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My Country Versus Me: The First-Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being a Spy
For the first time, Wen Ho Lee speaks about his work at Los Alamos and his experiences with the FBI, about his arrest and imprisonment. In January of 1999, the arrest of Wen Ho Lee, the Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused of espionage by the U.S. government and imprisoned without trial, sparked controversy throughout the country. Throughout the ordeal, Wen Ho Lee quietly and steadfastly maintained his innocence. Now he tells his story. A riveting account about prejudice, fear, suspicionand courage, My Country Versus Me offers at last a clear and truthful look at one of the great miscarriages of justice of our time.
332 pages, Hardcover
First published January 15, 2002
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January 1, 2012
The story of Wen Ho Lee. He was a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos Laboratory whose research involved nuclear codes. In late 1998, he was confronted by lab security personnel and asked about possible spying for China. Events spiraled from there. The FBI got involved. Politicians used the case for their own benefit. There were congressional hearings, leaked stories in various news sources, etc. Finally, in late 1999, he was charged with mishandling classified information and thrown in jail. He remained in solitary confinement for 9 months, his hands and feet shackled. He was only allowed 1 hour of exercise per day.After a lot of legal maneuvering, he was released in fall '2000, all but one charge against him dropped. It turned out that one of the FBI agents in his case lied on the witness stand, and the government's case evaporated. The judge issued a highly unusual apology.This case is especially relevant in light of the events of Sept. 11 and the subsequent erosion of civil rights. It is truly scary that the government could treat a loyal citizen in this way. It is especially egregious that Lee is Chinese. As he states repeatedly throughout the book, the main reason the government focused on him is because of his ethnic identity. It discusses some technical issues related to computing and files. I appreciated this discussion, but most people would want to skim these parts. (Lee used a computer at Los Alamos with the same operating system that I used during my days in graduate school, a Cray. The one charge he was convicted of amounted to that of making a back-up tape using an unclassified computer. He did this in case upgrades in the lab's computer operating system would make his computer codes unreadable.) The book is a little rough around the edges as far as the writing goes. There is a lot of repetition, and some quotes need to be edited for length. But for raw emotional power, this book is top notch.
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January 30, 2021The writing style in this book was not great but I was able to look beyond that and just focus on the content. This nonfiction book tells the story of Wen Ho Lee from the point he is asked to take a lie detector test for unknown reasons through a long investigation, followed by an arrest, then nearly a year in prison for crimes he did not commit and how he believed he was racially profiled because he was Chinese. Well, not just he believed it but lots of people came to believe it as well. The story starts in late 1998 and takes us through early 2000. Quite a horrible set of circumstances that Mr. Lee endured for no apparent reason when all was said and done.
His imprisonment while he awaited trial was particularly disheartening. Not a big man to begin with, he did not receive proper nourishment for his dietary needs and lost a significant amount of weight. He was not allowed time to exercise and was kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day. He was not given anything to read or anything to do. We think COVID lockdowns are bad? Try being all alone in a cold room on a 1" foam mattress with insufficient clothing and absolutely NOTHING to do for 10 months straight. As an innocent American citizen.
I supplemented my reading with a couple of stories from 20 years ago aired on 60 minutes. One included an interview with Mike Wallace interviewing Bill Richardson and seeing the way he framed things seemingly for his own political gain.
A couple of sections I want to highlight:
"Something else was taken from me. My American Dream is gone. It died on February 1999 when I realized the FBI was lying to me, trying to trap me... ... when I came in 1962, I thought Americans were good and honest people. I liked that because I was honest, too. now I've seen the ugly side of people who have lots of power and who are not good and honest. Now I know that any government can turn bad, if we let it. If I could rewind the clock, I would have paid more attention to the issues and the concerns around me and I would have been more involved as an American citizen, using my voice to speak against discrimination and my vote to elect better leaders. "
"I also know that if I had been accused of such a thing in China or Russia, I would probably be dead. I would have been shot if this happened in Taiwan under the Kuomintang. The fact that I could be released after being so wrongly accused is evidence of the good in America. I can still say that I am truly glad that I am American"
In summary - writing style not great and there were parts that were repetitive. AT 330 pages, it could have been shortened considerably. However, I am glad I spend the time learning some of this history in the story of Wen Ho Lee.
His imprisonment while he awaited trial was particularly disheartening. Not a big man to begin with, he did not receive proper nourishment for his dietary needs and lost a significant amount of weight. He was not allowed time to exercise and was kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day. He was not given anything to read or anything to do. We think COVID lockdowns are bad? Try being all alone in a cold room on a 1" foam mattress with insufficient clothing and absolutely NOTHING to do for 10 months straight. As an innocent American citizen.
