Democrats Are Fined $243,000 for Fund-Raising Violations (People's Republic of China and Clinton)

nytimes ^ | 9/21/2002 | RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

[TLBSHOW]

Democrats Are Fined $243,000 for Fund-Raising Violations

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 — The Democratic National Committee has agreed to pay civil fines and turn over to the Treasury a total of $243,000 to settle accusations that it took more than $1 million in illegal foreign contributions in 1995 and 1996, according to Federal Election Commission records released today.

The documents also state that the election commission's general counsel found in 1999 that there was "reason to believe" that the People's Republic of China "knowingly and willfully" violated federal election law. But the heavily redacted documents also state that the commission voted unanimously to "take no action at this time" on the general counsel's recommendation.

The documents detail efforts by the Democratic Party and the Clinton-Gore campaign to build their war chest with help from wealthy Asian donors before the 1996 election. In all, the election commission disclosed $719,500 in fines today.

The largest fine, $120,000, was paid by the International Buddhist Progress Society, which operates the Hsi Lai Temple in California, the site of an April 1996 luncheon attended by Vice President Al Gore. The national committee paid a $115,000 fine and agreed to turn over to the Treasury $128,000 it had received in illegal contributions. The Clinton/Gore '96 Primary Committee paid a $2,000 fine, the records also show.

John Huang and Yah Lin Trie, two Democratic fund-raisers who pleaded guilty to violating federal laws, agreed to pay fines respectively of $95,000 and $7,000.

The commission also found "probable cause" to believe that Hogan & Hartson, a Washington law firm, violated election laws in the handling of $50,000 in donations that a client of the firm made to the national committee in summer 1996. Two officials at the firm who were involved in the handling of the donations have agreed to pay a total of $67,500.

Representatives of the national committee and for former President Bill Clinton declined to comment. Officials at Hogan & Hartson did not reply to a phone message.

After the fund-raising scandal broke in late 1996, the Democratic Party returned $3 million in questionable or improper contributions, much of it from money donated or solicited by Mr. Huang or Mr. Trie.

Kent Cooper, a former election commission official who is now at PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which tracks money in politics, said some fines disclosed today appear surprisingly low. The election commission, he said, limited the fines assessed to some people based on their claims that they could not afford to pay more. "Some people will look at this and say the F.E.C. should have fined them more," Mr. Cooper said.

He noted, for example, that the election commission waived fines against a company called Global Resource Management based on the assertions by the company's president about its "present financial circumstances," the documents show.

The election commission found that the company, which was formed in Ohio in 1996 to resolve a "construction-related contractual matter" in Saudi Arabia, decided to make a $100,000 contribution to a national committee fund-raiser in New York on Aug. 18, 1996. The event was also billed as a 50th birthday celebration for Mr. Clinton. The company's officers made the contribution in order to meet with Ray Mabus, the former Mississippi governor and ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who helped plan the event, the election commission found.

But the money used to make the contribution was provided by Sheik Mohammed Oboud Al-Amoudi, a Saudi citizen, who wired $150,000 to the company. The company used this money for the donation "even though its officers had been informed that foreign national contributions are illegal," the election commission found.

Mr. Cooper said the documents provided further evidence of the tactics Democratic operatives used to raise money before the 1996 elections.

"Here, we're dealing with wire transfers and shuffling money to accounts," he said. "What is going on here is warning bells are going off all over the place."

Fund-Raiser's Trial Features Gore Video (February 16, 2000) $

THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: SOFT MONEY; CLINTON IS RAISING MILLIONS TO PUSH EARLY 'ISSUE ADS' (February 10, 2000) $

RENO ANNOUNCES AN INITIAL INQUIRY INTO CLINTON ADS (September 9, 1998) $

Interior Secretary Denies Politics Had Role in Dispute Over Casino (October 31, 1997) $

[WatchNKorea]

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[WatchNKorea]

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[TLBSHOW]

You are finding all the good ones aren't you?

Clintons and Gore and the DNC are all traitors to America!

[WatchNKorea]

"Clintons and Gore and the DNC are all traitors to America!"

[WatchNKorea]

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[WatchNKorea]

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[WatchNKorea]

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[WatchNKorea]

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[no-s]

I agree.

[kcvl]

Hogan & Hartson LLP is the largest law firm based in Washington, DC Today, the firm
has more than 800 attorneys

---

Global Resource Management (GRM) Plc
GRM is part of the CAPITB Group of companies based in Leeds.

The CAPITB Group are registered to ISO 9001 and recently achieved certification to ISO 14001. We are also committed to personal development of our staff and are registered to the Investors in People standard.

GRM has developed and launched a series of integrated management and benchmarking systems based on internationally recognised standards and specifications for environmental, health and safety, quality and ethical management.

The benchmarking systems enable companies to implement management controls appropriate to the level of risk to the business using a step-by-step approach, and measure their performance precisely against their customers’ expectations.

GRM provides toolkits, training and consultancy services to support companies using the step-by-step approach.

[kcvl]

TIME Allegations Attempt to Undermine Business: MIDROC

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)

November 22, 2002
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa


Allegations that Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi has financed Al-Qaida's 9/11 operations are not only unfounded, but also attempts to undermine his business activities in Ethiopia.

Those were statements made by the MIDROC group in response to an article that was run on the November 25 on line edition of TIME Magazine.

Author of the article one Adam Zagorin wrote about the lawsuit in August, filed by some 3,000 relatives of the victims of September 11. The $1 trillion lawsuit is against 100 people of which are members of the Saudi royal family and others. Among these is included Ethiopian born Saudi multimillionaire Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi.

"The list will also include prominent Saudi charities, financial institutions and businessmen, notably Mohammed al-Amoudi, the multimillionaire owner of a lavish Addis Ababa hotel where Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and rock star Bono stayed this year while on their African tour.

Al-Amoudi has repeatedly denied any links to terrorism."

Senior executives at MIDROC who spoke with The Daily Monitor, however have termed the statements in the article as malicious insinuations that only served to affect Al-Amoudi's business activities by specifically identifying his business ventures here in Ethiopia.

Al-Amoudi owns more than 20 companies in Ethiopia under the MIDROC Group.

"The November 25 issue of TIME Magazine carries a recycled allegation that members of the Saudi royal family and prominent Saudi businessmen were financing Al-Qaida operations, and those smeared by this reckless allegation will respond at the appropriate forum," the MIDROC group said.

The TIME article states that in addition to the 100 people who have already been named, some 50 more are to be added.

"Prime among them is likely to be Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Naif," according to TIME.

[kcvl]

Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi

[kcvl]

Headlines should read: HILLARY KNEW!!!

[WatchNKorea]

Thanks for the bump. New lurkers arrive at FR.com daily. Bttt.

[WatchNKorea]

"The documents detail efforts by the Democratic Party and the Clinton-Gore campaign to build their war chest with help from wealthy Asian donors before the 1996 election. In all, the election commission disclosed $719,500 in fines today."

A fine? A fine? A Fine??? What about the same sentence as the Rosenbergs received! Treason is Treason!

[WatchNKorea]

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[WatchNKorea]

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[WatchNKorea]

"Johnson bypassed the court's usual computer-randomized assignment system and somehow miraculously ended up assigning fellow Clinton judicial appointees to oversee six criminal cases involving Democratic fund-raisers and Clinton crony Webster Hubbell... SNIP ..."

We all know that it was treasonous bitch - Hillary Clinton - who made some hurried phone calls to Norma Johnson to get everything Setup!!

[WatchNKorea]

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[goldilucky]

I second that one!