The timeline of the Cox Report controversy is a chronology of information relating to the People's Republic of China's (PRC) nuclear espionage against the United States detailed in the Congressional Cox Report. The timeline also includes documented information relating to relevant investigations and reactions by the White House, the U.S. Congress, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and United States Department of Justice.
1995 June
Sometime in June, a walk-in agent for People's Republic of China intelligence services approached the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) office in Taiwan and provided them with an official PRC document classified "Secret" that contained design information of all seven of America's nuclear warheads. President Bill Clinton's Director of Central Intelligence, John Deutch, was informed the following month. July
Clinton's former energy secretary Hazel O'Leary, Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, and deputy director of Central Intelligence George Tenet learned of the PRC's theft of America's nuclear warhead designs sometime in July 1995, but did not inform the president at that time. October
On or about October 31, the FBI first learned of the PRC's possible theft of advanced U.S. nuclear weapons designs. November
CIA Director Deutch informed Clinton's National Security Adviser Anthony Lake about the PRC's theft of America's nuclear weapon designs sometime in November 1995. The president was not briefed at that time. In late 1995 and early 1996, United States Department of Energy (DOE) intelligence official Notra Trulock took his findings on the PRC's theft of advanced U.S. nuclear warhead designs to the FBI. Trulock made the discovery independently from the CIA while analyzing data from the PRC's recent underground nuclear test. A team of FBI and DOE officials then traveled to three weapons labs (Livermore, Sandia and Los Alamos) and pored over travel and work records of lab scientists who had access to the relevant technology. By February, they narrowed its focus to five possible suspects.
1996 In early 1996, Notra Trulock told CIA officials about his discoveries on the PRC's theft of America's nuclear warhead designs. February
On February 14, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) space launch vehicle crashed, destroying the Loral Space & Communications satellite (Intelsat 708) it was carrying. PRC officials kept American investigators away from the crash scene at first, supposedly for their own safety. When the Americans were allowed into the crash site, they found the militarily sensitive encryption chips missing from the control box where they were attached. Encryption chips prevent unauthorized people from commanding, or receiving information from, satellites in space. Loral and Hughes Electronics' engineers were accused of giving missile secrets to China in the ensuing investigation of the launch failure. March
On March 27, Energy Department officials were notified by an American agent that it appeared the PRC recently stole U.S. neutron bomb secrets. April
Sometime in April 1996, intelligence analyst Ronald Pandolfi wrote a report for the CIA warning about military implications of Hughes Electronics' sharing of missile expertise with the PRC. The CIA decided not to distribute the classified report to select government officials, as is routinely done with intelligence estimates, saying it was insufficiently rigorous. The report would be kept from Congress until late 1998.
On April 13, the Energy Department briefed the White House about the PRC's espionage at Los Alamos weapons lab. A group of senior officials including Notra Trulock met with Deputy National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and told him that the PRC appeared to have acquired both W-88 nuclear and neutron bomb secrets and that a spy for the PRC might still be at Los Alamos. Berger later stated he did not inform the president of the espionage until July 1997, but did inform Congress in April 1996. The Energy Department also notified Defense Secretary Perry, Attorney General Janet Reno, and FBI Director Louis Freeh about China's alleged espionage during this same time period. According to the National Security Advisor's testimony to the National Security Committee, no one informed the president. Sometime in April, Vice President Al Gore's national security advisor Leon Fuerth was informed about the PRC's nuclear espionage at America's weapons laboratories. Some documents showed he may have been informed as early as 1995, though Fuerth did not recall a briefing then. Fuerth did not mention the espionage to Gore until March 1999. May
On May 30, the FBI formally opened a criminal investigation into the theft of the W-88 nuclear design. Originally only 1 or 2 agents were assigned to the case and the inquiry made little progress over the rest of the year. June
In late June or early July, the CIA issued an internal government statement that declared they may have misread their original analysis of the documents delivered by the double agent to their Taiwan offices and that China may not have America's weapons designs after all. The FBI, in turn, suspended their investigation of the matter (which had just started) for about six weeks.
1997 Sometime in early 1997, Energy Department intelligence analyst Notra Trulock learned of new nuclear espionage evidence. He attempted to contact newly appointed Energy Secretary Federico Peña about the information but was not given an appointment to see him until July. April
The FBI issued a classified report that recommended background checks on foreign visitors to nuclear laboratories be reinstated. The Energy Department ignored the recommendations for 17 months. May
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