CASH AND KERRY by Michael Isikoff

MSNBC ^ | 3-9-04 | Michael Isikoff

[doug from upland]

Feb. 9 issue - John Kerry needed cash, and soon. In July 1996 the Massachusetts senator was locked in a tough re-election fight, so he was more than happy to help when he heard that a generous potential contributor wanted to visit his Capitol Hill office. The donor was Johnny Chung, a glad-handing Taiwanese-American entrepreneur. Chung brought along some friends, including a Hong Kong businesswoman named Liu Chaoying.

[proudmilitarymrs]

Okay, so who's the crook and liar? This gets better all the time!

[The G Man]

Whadda ya know ... he outsourced his campaign dollars overseas!

[Izzy Dunne]

He said the Beverly Hills event had been set up by a professional fund-raiser, and that he had never even met Chung until the night of the event. But congressional documents obtained by NEWSWEEK seem to tell a different story. "Dear Johnny, It was a great pleasure to have met you last week," Kerry told Chung in a handwritten note dated July 31, 1996.

You mean to tell me that NEWSWEAK has reporters who investigate lefties?
Color ME surprised...

[Fishface]

Bill, Hillary and John Kerry sold out the government of the United States to the Chinese Military for short money.

This is the biggest news story never written.

[Bahbah]

Thank you Michael Isikoff, and you too Doug.

[ravingnutter]

That article only scratches the surface:

According to the Federal Election Commission records Kerry has taken money from Bernard Schwartz the CEO of Loral Corporation, convicted China-gate figure Johnny Chung, convicted China-gate figure John Huang, and convicted fundraising scandal figure Mark Jimenez.

In addition, Kerry has accepted donations from billionaire George Soros, China-gate figure George Chao-Chi Chu, and from well know left-wing activists/actors such as Barbara Streisand and Alec Baldwin.

According to the FEC records, Kerry has returned only some of the cash, in particular the donations from John Huang and a portion of the money donated by George Chao-Chi Chu.

Details at NewsMax

[Jewels1091]

Anyone emailing this all over?? What are the odds that any of the'majors' pick this up????

[Eric in the Ozarks]

If you liked what the Clintons did to Amnerica, you'll be crazy about Kerry.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Yeah..right! Like the phony mortgage on his half of the mansion (which, it turns out, was un-necessary). This is just propaganda to make him look like less of a silver spoon blue-blood to the Union guys out there....the microphone "blooper" is no doubt part of the same strategy.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Johnny Chung !
Come on down !

[doug from upland]

Lifeguard Kennedy --- week after week after week after week he told lie after lie after lie after lie.

Unfortunately, the Chappaquidick Lifeguard's words apply to his great friend, the junior senator from Massachusetts.

"Dear Johnny, It was a great pleasure to have met you last week," Kerry told Chung in a handwritten note dated July 31, 1996. "Barbara [a Kerry fund-raiser] told me of your willingness to help me with my campaign... It means a lot to have someone like you on my team as I face the toughest race of my career."

[reformedliberal]

Newsweek IS a major. So is Isikoff.

This will not be ignored. I expect him on all the talking head shows next wek, if not this weekend.

Also, perhaps the media has decided to finally run w/all its Clinton stories, since Hillary's Hollywood fundraiser, Tonken (sp), has a tell-all coming out in October.

[Izzy Dunne]

You know, it looks like all the front-loading of the primaries has backfired.
Nobody looks at Kerry until February - everybody's saying that Dean is it.
Dean gets steamrollered in six weeks flat, and the Pickle Prince claims the flag.
But nobody has been digging around Kerry's kennel.
By the time the bloodhounds have got the new scent, the prize is his.
Couldn't have planned it better myself, if all I wanted was the nomination.

Let's hope the bloodhounds keep tracking...

[doug from upland]

Hillary is the one with the plan.

[Lady Jag]

Hillary is the one with the plan.

Look who's in the background:

[Izzy Dunne]

Hillary is the one with the plan

ACK!
Thanks for bringing me back down to earth.
I keep forgetting she's standing off stage, planning the same thing:
Let them take all the heat. When they flame out, I'll step in and be the party's savior. Bypass all the primary scrutiny.

The problem with that is that digging Johnny Chung up may bury Kerry but it doesn't shed any good light on Hillary. She doesn't want THAT can of worms opened up yet.

[GailA]

scroll down to the bottom and notice the 'sponsored links'..both are hanoi john...no balancing GW ones.

