U.S. Energy Secretary Says There Was Chinese
Espionage on Clinton's Watch
By Dina Temple-Raston
Richardson Says There Was Chinese Espionage on Clinton's Watch
Washington, May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Energy Secretary Bill
Richardson said today there was serious Chinese espionage in the
U.S. government's nuclear weapons laboratories during the Clinton
administration.
''There have been damaging security leaks. It started
in the 80s and went into the 90s -- during past administrations
and the present administration,'' Richardson said on NBC's ''Meet
the Press'' news program. Until now, the administration
maintained that the espionage took place before it took office.
''We're addressing the problem,'' Richardson said, adding he
would announce new counter-intelligence measures to battle the
security lapses this week.
The new offensive comes on the heels of a report by the
Senate Select Intelligence Committee which found that
intelligence shortfalls and lax monitoring of the launching of
U.S. satellites in China and of computer use at national labs
helped China enhance its ballistic missile fleet.
The Senate panel's 45-page report is the first of two
following a year-long congressional probe into U.S. technology
transfers to China. The committee will release a more extensive,
700-page report later this year.
GM, Hughes, Loral
The report found, among other things, that General Motors
Corp., Hughes Electronics and Loral Space & Communications Ltd.
shared sensitive information with Chinese engineers after a
failed launch of a Loral satellite in February 1996. Hughes
shared information with Chinese officials after the failed launch
of a Hughes satellite in January 1995, the report said.
Two key senators from the Senate Select Intelligence
Committee said today that they had also found evidence to support
allegations that China had stolen national security secrets from
U.S. nuclear labs.
''I have no doubt there has been Chinese espionage at a
nuclear laboratory,'' said Senator Bob Kerrey, a Nebraska
Democrat and vice-chairman of the intelligence committee. ''The
Chinese now have a better capability for both commercial and
military satellites.''
Senator Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican who chairs
the intelligence committee, agreed. ''The FBI has culpability
here; it has been sloppy and slipshod, if not incompetent,'' he
said.
The report also said China tried to influence the 1996 U.S.
elections but there's no conclusive evidence that political
donations by Chinese officials were part of the plan.
Shelby said he has asked Senator Phil Gramm, head of the
Senate Banking Committee, to look at ''suspicious banking
relationships'' between Chinese officials and American banks. He
signaled that he expected connections between Chinese donors and
Democratic political campaigns would surface as a result of a
further investigation.
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