A grand jury has been convened in New Mexico to look into the two-month disappearance of nuclear secrets at the Los Alamos weapons laboratory as the FBI focuses on "a handful" of scientists, Energy Secretary Richardson said Wednesday.
Richardson-who spoke at a public session and then back to back closed door meetings with Senate committees-said investigators have not found any evidence suggesting the two computer drives containing the information left the most secure area of the New Mexico lab, or that espionage was involved, the Associated Press reported.
Legislators accused Richardson of trying for months to sidestep a requirement from Congress last year that would put nuclear weapons programs under a largely autonomous agency within his department, which Richardson Wednesday said he was ready to accept as created.
Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said he would soon introduce legislation to look at whether an independent agency or the Defense Department should take over the nuclear weapons programs, including the research labs.
NEXT STORY: Panel votes for alternative dispute resolution