[Richard Axtell]

Go to Alamo Girl's "Downside Legacy" ... she has compiled a detailed bibliography of news stories on this topic and most other Clinton scandals and crimes. Do a search on Chinagate, and other related topics. You will find a wealth of stories and links.

[vannrox]

DOWNSIDE LEGACY AT TWO DEGREES OF PRESIDENT CLINTON
SECTION: RED FLAGS OF TREASON
SUBSECTION: FOREIGN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
Revised 1/8/01

Global Intelligence Update 7/27/98 "There is no issue on which we have been more consistently wrong than on the ability of United States President Bill Clinton to weather the endless barrage of charges and accusations that he has faced.. While it is still not clear that his Presidency will end in resignation or impeachment, it does appear to us that events are moving forward in such a way as to force the President to devote the bulk of his remaining time in office to defending himself. As a consequence, his ability to conduct foreign policy will be hampered. The consequences of an American administration absorbed in an internal legal and political crisis must now be factored into the global equation.The one exception to the U.S.'s immunity to the repercussions of political scandal is foreign policy, which is the constitutional responsibility of the President and which cannot be transferred. .The deepest problem will come in China and throughout Asia. The campaign finance probe focuses on the role of China, and particularly of governmen and army officials, in passing money to the United States. This will inevitably strain U.S.-Chinese relations, along with U.S.-Indonesian relations. It may also have domestic Chinese political implications. We note, for example, that the Chinese government last week ordered the People's Liberation Army to get out of commerce and focus on ilitary affairs. While undoubtedly deriving from domestic concerns, we wonder the extent to which anticipation of American legal processes contributed to the decision. Whatever the consequences within internal Chinese politics, it is still clear that the campaign finance investigation will increase anti- Asian feeling in the United States at the same time that the Asian financial system will be undergoing its most severe tests. .."

Trie channeled more than $1.2 million to the DNC and to President Clinton's legal defense fund, all of which was returned on the suspicion it was foreign-tainted. At least $1 million was wired to Trie from Asian banks. Keshi Zhan, who earns $22,408 annually as a municipal employee was called Trie's social secretary. Her mother, Ying Qun Ma, is a retired senior Chinese government official and her father, Fan Zhan, has been a professor of Russian linguistics at prestigious Beijing University. Keshi Zhan held a joint bank account with Trie and Shao Zhengkang, a senior executive of a corporation owned by the Chinese State Council, the government's highest administrative body. She also had signatory authority over funds held by Ng Lap Seng, a Macao-based business partner of Trie's, that were used to make political contributions to the Democratic National Committee. A deposit of $12,500 from a Trie-Ng account was made to the joint Trie-Zhan-Shao account in February 1996, on the same day, Zhan made a $12,500 contribution to the DNC with funds from the Trie-Zhan-Shao account. Shao is a high-ranking officer of China Everbright in Hong Kong and Beijing, which is wholly owned by the Chinese State Council. Zhan shared another joint account on behalf of Trie with Shao and Su Yonghi, a former Chinese Embassy attache in Washington. Democrats on the investigating committee refused to grant immunity to Keshi Zhan for her testimony.

Far Eastern Economic Review quotes House Government Reform and Oversight Committee sources as saying Chinese money came in the form of a $3,000 check written by the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, as a partial reimbursement for a $5,000 contribution from Sioeng to Wong's campaign, payable to Ted Sioeng, an Indonesian businessman who gave $400,000 to the Democratic National Committee during the 1996 election cycle. Committee investigators said the FBI intercepted telephone calls from the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, mentioning Sioeng and plans to influence American elections Visa applications for investigators to meet with Sioeng in Hong Kong have been denied by the Chinese government.

Government Reform and Oversight Committee investigators may present evidence that Sioeng helped to get the daughter of a former Chinese consul-general in Los Angeles, Zhou Wenzhang, into the little-known Iowa Wesleyan College on a full scholarship. Sioeng has been on the board of trustees of the college since 1994. Since then, many of his contacts in Asia have obtained honorary degrees from the college. Tsang Hin-chi, chairman of Hong Kong-listed clothing-maker and retail-giant Goldlion Holdings may be investigated because of extensive links between himself and Sioeng in the U.S. and Asia. Tsang has been a member of the standing committee of China's parliament, the National People's Congress, since 1994 and is one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-China figures. His company derives 80% of its revenue from mainland China. Tsang and Sioeng have known each other at least since 1994. In April of that year, Sioeng arranged for Tsang to be granted an honorary doctorate from Iowa Wesleyan. Sioeng's Belize-based SS Group owns 24% of a $7 million cigarette manufacturing and marketing venture that Goldlion set up with the government of Hainan province in 1995. In 1996, Sioeng and his daughter became part-owners and directors of Goldlion's U.S. subsidiary, Goldlion International. The company opened a store inside Sioeng's Hollywood Metropolitan Hotel in early 1996 and the store was managed by Tsang's eldest son, Jimmy. It folded after a few months and Sioeng's stake in Goldlion International was bought out by Goldlion. Jimmy Tsang and his wife, Jean Lim, attended a major DNC fund-raiser in Washington with Sioeng in February 1996.

