Clinton says Nevada site must remain classified

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2000 | 2:25 a.m.

Activities at a top secret Nevada base will remain classified under an edict issued by President Clinton.

The president informed Congress that he will continue to keep all information classified regarding Air Force operations at Groom Lake, 75 miles northwest of here.

"Information concerning activities at the operating location near Groom Lake has been properly determined to be classified, and its disclosure would be harmful to national security," Clinton wrote Tuesday.

The president is required to sign a document each year if information about the base is to remain secret.

The base, originally known as "The Ranch," was so secret the government refused to acknowledge its existence until a couple of years ago.

Testing of the U-2 spy plane began there in the 1950s. Other aircraft that have been tested at the heavily-guarded site include the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117A stealth fighter and the B-2 stealth bomber.

A Washington attorney claims the timing of Clinton's letter to Congress is tied to litigation being pushed by former workers at the site. They are trying to obtain information to support claims they were exposed to toxic fumes at the base.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley has represented the workers and their families. He said Tuesday was the deadline for the government to turn over a transcript of a sealed hearing that could show whether government officials lied publicly about the case.

Turley said the transcript would reveal what he called an unclassified discussion in which government attorneys requested information about reporters who had talked to workers at Area 51, as well as classified manuals about the base that are available on the Internet.

The workers and their families have been trying for more than six years to force the government to admit Area 51 exists and that illegal dumping of hazardous materials occurred there.