FEDS MAKE PLEA DEAL IN ESPIONAGE CASE.(MAIN)

Byline: JOHN SOLOMON Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The government struck a plea bargain that resulted in no prison time for a nuclear scientist who confessed to passing secrets to China, rather than await an analysis that ultimately concluded he ``directly enhanced'' Beijing's weapons program, documents disclose.

The documents, gathered by Senate investigators, detail weeks of miscommunication between prosecutors, defense officials and the FBI that led up to the December 1997 plea bargain for former U.S. nuclear scientist Peter H. Lee.

The miscommunication left the Justice Department official with final authority for the case, Deputy Assistant …