China may have obtained warhead secrets from contractors

China may have obtained warhead secrets from contractors

WASHINGTON (November 19, 1999 1:27 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Federal investigators have reportedly discovered new evidence suggesting China may have obtained information about America's most advanced nuclear warhead from one of the weapon's contractors or the Navy.

The FBI's investigation originally had focused on Wen Ho Lee, a scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The Washington Post quoted government sources in its editions Friday as saying that errors found in a Chinese intelligence document describing the W-88 warhead have been traced to a defense installation and contractors that assemble nuclear weapons.

An FBI analysis now supports the position of Energy Department officials and Los Alamos scientists that China could have obtained the nuclear secrets at any of dozens of locations, the sources said.

The information most likely came from one of the weapon's assembly points, an unnamed source told the Post. These sites include Sandia National Laboratories, which builds warhead prototypes; Lockheed Martin Corp., which mounts the warheads on missiles, and the Navy, which supervises the process.

A Lockheed Martin spokesman told the newspaper his company "is cooperating with the government in its investigation and is not under investigation nor implicated in any wrongdoing."

Mark Holscher, Lee's attorney, told the Post the new evidence "is further proof that the focus of the investigation on Dr. Lee was inappropriate and that to continue to prosecute him for lesser charges is unfair."