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FOREIGN INFLUENCES
John Huang first met Mochtar and James Riady "at a financial seminar in Little Rock in 1980. A featured speaker was Bill Clinton, then in his first term as governor. Huang was later hired by James Riady's Worthen Banking Group in Little Rock."1 Huang worked and socialized with a number of friends and associates of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. "In October 1985, he escorted the Clintons and an Arkansas group [to] a seminal Asia trade mission."2 Huang later transferred to Lippo’s other bank in California, where he served as a senior executive and worked with Maria Hsia to raise money for Clinton/Gore and the DNC.3 On Aug. 18, 1992, just a few weeks after Bill Clinton was first nominated for president, Senate investigators "uncovered documents showing that on the day an obscure California real estate company called Hip Hing Holdings, made a $50,000 contribution to the Democratic National Committee, a similar amount was wired into the company's U.S. bank account from the Jakarta headquarters of the Lippo Group."4 Huang was in charge of Hip Hing's administration at the time it was donating to U.S. political campaigns.5 Huang eventually contributed $250,000 to Clinton’s 1992 campaign. After Clinton’s election, Huang and Mochtar Riady began to petition for a spot in the Commerce Department. Riady, a foreign national, offered Huang, a naturalized citizen, as his choice.6 In April of 1993, Huang attended a meeting with "Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown and 40 Asian community leaders in Los Angeles to discuss most-favored-nation trade status for China and the normalization of relations with Vietnam."7 In December of 1993, "Clinton appointed Huang to the Commerce Department under Ron Brown, giving him the title of Assistant Secretary for International Economic Affairs, responsible for Asian trade matters."8 Huang received a generous $ 788,750 bonus from Lippo.9 Although he did not start work until July14, 1994, President Clinton allowed Huang to receive a top-secret security clearance in January of 1994.10 "Such a clearance was explained in a January 1994 memo as necessary `due to the critical need for his expertise in the new administration' of Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown."11 He retained that clearance even after he left the Commerce Department to become a DNC fundraiser.12 From his very first day on staff, Huang lobbied aggressively for Riady’s "wish list." "He also received 37 `intelligence briefings' and may have attended 109 other meetings, including some at the White House, `at which classified material might have been discussed.' "13 Huang also remained in close contact with Lippo, using offices provided by his former boss’ friend, James T. Stephens. Records show that within minutes of leaving a White House meeting, Huang would call Lippo or one of its holdings. Aside from numerous telephone calls, Huang also faxed documents from Stephens’ offices.14 "Stephens officials said A. Vernon Weaver, now the U.S. representative to the European Union and formerly head of the Stephens office in Washington, allowed Huang to use the office for personal business as a courtesy."15 Some specific examples are:
"On May 9, 1995, Huang had a meeting scheduled with other senior Commerce officials on the `status of Dragongate,' a multibillion-dollar Taiwanese power plant project. That afternoon, he made two short calls to Lippo. Taiwan was one area of interest for Huang."17 "The next day, Huang received additional secret documents and made two short calls to Lippo's office in Los Angeles."18 Huang took a leave of absence from the Commerce Department on December 3, 1995; however, he did not officially depart until January 17, 1996.19 He maintained his security clearance and received briefings until that time.20 Further, Ira Sockowitz, an aide to Commerce General Counsel Ginger Ehn Lew, was investigated for removing sensitive documents from the Commerce Department after he and Lew moved to SBA.21 Sockowitz admitted to removing the documents, which were reportedly being held for John Huang.22 They include:
After a meeting between Riady, Huang, and the President, Huang was transferred to the DNC as a fundraiser. (20) He still retained his top-secret clearance.24 Of the over $3,000,000 in campaign contributions he brought into the DNC, approximately $1,400,000 had to be returned because it came from questionable (or illegal) sources.25
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