By
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Wen Ho Lee celebrated at home with family and friends after he was set free with an apology from a judge who said the former Los Alamos scientist had been "terribly wronged" by the government.
Lee's release under a plea deal Wednesday came nine months after he was put in solitary confinement and branded a threat to national security.
"The last nine months were pretty tough for me," Lee said, "but I survived."
In his tongue-lashing of government officials, U.S. District Judge James Parker said he was angered over having been misled into believing the 60-year-old nuclear scientist was a danger to national security if released on bail.
"I sincerely apologize to you, Dr. Lee, for the unfair manner in which you were held in custody by the executive branch," said Parker, who singled out the Energy and Justice departments.
"They have embarrassed our entire nation and each of us who is a citizen of it," he said.
However, Attorney General Janet Reno refused to accept blame yesterday, saying Lee was at fault for not providing the government with information sooner.
"I think Dr. Lee, from the beginning, had the opportunity to answer this, and I think now he needs to look to himself rather than expect an apology from the U.S. government," she said at her weekly news conference.