Strangely, Senator Glenn offered to negotiate an immunity agreement on behalf of John Huang. And in Senate Campaign Finance Hearing, Senator Robert Toricelli who received donations from John Huang said "I find the fact that Mr. Huang would maintain an arrangement where he would make phone calls outside the Department of Commerce not in and of itself suspicious." John Huang had top secret clearance at Commerce and would go across the street to an office run by Riady partner, Stephens' of Little Rock - for documents, phone, fax, etc. Senate Campaign Finance Hearing committee member, Senator Carl Levin received donations from John Huang. Senate Minority Leader, Tom Daschle who accepted donations from Maria Hsia and who personally recommended John Huang to be placed in Commerce, was instrumental in imposing a fixed deadline on the Senate Campaign Finance Hearings. After Senator Thompson announced in November 1997 that he was suspending the public hearings, the FBI obtained evidence that the Ministry of State Security in Beijing - boasted that it had been successful in "thwarting" the inquiry.

8/3/98 The Michael Reagan Information Exchange Mary Mostert "Senator Hatch " Pledges Leniency if Clinton Tells the Truth . " That does not really describe what the man who would play a key role in an impeachment trial actually said yesterday on Meet the Press . What he said was , " If he comes forth , and tells it [ the truth ] , and does it in the right way , and there aren ' t a lot of other factors to cause the Congress to say this man is unfit for the presidency and should be impeached , then I think the president would have a reasonable chance of getting through this . ".Something hasn't surfaced yet. Whatever it is I strongly suspect that it's far more serious than Clinton merely committing perjury over his sex exploits.The Lippo Company controls the largest producing low- sulfur coalmine in the world. Low sulfur coal is in huge demand by energy producing companies trying to comply with environmental mandates. The only other easily accessible large deposit of environmentally friendly low sulfur coal is in Utah. But, a mere one month before the large contributions to the Clinton Campaign from the Lippo group were reported, Clinton suddenly, with no advance discussion, even with the Democrat Congressman in whose district the property lay, designated 1.7 million acres which contained the coal "a national monument." . I rather suspect that Clinton will do whatever he thinks he has to do to keep the Congress from finding out what ELSE he promised Lippo, besides the squelching of their competition from Utah..With the Indonesian currency at about 25% of what it was when Clinton was getting contributions for his campaign from them, their stock market mostly dead and unemployment growing rapidly, watch for efforts by Clinton to repay them with US Taxpayer funds funneled through the IMF ."

7/14/98 AP Tom Raum ".Lott told the Senate that investigators had unearthed "serious and credible charges of direct Chinese financing'' of 1996 Democratic campaigns. While declining to elaborate on the "new information,'' Lott said it "should remove all resistance to naming an independent counsel.'' ."

Summarized from WorldNetdaily 7/14/98 Charles Smithe re: Ron Brown's "Indonesia Advocacy Projects" document obtained via the Freedom of Information Act: Involved in the privately held Indonesian Paiton Power Plant (two 600 million watt, coal fired, plants) in the US led consortium was Mission Energy (a partner of Lippo Group part owned by Mochtar Riady,) Mitsui & Co., Ltd. of Japan, General Electric Capital Corporation of the U.S., and P.T. Batu Hitam Perkasa,. U.S. Ambassador Barry worked directly with Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank, Linda Yang, to obtain financial support despite the questions of kick-backs to Suharto. In fact, the document states that Ms. Yang was "doing all she can" to help Indonesia obtain the financing for Paiton. In the end, the Suharto corruption quietly killed the ADB financing and the Asian Development Bank refused to back the deal. However, Lippo partner Mission Energy and the Suharto family successfully got the U.S. Government to officially back the project. Thus in 1995, the Brown led Commerce Department found financing for Paiton through the U.S. taxpayer. In April, 1995, $1.82 billion in limited recourse project debt was provided to Paiton by The Export-Import Bank of Japan, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation ("OPIC") of the United States, and eight commercial banks. The Paiton power plant was designed to burn "low-sulfur Indonesian coal". In 1996 President Clinton created the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, placing off-limits the world's largest deposit of low-sulfur coal. The Lippo group is the primary owner of the only other supply of low-sulfur coal in the world, located in Indonesia. Clinton's move left the only remaining low-sulfur coal supply in Lippo hands, creating a Riady monopoly. The move vastly increased the dollar value of Riady's low-sulfur coal reserves in a single stroke of Clinton's pen. The Indonesian coal reserves, co-incidentally, just happen to be located close to the U.S. taxpayer backed Paiton power plant.

Summarized from WorldNetdaily 7/14/98 Charles Smithe re: Ron Brown's "Indonesia Advocacy Projects" document obtained via the Freedom of Information Act: In 1997 the Commerce Department was forced in court by Judicial Watch to reveal that the Lippo Group successfully gained official U.S. support for a power project in Fujian, China. The controlling partners in the project included Mission Energy, Bechtel Enterprises and Lippo. Handwritten notes and a Commerce e-mail revealed that Mission Energy representatives met with Commerce officials to discuss the project and that the Lippo Group specifically was mentioned. The Lippo-Mission-Bechtel project also makes use of low-sulfur coal.

Summarized from WorldNetdaily 7/14/98 Charles Smithe re: Ron Brown's "Indonesia Advocacy Projects" document obtained via the Freedom of Information Act: In August, 1994, the Ron Brown trade trip to China included support for a third Lippo backed power project in China with the Arkansas-based Entergy Corp., yet another large Clinton contributor. Former DNC fund-raisers Ira Sockowitz and John Huang worked for Brown in 1994 at the Commerce Department and were charged by Brown to "vet" or check out the Entergy project in China.

Summarized from WorldNetdaily 7/14/98 Charles Smithe re: Ron Brown's "Indonesia Advocacy Projects" document obtained via the Freedom of Information Act: The connections between Riady and Clinton have a much more sinister theme than coal monopolies and taxpayer backed power plants in the middle of Asia. Testimony before Senator Thompson's committee last year revealed Moctar Riady's involvement in Chinese espionage. Testimony revealed the Lippo Group is in fact a joint venture of China Resources, a trading and holding company "wholly owned" by the Chinese communist government and used as a front for Chinese espionage operations. China Resources investments in Lippo expanded rapidly during the Clinton administration, coinciding with illegal six-figure Lippo contributions to his 1996 re-election. Many of those illegal donations originated with former Lippo employee John Huang. Huang also had direct access to President Clinton and a secret clearance.

