MESSAGE BOARD: Nuclear secrets

September 22, 1999
Web posted at: 3:03 p.m. EDT (1903 GMT)

From Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI plans to broaden its three-year investigation into alleged leaks of nuclear secrets to China, to include new suspects and government agencies, sources told CNN Wednesday.

The FBI plans to essentially start from scratch in the case, which has focused on the Los Alamos National Laboratory and nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.

For the first time, FBI officials have acknowledged that their investigation of the suspected theft of data on the nation's most sophisticated nuclear warhead may have been too narrow, government sources said.

Lee, who was fired from Los Alamos in March, remains a suspect in the case and still faces possible charges over allegations that he downloaded nuclear codes from a secure computer, the sources said.

But the FBI will now look at other suspects and government agencies in connection with the alleged leaks, according to the sources.

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