I supplemented my reading with a couple of stories from 20 years ago aired on 60 minutes. One included an interview with Mike Wallace interviewing Bill Richardson and seeing the way he framed things seemingly for his own political gain.
A couple of sections I want to highlight:
"Something else was taken from me. My American Dream is gone. It died on February 1999 when I realized the FBI was lying to me, trying to trap me... ... when I came in 1962, I thought Americans were good and honest people. I liked that because I was honest, too. now I've seen the ugly side of people who have lots of power and who are not good and honest. Now I know that any government can turn bad, if we let it. If I could rewind the clock, I would have paid more attention to the issues and the concerns around me and I would have been more involved as an American citizen, using my voice to speak against discrimination and my vote to elect better leaders. "
"I also know that if I had been accused of such a thing in China or Russia, I would probably be dead. I would have been shot if this happened in Taiwan under the Kuomintang. The fact that I could be released after being so wrongly accused is evidence of the good in America. I can still say that I am truly glad that I am American"
In summary - writing style not great and there were parts that were repetitive. AT 330 pages, it could have been shortened considerably. However, I am glad I spend the time learning some of this history in the story of Wen Ho Lee.
January 31, 2013
So I grew up in the 90s in an apolitical bubble. Little did I know, that across the country, Wen Ho Lee was being held in solitary confinement for the government's imposition that his back up data saving tapes that held nuclear codes were keys to the crown jewels of the American empire, that if shared with another country, they could tip the scales of world security. This was all horseshit.
This is the story of an FBI witch hunt on Wen Ho Lee, an Asian American scientist, who through his own terrible process learned that the government is not good, that racial profiling exists, and that people in power go to great lengths in collaboration with main stream media to demonize their own citizens for what seems like the sake of getting paid under the guise of national security. The FBI spoke lies over and over again in court and in the media trying to indict Wen Ho Lee on charges of espionage that would put him in jail for life. He could have faced the death penalty. They could have convicted him on lies. They threatened him with execution if he didn't tell them things, asking him if he had heard of the Rosenburgs.
The FBI shouldered a 50 person surveillance team on his house. They came in and took his children's birthday cards. Forbid his family to speak their own language on prison visits. This was after the local FBI office did an investigation and found no evidence, advising the agents in Washington DC to not pursue the case further.
The U.S. government identified that there may have been a security breach relating to some weapons codes being made available to the People's Republic of China. The FBI created a suspicion matrix to identify people who could possibly have leaked nuclear science information to China within the U.S. Despite a number of scientists fitting the criteria, Wen Ho Lee was the only person targeted.
When the government's case for espionage did not pan out, they wittled down the story to charge Wen Ho Lee with making copies of classified information in an unclassified area of the science lab. At that time, almost all of the information that he transferred to his unclassified computer was available in public literature, and in order to interpret any codes that he had copied, a person would have to access his user manual that was locked in his classified work area.
So the government built a case on nothing and then wasted millions of dollars in time and resources trying to prosecute him for a crime that did not exist. In addition, it came to light that many other individuals in the scientific and government sphere had committed security infractions in revealing classified information but no one else was ever charged in court because of it. Wen Ho Lee was charged under the Atomic Energy Act and pled guilty to 1 charge so he could get out of jail on time served. 200 days in solitary.
It was interesting to see Wen Ho Lee's process unfold. How he had to be victimized in order to understand his role in American politics. He was impressed by solidarity! How people and groups and neighbors came forward and got involved because they knew he was being effed and didn't want it to go down like that.
This is the story of an FBI witch hunt on Wen Ho Lee, an Asian American scientist, who through his own terrible process learned that the government is not good, that racial profiling exists, and that people in power go to great lengths in collaboration with main stream media to demonize their own citizens for what seems like the sake of getting paid under the guise of national security. The FBI spoke lies over and over again in court and in the media trying to indict Wen Ho Lee on charges of espionage that would put him in jail for life. He could have faced the death penalty. They could have convicted him on lies. They threatened him with execution if he didn't tell them things, asking him if he had heard of the Rosenburgs.
The FBI shouldered a 50 person surveillance team on his house. They came in and took his children's birthday cards. Forbid his family to speak their own language on prison visits. This was after the local FBI office did an investigation and found no evidence, advising the agents in Washington DC to not pursue the case further.
