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 Robert Scheer: Media Failed Its Duty in Lee CasePosted on Jun 6, 2006
Five media giants joined the U.S. government last week in paying maligned Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee $1.6 million while once again denying any serious culpability in his totally unjustified and extremely harsh incarceration. Hiding behind their “bond” with government sources, the media companies continue to protect officials who broke the law in leaking highly classified information to defame an individual, as they have more recently in the Valerie Plame case. In the now infamous racial profiling of Lee, the media was in cahoots with government leakers, who were bizarrely determined to prove that Lee was a dangerous spy whose freedom would profoundly jeopardize national security. Amid this manufactured hysteria, a frail, middle-aged Lee was forced to spend nine months in solitary confinement—chained even in meetings with his attorneys, and under 24-hour video surveillance, during his every private moment --because the government claimed that if he were released on bond the lives of “hundreds of millions of Americans” would be endangered. That lurid claim was made possible by a public atmosphere poisoned by shoddy reporting—particularly that of The New York Times, which splashed this headline across its front page: “Breach at Los Alamos: A special report; China Stole Nuclear Secrets for Bombs, U.S. Aides Say.” The story claimed that “Working with nuclear secrets stolen from an American government laboratory, China has made a leap in the development of nuclear weapons: the miniaturization of its bombs, according to administration officials.” Those officials were lying to the Times then as they were days later when Lee was named as the culprit in the case. Lee was never charged with spying for China or any other government, and 58 of the 59 charges against him were dropped when the Clinton Justice Department eventually settled for time served on one minor charge of improperly handling classified information. While the Times and the other news organizations that uncritically conveyed the “administration officials” falsehoods failed to apologize to Lee, the Reagan-appointed judge who heard the government’s pathetic case had the decency to do just that. “I sincerely apologize to you, Dr. Lee, for the unfair manner [in which] you were held in custody by the executive branch,” Judge James Parker said at the time. Taking note of the “demeaning, unnecessarily punitive conditions” governing Lee’s incarceration, Parker added that he was “sad and troubled because I do not know the real reasons why the executive branch has done all of this.” Parker, who had surveyed the classified data behind the government’s case, went on to blast “the top decision-makers in the executive branch” who, he said, “have embarrassed our entire nation and each of us who is a citizen of it.” The most important of those officials was, of course, President Clinton, who had the power to stop this travesty at any time and later conceded the entire case was a farce and likened the media’s role in the Lee case to its Whitewater coverage. Yet while the main responsibility lay with the president, as Judge Parker pointed out—“The executive branch has enormous power, the abuse of which can be devastating to our citizens”—so, too, does it lay with the members of the fourth estate, whose power as a check on government excess is enshrined in the Constitution. When that power is uncritically put at the service of rogue government agents, the devastating effect on the abused citizen is more than doubled. In a post-settlement statement, the five media outlets—the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, ABC, AP and The New York Times—claimed they paid Lee only to protect their sources. But those government sources broke the law, and the news organizations covered for them, rather than covering the important news of “government officials” who, acting on their own political agendas, decided to selectively leak highly classified information to smear a scientist who was innocent of the crimes they claimed. The “bond” of the media with its sources was in fact a bond with government witch hunters willing to destroy a loyal American citizen—a man who had devoted his working life to this nation’s military security—in order to renew the Cold War with China. It is insulting to the spirit of the First Amendment to regard concealing that abuse of governmental power as a sacred duty of the media. There is nothing noble about the media joining the government in paying a bribe to a financially strapped and emotionally exhausted Lee to prevent exposure of the true criminals in this case. It is rather an abrogation of the journalists’ prime duty to expose official malfeasance. SHARE THIS TRUTHDIG ARTICLE:
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Jump to Comments
By Kate Gerber, June 11, 2006 at 5:53 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
I as a young adult I thought Watergate then Irangate would cause the American people to stand up and put their collective foot down. I was not only appalled but disconsulate as they threw their hands up and tried to “move on.” No, I don’t want to see our country peel itself apart like an onion, but when oh when are we going to look up from the TV, playstation, golf ball, shopping mall, tabloid or whatever other distraction we amuse ourselves with and look at what’s going on? I am living in Africa, for my fifth year. I miss America like you can’t believe. The most important thing I’ve learned living here, however, as I try to keep up with friends and family and American “news” via the internet is how complacent, distracted, overworked and numb most Americans have become. Jaded. Cynical. What’s it going to take to jar people into realizing the Executive of our country is out of control and by allowing powerful media moguls to control the news, we’re standing by while everything our parents worked and died for dwindles away. Congress is a willing partner; the Republican rubber-stamping of G.W.’s agenda is the best reason I can think of for having the opposition parties making up the majority in Congress. Just this week, here in Cape Town, South Africa, we learned some guy from Pakistan who was here illegally, was deported and then was diverted to some airport in another African country on his flight back to Pakistan by “unknown” people (everyone suspects the CIA) and his whereabouts is now unknown. The Pakistan government lied and said he returned there, but the facts of the “rendition” came out. Don’t think it isn’t happening right there at home. Any US citizen can now be taken into custody, kept without legal counsel, tried in camera, convicted on hearsay and circumstancial evidence. “National security.”