Jewish World Review Linda Chavez 9/8/98 "What few people believed even weeks ago -- that a president could face impeachment because of a sex scandal -- now seems probable. And, ironically, it's the Democrats who will try to keep the focus narrowly on the Lewinsky matter. Even those Democrats willing to dump Clinton overboard aren't anxious to have an impeachment investigation look too closely at whether Chinese communists helped finance the president's re-election or whether administration and Democrat Party officials were trading national security secrets and policy favors for campaign cash.."

Washington Post 9/21/98 George Lardner Jr "Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung set up fake businesses in California with at least a half-dozen Chinese executives to make it easier for them to get U.S. visas, according to testimony and records compiled by House Republican investigators. Chung brought most of the executives, who included the offspring of two retired Chinese generals, to fund-raisers for the Clinton-Gore 1996 reelection effort. Irene Wu, Chung's top assistant from 1995 to 1997, said in a deposition to the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee that "all of these companies" were set up to facilitate travel to the United States by the Chinese business officials and eventually help them establish permanent residency here. The companies engaged in no real business activity, Wu said in her July 28 deposition. Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman Russ Bergeron said setting up dummy companies to acquire visas is a "growing fraud," particularly in faraway countries such as China. He said it involves "all kinds of scams," including bogus business cards, letterheads for nonexistent companies, phony tax returns and fake photos of business locations.."

11/17/98 from the Year of the Rat ".In Jakarta, James Riady likes to brag about where he was on the afternoon of April 19, 1993. On that day 80 members of the branch debate in religious cult or holed up in their compound outside of Waco, Texas, when it was shattered by a tank led assault. By the time the FBI and the Treasury's Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents had completed their work, 17 American children had burned to death. As might be expected, the White House was a busy place that afternoon, and the president was preoccupied. Bill Clinton was not too distracted, however, to chat with his leading contributors James Riady, John Huang, and Mark Grobmeyer in his little study off the Oval Office*. James Riady later told Indonesian diplomats that, during their chat, a television in the corner showed the Waco compound burning "over and over" as CNN repeated its coverage. Bill Clinton even took time to show his visitors the White House Situation Room, then on Full Alert **. White House logs confirm that James Riady and his companion were in the presidential offices (West Named) of the White House that day. They apparently also dropped and on Robert Rubin, now Secretary of the treasury, who was then a White House economics official***. ."

From the affidavit of Nolanda Hill: ".7. After the elections of 1994, and the Democrats' loss of Congress, I became aware, through my discussions with Ron, that the trade missions were being used as a fundraising tool for the upcoming Clinton-Gore presidential campaign and the Democratic Party. Specifically, Ron told me that domestic companies were being solicited to donate large sums of money in exchange for their selection to participate on trade missions of the Commerce Department. Ron expressed to me his displeasure that the purpose of the Commerce trade missions had been and were being perverted at the direction of The White House.

From the affidavit of Nolanda Hill: ".11. In early 1996, Ron showed me a packet of documents, about 1 inch thick, which he removed from his ostrich skin portfolio. Ron told me that these documents had been provided to him from Commerce Department files as part of the collection efforts to produce documents to Judicial Watch in this case. I reviewed the top five or six documents, which were on Commerce Department letterhead under the signature of Melissa Moss of the Office of Business Liaison. What I reviewed comprised letters of Ms. Moss to trade mission participants, each of which specifically referenced a substantial financial contribution to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).."

Los Angeles Times 4/4/99 William Rempel, Henry Weinstein, Alan Miller "...By 1994, Chung was trading money for access to the highest levels of the U.S. government. Chung "got caught up in this system," his attorney, Sun, told a federal judge just before he was sentenced last December. It was Chung's way of opening doors and getting to "hobnob with the big boys and girls." U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real in Los Angeles expressed skepticism at claims made by DNC officials that they had no idea Chung's money might have had foreign origins. He said if they "didn't know what was going on, they are the dumbest politicians" in his experience. Real then sentenced Chung to community service instead of a prison term...."

Los Angeles Times 4/4/99 William Rempel, Henry Weinstein, Alan Miller "...Ji works directly for Xiong Guangkai, the deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army, who supervises all intelligence and foreign policy for the army. Xiong is a politically powerful figure in China and a close ally of Chinese President Jiang Zemin...."

4/4/99 Ed and Bill (Year of the Rat authors) "...We believe that Bill Remple, Henry Weinstein and Alan Miller have done a major service through their long frontpage article in today's Los Angeles Times. It's posted elsewhere by Rodger Schultz. Freepers should particularlty notice the reference to General Xiong Guangkai. He is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence and is the same guy who threatened to incinerate Los Angeles. He is also the person who ran provocation operations against the students at Tiananmen. For example, he tried to plant weapons on them toshow they were part of an armed insurrection. Xiong is also a very frequent visitor to the United States. He sneaks in and out so often he almost qualifies for a green card! Xiong is also the PLA master behind the US-PRC military to military relationship. Freepers should also notice the reference to Lt. Col. Liu telling Chung that she and General Ji are relying on 'others to funnell funds to Democratic campaigns.' What 'others'? What 'Democratic campaigns'? Who else is tainted? Was it knowing? If you look at the chart on page 219, you will see all the money flows coming from PRC-related sources. It makes a kind of inverted triangle. We are now beginning to suspect that it should more of a diamond shape. That is, there should be lines going up from the boxes that read 'PLA' or 'PLA-Intelligence' etc to a single point and that single point would be the master spy, General Xiong Guangkai. Ed and Bill ..."

Los Angeles Times 4/4/99 William Rempel, Henry Weinstein, Alan Miller "...Like Liu, Ji is the offspring of a politically prominent father. Ji Pengfei served as China's foreign minister from 1972 to 1974 and later as a vice chairman of the National People's Congress. The elder Ji also supervised negotiations over the future of Hong Kong and helped draft the Basic Law under which Hong Kong is ruled. More significantly, the younger Ji is head of Qingbaobu, the wing of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army that is in charge of military intelligence. His responsibilities also include military intelligence in Hong Kong. Gen. Ji, who is in his mid-50s, was promoted to this post in 1992 during a closed five-day session of the Central Military Commission chaired at the time by future President Jiang. Ji has kept a low profile since that time and seldom appears in news accounts...."

4/4/99 AP/LA Times "....Chung and Ji were brought together by Liu Chaoying, who was a Chung business partner as well as a lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army, the Times said. Liu did not respond Friday to questions sent by the Times to her office in Hong Kong. In their first meeting in August 1996, Chung said, he declined Ji's money but the general said he was already engaged in similar transactions with others serving as conduits for Chinese funds to support Clinton's reelection. Within a few days, Liu deposited $300,000 into Chung's Hong Kong bank account, telling him it was from Ji, sources told the newspaper. Federal election records show that five weeks after receiving the money, Chung donated $35,000 in three checks to the Democratic National Committee. The remaining funds went to one of Chung's California bank accounts but it is not known how that money was used...."

Los Angeles Times 4/4/99 William Rempel, Henry Weinstein Alan Miller "...The chief of China's military intelligence secretly directed funds from Beijing to help reelect President Clinton in 1996, former Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung has told federal investigators. Chung says he met three times with the intelligence official, Gen. Ji Shengde, who ordered $300,000 deposited into the Torrance, Calif., businessman's bank account to subsidize campaign donations intended for Clinton, according to sources familiar with Chung's sealed statements to federal prosecutors. "We like your president," Ji said, according to sources familiar with Chung's grand jury testimony. Chung testified that he was introduced to the intelligence chief by the daughter of China's retired senior military officer..... Chung told investigators that he and Ji were brought together by Liu Chaoying, the daughter of retired Gen. Liu Huaqing. At the time, she was a Chung business partner as well as a lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army...Chung was introduced to Ji by Liu on Aug. 11, 1996, in Hong Kong. Chung told investigators that Ji's rank and government affiliation were not immediately apparent and that the general used a false name during that initial encounter. During this meeting Ji talked about providing money to help the Clinton campaign, Chung told investigators. Ji said he was going to provide some funds for Liu to give to Chung, sources familiar with Chung's grand jury testimony said. Chung told federal investigators that he tried to tell Liu outside the meeting that he didn't want Ji's money. Liu, in turn, attempted to reassure Chung by telling him that they were engaged in similar transactions with others serving as conduits for Chinese funds to support Clinton's reelection. Within a couple of days, Liu moved $300,000 into Chung's Hong Kong bank account. She told him it was from Ji. By that time, Chung was aware of Ji's position and decided he could not refuse the money, according to his account to investigators. After Ji's initial meeting with Chung, the two men joined Liu on another occasion. Details from that session could not be obtained. A third encounter took place in Beijing in late September 1996. Chung carried a congratulatory letter to a Beijing University student from Education Secretary Richard W. Riley and sought Liu's help in locating the student. Liu arrived at Chung's hotel with Ji. No further details about that meeting were available...."

Los Angeles Times 4/4/99 William Rempel, Henry Weinstein Alan Miller "...Soon after returning home from Hong Kong and his meeting with Ji, Chung hired the Chinese intelligence chief's son, then a University of California at Los Angeles student, to work at his Torrance fax business in late 1996.... Investigators were given access to Chung's Hong Kong bank records to help trace the origin of the $300,000 deposit. Most of the money never got to the Democratic Party on Clinton's behalf. Chung has told investigators that Liu said she and Ji also were relying on others to funnel funds into Democratic campaigns...."

Washington Weekly 4/5/99 Marvin Lee "...On November 8, 1995, at a presidential luncheon at the "Car Barn" in Georgetown, an unusual constellation of guests were in attendance: Charlie Trie, Ng Lap Seng and Eric Green met Richard Mays and Eric Wynn. Also attending was then-Commerce Secretary Ron Brown who addressed the assembled people as "The Trie Team," and said that "big business helps us everywhere." What is "The Trie Team"? We know from Timperlake & Triplett's book "Year of the Rat" that Trie and Lap Seng are members of the "Four Seasons" Triad gang of Chinese organized crime. We also know that Trie is a long-time friend of Bill Clinton. Another long-time friend of Clinton is Richard Mays, a Little Rock lawyer whose name has appeared in the Whitewater and tainted blood scandals as well as the investigation into the death of White House Deputy Counsel Vince Foster. He is also a fundraiser for Clinton who has repeatedly solicited money from people reported by the Washington Post to be tied to U.S. organized crime: Eric Wynn and Richard Tienken. Mays has also successfully raised campaign contributions from Charlie Trie. The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee during its Campaign Finance investigation obtained a video tape of the Car Barn event in Georgetown. During a recently released deposition of Richard Mays, David A. Kass, Investigative Counsel for the Committee asked about the Car Barn event. Mays did not seem comfortable testifying about the event that was co-chaired by himself and Charlie Trie, and had no explanation for why participants apparently had tried to hide photos from the event showing President Clinton and several top DNC officials socializing with members of U.S. and Chinese organized crime. Mays admitted during the deposition to giving Eric Wynn "free legal advice." Mays left for Africa when the Committee later subpoenaed him to testify during Campaign Finance hearings....What is the link between U.S. and Chinese organized crime? The Car Barn event may be providing the answer. It was a fundraising event. Could it be that U.S. and Chinese organized crime serve as one of the funnels of cash between the Chinese military and the Clinton administration? The Chinese military - Lt. Colonel Liu Chaoying - Johnny Chung - White House channel could not possibly have paid for all the military technology obtained from the Clinton administration by the People's Liberation Army...."