The U.S. government identified that there may have been a security breach relating to some weapons codes being made available to the People's Republic of China. The FBI created a suspicion matrix to identify people who could possibly have leaked nuclear science information to China within the U.S. Despite a number of scientists fitting the criteria, Wen Ho Lee was the only person targeted.
When the government's case for espionage did not pan out, they wittled down the story to charge Wen Ho Lee with making copies of classified information in an unclassified area of the science lab. At that time, almost all of the information that he transferred to his unclassified computer was available in public literature, and in order to interpret any codes that he had copied, a person would have to access his user manual that was locked in his classified work area.
So the government built a case on nothing and then wasted millions of dollars in time and resources trying to prosecute him for a crime that did not exist. In addition, it came to light that many other individuals in the scientific and government sphere had committed security infractions in revealing classified information but no one else was ever charged in court because of it. Wen Ho Lee was charged under the Atomic Energy Act and pled guilty to 1 charge so he could get out of jail on time served. 200 days in solitary.
It was interesting to see Wen Ho Lee's process unfold. How he had to be victimized in order to understand his role in American politics. He was impressed by solidarity! How people and groups and neighbors came forward and got involved because they knew he was being effed and didn't want it to go down like that.
December 28, 2008
What a horrible tragedy Wen Ho and his family endured. I'm at a loss for words. I remember bits of pieces of this story from the news accounts but didn't think it had any connection to me. I mean, it was about national security and nuclear secrets wasn't it? In reality, no, it was not. Not at all. It was about the government flexing their muscles. How one person in a position of power or influence (and no facts) can cause a whole lot of damage, get people in other government agencies and members of the administration involved, and not be accountable for the mis-truths.
I have always been a backer of Bill Richardson, but no more. He and Janet Reno, rather than, when presented with the truth, fix the wrongs of the case, chose instead to be a part of and assist the cover-up. The government had spent many thousands if not upwards of a million of taxpayer dollars trying to convict an innocent man becasue they couldn't be found to be wrong and they couldn't waste the money already spent.
What I took away most from this book as that YES, I will continue to be an educated voter; I will ALWAYS vote; and if I'm ever arrested (especially by the FBI (not that that will ever happen :-), I will not say a word until I have an attorney present.
It is so painfully apparent that our government and government officials will use whatever powers necessary to get the answer they want. So many of the same techniques were used in the wrongful detention of persons of Middle Eastern descent over the wrongful invasion of Iraq and those people who ‘looked’ like they might be guilty. America was founded on specific principles, and specifically, that a person is “presumed innocent until proven guilty.” Yet, it’s very apparent that minorities and the less or non-educated are held outside that most important right. I’m proud to be an American and I absolutely love my country, but when our country does to its own citizens and/or foreigners, that which we detest in other governments, I’m embarrassed. The average citizen is held to scrutiny and accountability, yet our wealthy and powerful are not. That smells of autocracy.
I have always been a backer of Bill Richardson, but no more. He and Janet Reno, rather than, when presented with the truth, fix the wrongs of the case, chose instead to be a part of and assist the cover-up. The government had spent many thousands if not upwards of a million of taxpayer dollars trying to convict an innocent man becasue they couldn't be found to be wrong and they couldn't waste the money already spent.
What I took away most from this book as that YES, I will continue to be an educated voter; I will ALWAYS vote; and if I'm ever arrested (especially by the FBI (not that that will ever happen :-), I will not say a word until I have an attorney present.
It is so painfully apparent that our government and government officials will use whatever powers necessary to get the answer they want. So many of the same techniques were used in the wrongful detention of persons of Middle Eastern descent over the wrongful invasion of Iraq and those people who ‘looked’ like they might be guilty. America was founded on specific principles, and specifically, that a person is “presumed innocent until proven guilty.” Yet, it’s very apparent that minorities and the less or non-educated are held outside that most important right. I’m proud to be an American and I absolutely love my country, but when our country does to its own citizens and/or foreigners, that which we detest in other governments, I’m embarrassed. The average citizen is held to scrutiny and accountability, yet our wealthy and powerful are not. That smells of autocracy.
December 31, 2012
Wen Ho Lee's account of one of the uglier moments of the Clinton Administration is a story of multiple dysfunctional institutions. There's the bureaucratic dysfunction at Los Alamos National Laboratory that led to a federal criminal case being made out of a routine lapse in data storage. There's the usual paranoia and dysfunction at the FBI and DOE. There's political dysfunction in a toxic Washington dynamic that had the administration desperate to look tough on China. There's judicial dysfunction in the government being allowed to hold a man for nine months without a trial simply on its own say-so. And shot through all of the above, there's media dysfunction that served as a disturbing prelude to the reactionary access journalism of the next decade.
