Media, Wen Ho Lee Settle Suit

Although none are defendants in the proceeding, ABC News, the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post have agreed to pay $750,000 to help settle a lawsuit brought by Dr. Wen Ho Lee against the federal government. The government had originally suspected Dr. Lee of giving secrets to the People’s Republic of China and he spent almost a year in jail awaiting trial, but he was never charged with spying. Ultimately he pled guilty to only one felony count, in 1999, of the improper possession of data, and immediately brought suit against the government for invasion of privacy, whom he accused of leaking information about him to the press. The newspapers and ABC News agreed to participate in the settlement in order to avoid further subpoenas for their journalists should the lawsuit proceed. Read more in a New York Times article here, in a Washington Post article here, and in a Los Angeles Times article here.