Senate to hold hearings into alleged Chinese spying

March 25, 1999
Web posted at: 8:28 p.m. EST (0128 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said Thursday the committee voted unanimously to conduct a "full-fledged" investigation of nuclear laboratories in the United States, after allegations that a Chinese spy obtained sensitive materials at one lab.

The Alabama Republican said the investigation would include "the conditions at our labs, the security at our labs, the espionage going on related to our labs, and so forth."

Hearings will begin after Congress returns from an Easter recess, the senator said. Most will be closed, but some of the information could be made public, he added.

Shelby said security in the labs has not improved recently, despite steps the Clinton administration has taken since the case of possible espionage at Los Alamos National Laboratory was revealed.

"The security at our labs, I don't believe, is much improved in the last week or two weeks or months. It's a serious problem, and I don't feel comfortable at all," he said.

Taiwan-born scientist Wen Ho Lee was fired March 8 by the Department of Energy for alleged security violations while working at Los Alamos.

Law enforcement officials have told CNN they did not have enough evidence to charge Lee and may never charge him.

Lee, who has denied giving Chinese officials sensitive information, remains under investigation.

Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas and Producer Christy Darden contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.