This could all amount to a compelling discussion of these issues, but unfortunately Lee himself isn't up to the task of discussing them in his memoir, and his co-writer Helen Zia hasn't done enough to help him out. Things end up coming out more-or-less as you'd expect from a career scientist who's clearly brilliant in his field, but whose command of English is less than perfect: the account is to-the-point, but artless and weakly structured. In some parts at the beginning the disjointed cutting-and-pasting of what are almost certainly interview sessions Zia did with Lee makes following the narrative very tough.
There's a very important story to be told here about the modern surveillance state, but some major cleanup in the telling would have really helped the book.
This could all amount to a compelling discussion of these issues, but unfortunately Lee himself isn't up to the task of discussing them in his memoir, and his co-writer Helen Zia hasn't done enough to help him out. Things end up coming out more-or-less as you'd expect from a career scientist who's clearly brilliant in his field, but whose command of English is less than perfect: the account is to-the-point, but artless and weakly structured. In some parts at the beginning the disjointed cutting-and-pasting of what are almost certainly interview sessions Zia did with Lee makes following the narrative very tough.
There's a very important story to be told here about the modern surveillance state, but some major cleanup in the telling would have really helped the book.
April 2, 2009
Wen Ho's side of the Los Alomos spy story. A very interesting tale and a critical look at the powers of the FBI. An important read for understanding the intertwined currents of science, race, politics, and the law.
February 11, 2018
I am truly shocked and saddened at what happened to Dr. Lee. I'll need to do some follow-up research to see if any of the people involved in his persecution were held accountable (though, cynically, I doubt they were).
That being said, I think there were some sections of this book that were a little repetitive, and there were other aspects of the trial that I would have liked more information about than was provided.
That being said, I think there were some sections of this book that were a little repetitive, and there were other aspects of the trial that I would have liked more information about than was provided.
March 29, 2018
More people should know Wen Ho Lee's story but this is maybe not the most well-written or incisive account. Lee's a brilliant scientist, not a writer. There's a better book someone could write about his ordeal that brings his experience to life and better contextualizes it.
May 19, 2019
Very interesting.
January 6, 2020
Save your sympathy for someone who didn't download and misplace(?) classified data.
July 30, 2017
This book was a fascinating look into several different subjects. I learned about nuclear physics, the justice system, government protocols and security, and cultural sensitivity. Wen Ho Lee gives a meticulous, detailed account of his experiences (just what you would expect from a scientist). If some of his explanations seemed long, I can appreciate his desire to make everything he writes about understandable to his readers.
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January 7, 2009My Country Versus Me
Dr. Wen Ho Lee, and Helen Zia.
Narrated by Fred Stella, produced by Brilliance Audio, and downloaded from audible.com.
The publisher’s note describes this amazing experience as well as I could, so I’ll quote.
Publisher’s note:
Wen Ho Lee, a patriotic American scientist born in Taiwan, had devoted almost his entire life to science and to helping improve U.S. defense capabilities.
He loved his job at Los Alamos National Laboratory and spent his leisure time fishing, cooking, gardening, and with his family. Then, suddenly, everything
changed and he found himself in the spotlight, accused of espionage by members of Congress and the national media and portrayed as the most dangerous traitor
since the Rosenbergs. He was even told that their fate - execution - might well be his own.Although Dr. Lee was horrified by these words, he knew he was
innocent and believed that this was all a big mistake that would be cleared up quickly. But in December 1999, his worst fears were confirmed when he was
manacled, shackled, brought to jail, and put in a tiny, solitary-confinement cell, where he would remain for the next nine months. His arrest sparked controversy
throughout the country; it triggered concern for national security, debate about racial profiling and media distortion, and outrage over a return to McCarthy-era
paranoia. Throughout the ordeal, Dr. Lee steadfastly maintained his innocence. Now, at last, he is free to tell his story.In this compelling narrative,
Dr. Lee chronicles his experience before, during, and after his imprisonment. He takes readers inside Los Alamos and discusses how violations of national
security occur in many government agencies. He describes how the FBI infiltrated his private life - lying to him and spying on him for nearly two decades.
He relates his own anti-Communist stance, the result of tragic events from his past, and tells how he assisted the FBI to help protect nuclear secrets.