[RippleFire]

bump

[SpinyNorman]

Just found this on the web. Dunno if it has been here before, but the date shows it was issued during the Clinton years, from Janet Reno's DOJ (http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/1998/March/099.htm.html). You be the judge.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CRM

THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1998

(202) 616-2777

TDD (202) 514-1888

CRIMINAL INFORMATION FILED AGAINST JOHNNY CHUNG

The Justice Department's Campaign Financing Task Force filed an information today charging Johnny Chung with using straw donors and his own donations to exceed federal limits in contributing to the Clinton/Gore reelection campaign, and to U.S. Senator John Kerry's 1996 reelection campaign.

Filed in Federal District Court in Los Angeles, the information also charges Chung, 43, with one count each of tax evasion and bank fraud. He is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, March 9 on the 14th Floor of the Roybal Building in Los Angeles.

"This is the Campaign Financing Task Force's third prosecution in five weeks," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "This investigation is moving forward, but we are not going to let up now."

The information charges Chung with violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by conspiring to contribute, and causing to be contributed, funds exceeding the statutory limitations on campaign contributions, as well as conspiring to contribute and causing to be contributed funds in the name of others. (18 U.S.C. § 371 and 2 U.S.C. §§ 437g(d), 441a and 441f).

The information refers to two fundraising events, one a Clinton/Gore '96 fundraiser held in Century City, California on September 21, 1995. The second was a September 9, 1996 fundraiser for Senator John Kerry in Beverly Hills, California.

According to the information, Chung attended the Clinton/Gore fundraiser with approximately 20 guests. The cost of attending the event was $1,000, the maximum federal law permitted one person to contribute to Clinton/Gore '96. In order to pay for his guests without appearing to exceed the statutory limitation, Chung used a series of conduit contributors totaling at least $20,000. As explained in the information, he caused one of his employees to recruit conduit contributors by having them write individual checks in the amount of $1,000 payable to Clinton/Gore '96. Chung then caused cash to be withdrawn from his personal banking accounts, and had an employee reimburse the conduit contributors.

The information details a similar scheme to violate the FECA through conduit contributions to the Kerry Committee. The September 9, 1996, Beverly Hills fundraiser for Senator Kerry was hosted by Chung. The federal limit on personal contributions was $2,000 ($1,000 for the primary campaign and $1,000 for the general election campaign). Chung attended the event with several guests. As set forth in the information, Chung contributed $8,000 of his own money disguised as contributions from four of his guests. Chung and one of his employees asked the four guests to write checks drawn on their own accounts in the amount of $2,000 payable to the Kerry Committee. Chung and his employee then reimbursed the four conduit contributors with checks drawn from Chung's personal bank account.

The information also charges Chung with tax evasion. In 1996 Chung filed a personal income tax return stating that his 1995 taxable income was $14,236, and the amount of income tax due and owing was $2,134. In fact, according to the information, his taxable income for 1995 was substantially in excess of that reported. As a result, a substantial additional tax was due and owing. (26 U.S.C. § 7201)

The information also charges Chung with bank fraud. It alleges that around January 1997, in an effort to obtain a bank loan secured by a mortgage on his Artesia, California residence, he engaged in a scheme to defraud the lender. As set forth in the information, Chung transferred his ownership in the residence to his wife, Katharina Chung, who then applied for a loan secured by a mortgage on the residence. The loan application filed by Katharina Chung falsely stated that she was the comptroller of C.M. Information, Inc., a corporation in which Chung was an officer. As set forth in the information, Chung signed the name of the president of the company on the loan application without any authorization to do so. Katharina Chung was subsequently issued a $157,500 loan secured by a mortgage on the Artesia residence. (18 U.S.C. § 1344 , 18 U.S.C. §2 )

On January 29, 1998, Charlie Trie was charged in a 15-count indictment with a variety of crimes related to fundraising activities, as well as with obstruction of justice. Trie returned to the United States and surrendered to federal authorities on February 3, and is scheduled to be tried on October 7, 1998.

On February 18, 1998, a six-count indictment was returned against Maria Hsia, a Los Angeles Democratic fundraiser. Hsia was charged with conspiring with the Hsi Lai Temple of Hacienda Heights, CA by using Temple funds to make illegal campaign contributions to federal, state and local candidates and their political committees. Hsia was also charged with causing false statements to be made to the FEC. Her trial is set for April 27, 1998.

The United States Code provides maximum penalties of thirty-seven years and $1.45 million for the charges Chung faces. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, actual sentences imposed under the law can vary substantially.

All charges made by the government are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.