Good for Deutch’s goose, not Wen Ho Lee’s gander

By Gordon Prather

For those of you who have wondered, somewhat, about the disparity in
treatment by Attorney General Janet Reno of former Los Alamos scientist
Wen Ho Lee and Director of Central Intelligence John Deutch, for the
Federal crime of massive “mishandling of classified information,” this
column will probably make you wonder more than somewhat.

Even the casual observer must know that Wen Ho Lee is in jail, in
solitary confinement, awaiting trial. Reno is reportedly seeking to put
Wen Ho in a federal prison for life. On the other hand, Reno has
declined to even prosecute John Deutch, who at the time of his massive
mishandling was the top official in the federal government responsible
for the integrity of the entire system of “handling of classified
information.”

Before proceeding further, a semi-accurate definition may be required
of three categories of classified information: 1) Restricted Data, 2)
Defense Information and 3) Sensitive Compartmented Information.

Restricted Data is defined by the Atomic Energy Act and is
information related to U.S. nuclear weapons programs. Restricted Data
is, therefore, classified according to content. All Restricted
Data must be clearly marked as such, at the top and bottom of every
page. Persons cleared for access to Restricted Data are usually said
to have a “Q” clearance — issued by the Energy Department — and there
are probably tens of thousands of such persons at the present time, both
in government service and in the private sector.

Defense Information, on the other hand, is classified on the basis of
the possible consequences to U.S. National Security that would
or could result if that information was disclosed to unauthorized
persons. Since the consequences of its disclosure can change over time,
what is classified now, may not be at a later time. All Defense
Information must be clearly marked as such, at the top and bottom of
every page. Persons cleared for access to Defense Information are
usually said to have a Secret or a Top Secret Clearance — usually
issued by the Defense Department — and there are probably hundreds of
thousands of such persons at the present time, in government service and
in the private sector.

It is frequently true that some classified information is both
Restricted Data and Defense Information. All such information must have
both Restricted Data and Secret/Top Secret clearly marked at the top and
bottom of every page. Persons cleared for access to both Defense
Information and Restricted Data must have both DOD and DOE clearances.

It is a federal crime to mishandle Restricted Data, and it is a
separate federal crime to mishandle classified Defense Information. Reno
has charged Wen Ho Lee with both crimes. But, according to Justice
Department filings in the Wen Ho Lee case, none — none — of the
classified files Wen Ho Lee is alleged to have mishandled were marked
at the time he handled them as either Restricted Data and/or Secret or
Top Secret. None of them!

But turn your attention to John Deutch and Sensitive Compartmented
Information, also called SCI. The consequences of SCI being
disclosed to unauthorized persons are deemed to be so severe that there
are no blanket SCI clearances issued. Each SCI program or policy is
assigned a CodeWord, and only the minimum number of carefully chosen
individuals — frequently no more than a dozen, hardly ever as many as a
hundred — are ever read-in to that CodeWord/SCI. All SCI is stored in
a special highly secure, soundproof, electronic bug-proof, vault called
a SCIF.

Before an individual is read-in to specific CodeWord/SCI, he is
required to read each time a declaration that a) he realizes he
is about to be read-in to the specific CodeWord/SCI; b) he realizes that
he may not take notes either then, or afterward from memory, of any
information revealed to him; c) he realizes he may not thereafter
discuss the CodeWord/SCI with anyone not also certified to have been
read-in to that specific CodeWord/SCI; d) he realizes that any such
discussions that do take place must take place in a SCIF; and e) he
realizes that if he does do any of these awful things, then the federal
government will do awful things to him and/or his fingernails.

The person being read-in is then required to swear on a stack of
Bibles that he will not do any of those awful things and is required to
sign and date that declaration in the presence of the security official
who is reading him in to the CodeWord/SCI, who also then signs and dates
the declaration and record of read-in.

According to the report of the CIA Office of Inspector General sent
to Janet Reno and to Congress, John Deutch, on numerous occasions, after
being read-in to dozens of DOD CodeWord/SCI programs, had immediately
gone home and created computer files — from memory — on an unsecured
computer, writing down every thing he could remember from the
Codeword/SCI read-in. Furthermore, he subsequently incorporated many
of his CodeWord/SCI notes into memos he sent to various unauthorized
non-read-in individuals in the Clinton-Gore White House. All these
Secret, Top Secret and CodeWord/SCI files and memos were found the day
after John Deutch left the CIA on John Deutch’s personal computers at
home and on portable magnetic flash-cards that he frequently carried
around with him in his pocket.

Notwithstanding all this evidence supplied to Janet Reno of Deutch’s
immediate and repeated violations of every one of his sacred
CodeWord/SCI read-in vows, Reno decided that Deutch had committed no
crime. Doesn’t that make you wonder more than somewhat?

Gordon Prather

SPECIAL OFFER:

Do you agree with Gordon Prather? If so, you will want to read "Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism" by Paul Sperry ? now reduced to just $12.99 in hardcover.


Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. He also served as legislative assistant for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. Read more of Gordon Prather's articles here.