Since I’m “international”, are my emails being monitored by security agencies? Is it going to be a crime one day soon to criticize the US government with the simple cover of “national security”?
Now that we’re getting our news in the form of infotainment, how can we trust it? The job of real journalism is to ask the right, tough questions, and to demand answers. If the Fourth Estate doesn’t keep the government’s nose clean, we’re doomed.
Report thisBy Jim Hassinger, June 8, 2006 at 6:35 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Do you realize that if a federal “shield law” was passed, Mr. Lee might still be in jail, certainly wouldn’t have won this suit, and Judith Miller would never have gone to jail for contempt?
There’s already a federal shield law: the First Amendment. With an honest judiciary, and a journalist establishment willing to go to the wall, we’ll be all right. Of course, increasingly, we lack an honest judiciary and our journalists are pack dogs.
Every Thursday, Robert, I look in the Times, and there that disgusting rat, Jonah Goldberg. Here’s to the return of sanity.
Report thisBy Charles Karafotias, June 8, 2006 at 4:30 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
This is the kind of honest reporting and journalist integrity I fought WW2 as a 17 year old. I am glad to have served and thank you for vindicating my choice.,
Charles G. Karafotias
Report this35 years U. S. Merchant Marine/MSC
39 months U. S. Army
WW2, Korea, Viet Nam
(NOT a military junkie)
By R. Alfalah, June 8, 2006 at 2:50 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I beg to differ with Mr. Lloyd Gordon regarding both the timing of this article and the definition of what is a “glaring issue.” The American public has the attention span of a Mayfly and unless a story involves a young blond woman and/or sex, the media continues to ignore important stories and their implications, like this one.
This attitude that it was “so yesterday” is exactly what those in power rely on!
I have been listening to Bill Hicks (a comedian) recorded at Oxford 11/11/92. I swear to god! His references to Bush and Sadam and a war in the middle east (Kuwait at the time) could be headlines today. Nothing has changed. America learned nothing.
Just because a story isn’t wrapped up neatly in 18 and 1/2 minutes like a network sitcom, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth reporting or doesn’t have dire implications for us right now.
Report thisBy Dan Noel, June 8, 2006 at 2:23 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Time for all of us to Email this column’s URL to the LA Times, who unceremoniously dumped Robert Scheer a few months ago.
Report thisBy Harry E. Rice, M. D., June 8, 2006 at 10:44 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Mr. Sheer,
I very much appreciate a follow up on what looked “irregular” at the time. It’s relevance for the continuing pseudo news coverage issue seems inescapable.
Report thisBy Lee Chauser, June 7, 2006 at 8:45 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
In the tradition of Ramparts Magazine, Robert Scheer defends the rights of all of us. Good job Mr. Scheer!
Report thisBy mill, June 7, 2006 at 5:49 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
One American citizen abused unjustly by the federal executive branch during Clinton’s era ....
... expands into hundreds, perhaps thousands during the Bush II era ...
this is not a good trend ...
.... what will the next President feel s/he can do with impunity?
Report thisBy Jo Murphy, June 7, 2006 at 9:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
The most important stories of the day are those exposing the corporate/government/press collusion which produces immoral and illegal results. I get it, Mr. Sheer, and thanks.
Report thisBy Gladwyn d'Souza, June 7, 2006 at 8:34 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Informative to see the role of the liberal media in racial bashing and empire building.
Is a bandits highway from demonizing Powhatten through Lee to Plame.
Report thisBy Lloyd Gordon, June 7, 2006 at 7:42 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Dear Robert Sheer,
Although the issue of Wen Lee bears discussion, I have to wonder at your timing. With all the “glaring issues” that can be addressed now, why dredge up somthing from the past? It would be nice to see you tackle present issues that threaten the integrity of the media, such as the takeover by Rupert Murdoch and the politial agenda he serves.
Report thisBy artsnooze, June 7, 2006 at 5:51 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Great entertainment, movie with Rob Reiner the lead, blonde Australian star his love interest, big city newspaper critics bemoaning hot pirate in Beijing, graphic novel screenplay from creative nonfiction, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune report.
Report thisBy Mike Germain, June 7, 2006 at 4:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
This was an early indicator of what government insiders and their “media” lackeys are capable of producing. Unfortunately, under Boy King George this expression has found new heights of culpability in the current state of media complicity in the crimes of the current junta.
Report thisBy William Shanley, June 7, 2006 at 3:26 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Bravo Robert Scheer for exposing the media conglomerates for their perfidy. Now, perhaps, you and others will take on the media trusts for hyping our entry into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq based on lies. I wonder what the interlocking banking, arms trade, national security, and media directorships look like these days. These trusts must be broken up and so we can restor a free press to America.
Report thisBy relayer, June 6, 2006 at 10:28 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
How much more of this are US citizens going to swallow? It’s chilling.
Report thisBy A. Rabin, M.D., June 6, 2006 at 10:25 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Amen.
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