CNN 4/6/99 Freeper drib "…In the midst of reporting the same old things about Kosovo, CNN reported some new findings on Chinagate. Apparently there is a Chinese military official that has signed a confession that the Chinese Military DID in fact contribute to Clinton's campaign, and that the money did not come from Buddists (or wherever) …"

Rueters 4/5/99 "…An adviser to a California company was charged Tuesday with violating federal election law in 1996 by giving the Democratic Party a $150,000 check drawn from an account funded by a South Korean corporation. The Justice Department said Robert Lee, 49, a consultant to a fledgling development company, was charged in federal court in Los Angeles with a misdemeanor violation. Under the law, foreign contributions to U.S. elections are prohibited. According to court documents, Lee was working for K&L International Partners Inc., which had bid on a project in Inglewood, California…."

World Net Daily through Softwar.net 4/13/99 through E-Mail Alert "...According to documents provided by the Commerce Dept., White House official Robert Rubin and U.S. Trade Rep. Ambassador Celia Barshesky were both involved in policy meetings with the CSPP. A May 1994 "CONFIDENTIAL" letter to Ron Brown, partially withheld by the Commerce Dept., states the CSPP held a meeting with Brown, "Robert Rubin" and "Amb. Barshesky" where super-computer exports to China and Russia were discussed. However, Rubin was soliciting campaign donations from CSPP members at the same time. In November 1994, DNC million dollar donor Sanford Robertson wrote a letter to President Clinton, thanking him for the August 1994 trade trip to China and he included a "P.S." about Robert Rubin. Robertson wrote to Clinton the smoking gun of Chinagate, a letter directly implicating the President in trade trips in exchange for money. The Robertson letter states "PS - Bob Rubin came to our home on Thursday for a Dianne Feinstein dinner, which raised over $100,000 for her campaign. Bob, of course, turned out the financial community and Silicon Valley."..."

Washington Times 4/9/99 Jerry Seper "...Chinese military intelligence officers diverted illegal campaign donations to the Clinton-Gore Re-Election Committee through a Hong Kong bank controlled by an Indonesian family with long-standing ties to President Clinton, authorities said. Federal law enforcement officials, congressional investigators and others said several hundred thousand dollars in cash went to the campaign through several emissaries handpicked by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The money, the sources said, originated in Beijing and initially was routed by the PLA to China Resources Holding Company Ltd. in Hong Kong. From there, it was transferred to the Hong Kong Chinese Bank -- jointly owned by the Chinese government and Lippo Group, a multibillion-dollar Indonesian conglomerate owned by longtime Clinton supporters Mochtar and James Riady, the sources said. Eventually, the cash was moved to other banks, then wired to the emissaries, who distributed it to the Clinton-Gore campaign U.S. intelligence officials believe the PLA bought into the Hong Kong bank after Mr. Clinton's 1992 election as a way of gaining access to the president through the Riady family, which has been a supporter of Mr. Clinton since he was governor of Arkansas...."

Washington Times 4/9/99 Jerry Seper "...Johnny Chung, a California businessman who gave more than $350,000 to the Democratic Party, has linked Democratic fund-raisers John Huang and Charles Yah Lin Trie to the PLA fund-raising scheme in grand jury testimony and sworn statements as part of a plea agreement in a Justice Department probe. Chung, an admitted bagman for Chinese intelligence, testified that his former business partner, Liu Chao-ying, a Chinese aerospace executive and lieutenant colonel in the PLA, told him Mr. Trie and Mr. Huang were "directed in their fund-raising activities by the Chinese government."..."

Washington Times 4/9/99 Jerry Seper "...At least one House committee is investigating the leadership of China Resources, based on preliminary information showing that top PLA officers have assumed key positions with the firm to continue efforts to influence U.S. policy on several issues. Of particular concern, the sources said, is a possible connection between China Resources and the PLA's chief military intelligence officer, Gen. Ji Shengde, who -- according to Chung's grand jury testimony -- ordered that $300,000 be transferred to Chung for donations to the Democratic Party. That transfer -- first reported by the Los Angeles Times -- took place after Chung personally met with Gen. Ji in Hong Kong in a meeting arranged by Miss Liu. The sources said Chung testified that Gen. Ji told him he already was engaged in similar transactions with others serving as conduits for Chinese money for Mr. Clinton. The cash eventually was wired to Chung's account at the Overseas Trust Bank in Hong Kong. He gave $35,000 to the Democratic National Committee. The rest was moved to a separate account at a California bank. It is not clear how it was used...."

Washington Times 4/9/99 Jerry Seper "...Lippo denies any wrongdoing in its relationship with the president, although the sources said the PLA was counting on the Riadys' ties to Mr. Clinton for access of its own. They said the PLA knew the Riadys' Worthen National Bank in Little Rock, Ark., had given Mr. Clinton a multimillion-dollar loan to get through the 1992 presidential election, and had handed over $100,000 to former Associate Attorney General Webster L. Hubbell after he quit the Justice Department and before he pleaded guilty to two Whitewater felonies. Lippo sold a 15 percent interest in its Hong Kong bank to China Resources in 1993, four days after Mr. Clinton's 1992 election victory. By July 1992, the company had sold off half the bank to China Resources in what U.S. authorities believe was a continuing effort by the PLA to cash in on the Riadys' relationship with Mr. Clinton. China Resources paid what U.S. intelligence officials said was a huge premium over the net asset value of the bank, giving Lippo a profit of $164 million...."

Washington Times 4/9/99 Jerry Seper "...A key player in the suspected plot appears to be Mr. Huang, a former Lippo employee, Commerce Department official and Democratic National Committee fund-raiser, who served as vice president of the Hong Kong bank from 1985 to 1986. When Mr. Huang left Lippo to join Commerce, he received a $780,000 bonus. China Resources, according to the sources, was used by the Chinese government as a cover for its spying activities. Owned by the PLA, Chinese military intelligence officials are said to be free to penetrate its operations for economic espionage. More recently, it has invested in several Lippo ventures within Indonesia. ..."

www.scmp.com 4/9/99 Reuters Freeper Thanatos "...The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) says it is attracting 1,000 recruits a day, including girls as young as 16, but admits it also uses press-gangs. A KLA officer in charge of 150 troops on the Albanian border said young ethnic Albanians expelled at gunpoint from their homes in Kosovo were queueing to join up. Gjejnaze Sula, a doctor who had been working with a US aid charity, left home to swell the KLA's ranks after a Serbian neighbour told her mother she was on a hit list...."

www.scmp.com 4/9/99 Reuters Freeper Thanatos "...Recent US polls may show public support for using Nato ground troops in Kosovo is growing - but proving that would have been difficult in the rural western Pennsylvania town of Evans City on Wednesday night. Saying he felt ambiguous about expanding Nato's war against Yugoslavia to include ground troops, Republican Representative Phil English asked people at a town hall meeting for their opinions. Their comments and a show of hands made it clear they did not want to see US soldiers advancing and retreating over Yugoslav terrain. "I haven't been given the argument I need to support ground troops," Mr English told the gathering of 55 residents. But he said he also understood the argument that not using such troops would hinder Nato from driving Serbian forces out of Kosovo..."

Stratfor 4/9/99 "...1920 GMT, 990409 - Reports coming from the G-8 meeting in Dresden appear to have reached an important turning point. The G-8 appears to be softening on a key demand that NATO troops be permitted to enter and control Kosovo as part of any agreement. The G-8 has shifted from the NATO formula to a broader international force. This will allay a critical Serbian fear, which is that the NATO force would be used as a cover for Kosovo's secession. An international force, including Greeks, Italians and Russians would permit supervision of a cease-fire and settlement without the political implications feared by the Serbs. Further G-8 meetings will be held, but if this shift holds, the possibility for a cease-fire in the next few days is substantial. It is clear to us that the Italians and probably the Germans are now insisting on an end to the conflict...."

The New York Times 4/9/99 Thomas Friedman "...Boy, I sure hope the Clinton team loses this war in Kosovo, because if it wins, there will be no one to pick up the Nobel Peace Prize. If I read The Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal correctly, everyone in this Administration has already blamed everyone else in this Administration for failure in Kosovo. Reading the front pages, one finds that the Joint Chiefs blame Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for dragging them into a morass. The State Department blames the Pentagon and the NATO allies, the C.I.A. says it predicted the war would go badly, the Vice President is worried that it's going to sink his election chances, the Congressional Democrats want to dump the whole Clinton foreign policy team for failing to anticipate Serbian behavior, and the Republicans don't know what they want but they all agree it's Bill Clinton's fault. Talk about turbo finger-pointing. You don't even have to leave this Administration and write your memoirs to betray it -- now you can do it on the job...."

Wall Street Journal 4/9/99 David Cloud Phil Kuntz "...Even as Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visits President Clinton here, the steam is going out of one of their biggest problems: the federal investigation into whether China hatched an elaborate plot to funnel money into the Clinton-Gore 1996 re-election effort. Justice Department and congressional investigators have uncovered significant evidence that funds from China wound up in Democratic National Committee coffers. But law-enforcement officials think the evidence more strongly suggests uncoordinated efforts by business entrepreneurs who have prominent party or government positions, rather than a Chinese government plot. Even if there were such a plot, law-enforcement officials now seem to have concluded that there is little point in charging those responsible in China, because there is little chance they would ever be turned over to U.S. custody. That leaves the matter in the hands of U.S. counterintelligence officials... Sen. Thompson is especially scornful of skepticism by law-enforcement officials about what his committee dubbed the "China Plan" to funnel money to the Clinton campaign. He concedes that there is no evidence indicating that each step of the alleged conspiracy was directed by Chinese President Ziang Zemin. But he adds, "We know how the Chinese government operates -- through various companies. Practically everything is the government over there." ....But prosecutors have run into unexpected problems in two of the major cases, those of Little Rock, Ark., businessman Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie and Los Angeles immigration consultant Maria Hsia, both Democratic fund-raisers. Federal District Judge Paul Friedman has dismissed several counts against both of them, ruling that U.S. law doesn't prohibit foreigners from contributing "soft money" -- that is, unregulated donations to help build up political parties -- as it does "hard money" used to directly influence an election. He also has thrown out charges alleging the defendants caused false statements to be made to the Federal Election Commission..... The biggest remaining mystery of the case is whether DNC fund-raiser John Huang, whose attempts to tap Asian-American donors helped to ignite the scandal, will ever be charged. In seclusion since the first days of the scandal, Mr. Huang may soon be heard from again: Judicial Watch, a conservative group with a number of civil suits pending against the Clinton administration, has subpoenaed him to appear next week to give a deposition in a related suit it has filed against the Clinton administration...."