He explains the role that the New York Times and unsourced "leaks" played in the country's rush to judgment. He details his harsh treatment in jail and
how citizens can be incarcerated solely on government allegations and without factual justification.
Dr. Wen Ho Lee, and Helen Zia.
Narrated by Fred Stella, produced by Brilliance Audio, and downloaded from audible.com.
The publisher’s note describes this amazing experience as well as I could, so I’ll quote.
Publisher’s note:
Wen Ho Lee, a patriotic American scientist born in Taiwan, had devoted almost his entire life to science and to helping improve U.S. defense capabilities.
He loved his job at Los Alamos National Laboratory and spent his leisure time fishing, cooking, gardening, and with his family. Then, suddenly, everything
changed and he found himself in the spotlight, accused of espionage by members of Congress and the national media and portrayed as the most dangerous traitor
since the Rosenbergs. He was even told that their fate - execution - might well be his own.Although Dr. Lee was horrified by these words, he knew he was
innocent and believed that this was all a big mistake that would be cleared up quickly. But in December 1999, his worst fears were confirmed when he was
manacled, shackled, brought to jail, and put in a tiny, solitary-confinement cell, where he would remain for the next nine months. His arrest sparked controversy
throughout the country; it triggered concern for national security, debate about racial profiling and media distortion, and outrage over a return to McCarthy-era
paranoia. Throughout the ordeal, Dr. Lee steadfastly maintained his innocence. Now, at last, he is free to tell his story.In this compelling narrative,
Dr. Lee chronicles his experience before, during, and after his imprisonment. He takes readers inside Los Alamos and discusses how violations of national
security occur in many government agencies. He describes how the FBI infiltrated his private life - lying to him and spying on him for nearly two decades.
He relates his own anti-Communist stance, the result of tragic events from his past, and tells how he assisted the FBI to help protect nuclear secrets.
He explains the role that the New York Times and unsourced "leaks" played in the country's rush to judgment. He details his harsh treatment in jail and
how citizens can be incarcerated solely on government allegations and without factual justification.
January 8, 2012
This case was a fairly big deal in my household. My dad, after all, is a Taiwanese-American engineer in the defense industry. Helen Zia delivers this account in a plain-spoken voice, clearly with input from Dr. Lee, so that you do feel like an older Asian immigrant is giving you an interview in his living room. As in a live interview, there's some digression and rambling. But over all it's a solid read and a reminder to examine everything closely.
The Lee case was not settled until 2007 or so -- at my first legal seminar the lawyer was still discussing it as one of the company's open cases. I'm relieved this took place during my teenage years, and frightened, with China's rise, that something similar could happen again in the next 10 years.
His most chilling and practical advice: lawyer up for any contact with the FBI.
The Lee case was not settled until 2007 or so -- at my first legal seminar the lawyer was still discussing it as one of the company's open cases. I'm relieved this took place during my teenage years, and frightened, with China's rise, that something similar could happen again in the next 10 years.
His most chilling and practical advice: lawyer up for any contact with the FBI.
January 15, 2008
A eyeopening and helpful read, Wen Ho Lee's account of the events leading up to, during, and after his trial were quite interesting. While sometimes lingering too long on details of his love of fishing and gardening for my tastes, over all the book helped me to have a better sense of the man and it also provided me with enough detail to better understand what really happened since -- unfortunately -- the media, like the government, was too quick to accuse him of serious wrong doing in their clearly racist attempt to convict him of crimes greater than the small, understandable and explainable action that he did commit.
December 23, 2012
politics of Richardson and Reno and Clinton, made life very difficult for Wen. Another interesting read of corruption in admin is the multiple admins of FDR and the internment of Americans while Alger Hiss and others were inside the admin--read Witness by Whittaker Chambers.
February 14, 2016
I read this book several years ago and was just reminded of it. My review would not be fair at this point, but the fact that I remember this book after a decade plus speaks volumes. I remember being floored by the unfairness this American experienced from the government he served.
September 9, 2009
Another FBI disaster. A book worth reading about Dr. Wen Ho Lee a former Scientist at Los Alamos.
February 7, 2020
It is simply awful what was done to this poor man. I am really glad I read this.
November 23, 2012
The book raises very serious issues and should be read for that reason. However, the writing is very simplistic and exceedingly reiterative to the point of annoyance.
December 25, 2015
One of the best books I've read this year. A great story about why you shouldn't trust the government. People are willing to destroy your life to get an extra line item for their resumés.
February 8, 2009
They really put old Wen Ho Lee through the wringer.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews