2:00 pm Today in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Time: 2:00 pm Place: Federal Courthouse 401 Courthouse Square Alexandria, Virginia Courtroom: 301, 3rd Floor Magistrate Judge: Thomas Rawles Jones, Jr. (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, has filed lawsuits on behalf of Los Alamos whistleblower Notra Trulock against Dr. Wen Ho Lee and others for defaming Mr. Trulock by branding him as a racist against Asians and Asian-Americans. Dr. Lee, a convicted felon for removing massive amounts of national security information from Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratories, is at the center of this defamation, which was designed to deflect attention away from the serious crime which he committed. For many weeks, Judicial Watch has been scheduled to take the deposition of Dr. Lee on May 24 and 25 in Los Alamos. The deposition was to be videotaped and done orally. Despite knowing for many months that Judicial Watch intended to depose Dr. Lee, the Bush Justice Department said nothing. However, at the eleventh hour, it filed an emergency motion to try to prevent oral testimony claiming it would harm national security. �Judicial Watch does not intend to elicit national security information and has made this clear to the Bush Justice Department. However, it would appear that, on behalf of the FBI, which botched the investigation of Dr. Lee and has attempted to intimidate and silence Mr. Trulock by breaking into his house, seizing his computer, and harming his dog, the Bush Justice Department is seeking to protect the FBI from further embarrassment after the recent debacle concerning alleged Russian spy Robert Hanssen and Timothy McVeigh.� �It is disappointing that the Bush Justice Department would run interference for actions which occurred during the Clinton-Gore Administration. Judicial Watch trusts that Attorney General John Ashcroft knows nothing of this latest effort by Clinton loyalists � who continue to inhabit the Justice Department � to protect their friends in the prior Clinton-Gore Administration. This delaying tactic will not succeed, but it has cost Judicial Watch a great deal of time and money for which it is requesting sanctions,� stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. �Judicial Watch and Mr. Trulock will not be deterred from holding Dr. Lee and his accomplices accountable for their improper use of the race card, particularly since it is clear that national security was breached at Los Alamos,� added Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. A press conference will follow on the courthouse steps. | |