RNC.org 4/99 "...Furthermore, several of the DNC's largest campaign donors, solicited by DNC vice chairman fund-raiser John Huang, funneled nearly a half-million dollars into at least six state Democrat parties in 1996, according to state and party records. Totaling at least $482,500, the donations showed even broader involvement by a handful of fat-cat dollar party donors in financing the 1996 elections. Donations solicited by Huang ended up in Michigan, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Illinois. (Source: The Washington Post, 1/26/97) ....Thai businesswoman Pauline Kanchanalak and her sister-in-law Duangnet Kronenberg were indicted by a U.S. District Court. Kanchanalak's husband Jeb and mother-in-law Praitun Kanchanalak were named as unindicted co-conspirators. They were charged with funneling money to the DNC and Democrat state parties in California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. (Source: The Chattanooga Times, 7/14/98) ....A review by the Los Angeles Times of state campaign finance records showed that many of the same people connected to improper contributions to national campaign funds - along with their business associates and relatives - funneled money to California state figures. Among the largest state contributions to the California State Democrat Party from figures involved in the federal campaign finance controversy was $54,500 in checks from Duagnet Kronenberg ($30,000) and P. Kanchanalak ($24,500), both of McLean, Virginia. In both instances, the DNC directed the money to California. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 4/2/97) .... Pennsylvania Four prominent Asian-Americans, at the center of the political money scandal, funneled $895,000 into the Pennsylvania State Democrat Party. At the urging of John Huang, one of the largest donations, $25,000, came from Pauline Kanchanalak. Kanchanalak's sister-in-law, Duagnet Kronenberg also, gave $25,000. Sen Jong Hsui contributed $20,000, and C. Joseph Giroir Jr. from Little Rock Arkansas gave another $25,000. (Source: Philadelphia Daily News, 1/29/97) ..."

Washington Post 4/9/99 Steven Mufson "…William Triplett, a longtime congressional staff member, had spent Wednesday morning doing some spring cleaning, doing some research on Chinese nuclear spying and watching President Clinton give a speech that suggested some of China's critics are Cold Warriors looking for a new enemy in the post-Soviet world. "I'm not a warmonger looking for an enemy," countered Triplett. "I've got real people pointing nuclear weapons at the United States." …. "My friends and I fight the good fight when we can by causing as much pain and suffering as we can," Triplett says. "Bill Triplett's name is a household word" among China experts, says Robert Kapp, head of the U.S.-China Business Council, which has helped arrange a dinner in New York for Zhu. "He has strong views on the dangers of China's intentions in the world and China's conspiratorial inclinations." An informal network, the "midnight patriots" take their name from a complaint made by one of the Founding Fathers -- Triplett cannot remember whether it was George Washington or Thomas Paine -- that too many people were "sunshine patriots," behind the country only during good times. "Midnight patriots are there when things are tough," Triplett says. Their goal: End Communist rule in China. "I think we have an obligation as leader of the democratic alliance." ….Last year Triplett cowrote "Year of the Rat: How Bill Clinton Compromised U.S. Security for Chinese Cash." Published by the right-wing Regnery Publishing Inc., the book has sold 100,000 copies, Triplett says. The book focuses on allegations that top Chinese officials used a variety of conduits to illegally funnel money to the Clinton-Gore campaign. "Our thesis is simple," Triplett and his co-author Edward Timperlake wrote. "The Clinton administration has made a series of Faustian bargains and policy blunders that have allowed a hostile power to further its aims in Washington. In the main, Bill Clinton and Al Gore did it for money."…. "

The New Australian No. 116, 19-25 4/99 Peter Zhang "...Those who go along with Zhu's self-serving argument overlook how pathological Clinton is. Now let us consider what Zhu has really said: Clinton, the nation's commander-in-chief, compromised, for a lousy $300,000, the country's national security, gave Chinese intelligence access to highly classified work and nuclear-weapons labs, including neutron bomb technology, gave it free-reign to plant agents and encouraged the transfer of high-tech equipment with military applications. I believe that is what you Americans call a bargain-basement deal, which only proves what a bargain Beijing got and just how venal Clinton really is. But Zhu and General Ji know that the actual bribes, and that is what they are, came to much more than $300,000. The real truth is that millions of dollars were pumped into Clinton's coffers by various means. One less obvious method was to get companies to heavily donate to the Clintons for the financial privilege of dealing with the PLA and its holding companies. What Americans must ask themselves is why was Beijing so anxious to see Clinton elected? Why was it prepared to spend any amount to see him in the White House? In other words, what was in it for them? Though the exact amounts are known to only a few, of whom Zhu is one, I doubt if American intelligence will ever find out how much Beijing really spent, one way or another - but the amount is irrelevant. What counts is the act. In China, it is called treason and the penalty is death. How does Beijing feel about the exposure? Comfortable, is the answer. No one saw Zhu break out in a sweat. And why should he? Beijing has assessed, and correctly I think, that the scandal is so bad that both parties are prepared to suppress most of the details to protect the presidential office from acute embarrassment, which unfortunately means Clinton ...."

