The Price of Wen Ho Lee

http://www.asianweek.com/2008/12/17/the-price-for-wen-ho-lee/
President-elect Obama has designated two APA cabinet members: retired Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki for Veterans Affairs and Cal’s Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu for Energy, which is a makeup for President Clinton getting cold feet over U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien after the “Chinagate” witch hunt. But Obama’s selection of Bill Richardson for Commerce raises hackles over the New Mexico governor’s unrepentant role in the espionage prosecution of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, who won a $1.6 million civil settlement from the feds and five major national media outlets in 2006. The Richardson selection is symptomatic of the Obama transition team’s vetting process. While sensitive to Latino political influence (note the expected pick of Colorado Senator Ken Salazar for Interior), the team is downplaying APA anger over Richardson’s handling of the Lee case. Petitions are nearing 10,000 in opposition to his appointment at wenholee.org. However, Obama is already committed to Richardson and is unlikely to risk embarrassment by pulling his name or having Congress reject the nomination. Richardson could defuse the issue at his Senate confirmation hearing by publicly apologizing and pledging to elevate APAs into major management positions to avert future Wen Ho Lees…