[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 111 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H7743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BLUE RIBBON PANEL SHOULD BE FORMED TO PROTECT RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF 
                         ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS

  (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, at the time that Wen Ho 
Lee was first arrested, I met with the Chinese-American Political 
Association of the greater San Francisco Bay area. Many in that 
community raised their concerns that he was the target of selective 
prosecution, of racial profiling, and prosecutorial abuse. As we now 
see, as that case has started to come to a conclusion with the plea 
bargain, in fact many of the concerns raised by the Chinese community 
turned out to be true.
  All Americans should be deeply disturbed by the prosecutorial abuse 
that was raised in this case and used against Wen Ho Lee. This does not 
suggest that Wen Ho Lee did not have some serious transgressions of the 
current law and policy, but what his government did to him should cause 
concern by all Americans.
  All Americans are entitled to an impartial review of the actions by 
all parties to that prosecution. Unfortunately, the congressional 
committees, the FBI, the intelligence agencies, and all the rest 
participated in the feeding frenzy at the time of the arrest.
  I think maybe we ought to have a national, impartial blue ribbon 
commission to look at the Wen Ho Lee case and see how we can better 
safeguard the rights and liberties of all American citizens.

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