Freeper Jolly reports on Reuters; American Investigator 4/15/99; 04/97 Jennifer Genevieve; China By Any Other "...Wang Jun and Li Ka Shing always seem to end up on top. Here is an interesting article show who stands to benifit the most when Chian gets WTO...China's entry into the World Trade Organisation may not be a done deal yet but investors in the Hong Kong stock market are already looking forward to the gains that lie ahead, particularly for ports and telecoms firms.... The question for investors is now ``when'' rather than ``if,'' analysts said. .....Goldman Sachs is predicting a jump in China trade flows to US$600 billion in five years from US$324 billion in 1998. ``Obvious beneficiaries are exporters and port companies,'' it said in a recent research report. ....Targeting that growth, analysts have singled out COSCO Pacific Ltd , China Merchants Holdings (International) Co Ltd , Wharf (Holdings) Ltd and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd as the main beneficiaries....China-backed banks such as CITIC Ka Wah Bank Ltd and Union Bank of Hong Kong Ltd would benefit through joint ventures with financial service subsidiaries of their China shareholders, DBS said in a report. ``Union Bank and CITIC Ka Wah are likely to accelerate their merger plans with their mainland sister banks,'' it added...."

Reuters 4/22/99 "...Chinese and US trade negotiators reopened talks on Thursday in a drive to put the finishing touches on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal that Premier Zhu Rongji narrowly missed clinching in Washington. US Assistant Trade Representative Robert Cassidy and China's top WTO negotiator, Long Yongtu, opened what were expected to be lengthy talks at 10.30am in Beijing. ''We are following the joint statement of President [Bill] Clinton and Premier Zhu,'' Mr Cassidy told reporters, referring to the two leaders' pledge in Washington to conclude talks on China's 13-year-old WTO bid this year...... The People's Daily made it clear Beijing expected Washington to deliver on its promise to support China's entry to the WTO. ''The US government has clearly pledged to firmly support China's entry to the WTO in 1999,'' the newspaper said in a front page editorial hailing Mr Zhu's North American tour. ''Both sides agreed to begin talks before the end of April to settle remaining issues to China's entry to the WTO.'' ...."

AP 4/23/99 James Jefferson "...FBI agents investigating Democratic Party fund-raiser Yah Lin ``Charlie'' Trie sought evidence that Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown met with a Chinese arms dealer the same day that the dealer attended a White House coffee with President Clinton, according to court documents unsealed today. Trie faces federal charges in the campaign fund-raising probe. Agents searched his Little Rock home in October 1997 after obtaining a search warrant that alluded to a Feb. 6, 1996, meeting attended by Brown and Wang Jun just weeks before Brown's death. Trie, a central figure in the controversy over foreign-linked campaign donations to Democrats, arranged for Wang to attend a White House coffee with President Clinton the same day. Wang's company, Poly Technologies, has been implicated in smuggling of arms into the United States. He is identified as an adviser to the Chinese government in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's report on its investigation into illegal campaign fund raising in the 1996 election. Wang's visit to the White House was previously reported and Clinton has said it was inappropriate. Previous reports, however, did not mention a meeting the same day between Brown and Wang...."

 

Washington Weekly 5/2/99 RICKI MAGNUSSEN AND MARVIN LEE "...TIMPERLAKE: The PRC issue is breaking very quickly and there's a lot more to come. It took about 3 months to get to this point where the American Investigator ran an expose on network television this week. It took a while, but we found a home video of Charlie Trie going off shore in 1992 before Clinton was elected president. At that time Clinton had been nominated as the Democratic candidate for President. And Trie goes off shore to China, identifies himself as Clinton's key guy, he's meeting with Chinese officials -- we have tape of this -- and the Arkansas crowd attending the meeting says that Bill Clinton's policy for China could be affected by Chinese officials.

 

Washington Weekly 5/2/99 RICKI MAGNUSSEN AND MARVIN LEE "...QUESTION: Considering that Johnny Chung has identified several channels of communication between the Chinese military and president Clinton, how close do you think that Clinton is to the Chinese military? TIMPERLAKE: Very close. Here's the reason why. Johnny Chung, who is a hustler, was picked because he figured out that the administration would take money for access. By our analysis, it looks like Chinese military intelligence saw that Johnny Chung was a clever fellow who knew how to work Bill Clinton. So Lieut. Col. Liu was assigned his case officer to recruit him. Her trade craft broke down, however, because in order to recruit Chung she brought him offshore and introduced Chung to Major General, I believe, Ji. And Ji is the famous fellow reported in the paper as saying: "We like your president" and he indicated that they had other individuals or channels of money. That happened several times. Now, General Ji reports to the deputy chief of staff for intelligence, a four star, who got there by providing agent provocateurs and discrediting the students who were at Tiananmen in 1989. That's what his job was, to get those poor kids. He's the gentleman who threatened to nuke Los Angeles over the Taiwan issue, that's the guy who did that. He is the ultimate spy master. His major general is general Ji, who met personally with Johnny Chung and Lieut. Col. Liu--by our count three times. They created a shell corporation called Marchwell to buy Lieut. Col. Liu access to President Clinton twice. And through a contribution to Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, she managed to meet the senior executive of the Securities and Exchange Commission about placing offerings on the American stock market of PRC companies. Now, I always thought that it was just about money, but it turns out that it was more than that. Apparently, the goal was to create a lot of shell companies in the import/export business and high-tech business so they could accomplish the goal of buying American high-tech equipment across the board, equipment like gyroscopes, computers and high tech communications equipment and flood them out of the country thereby overwhelming our safeguards, our Customs, the FBI and counter intelligence operations. So that was the goal and we don't know how successful she was because Chung is the only person of 122 people who has actually gone in front of the grand jury and (in our opinion) told the truth. That's a very powerful statement because the rest of them, if there were a strong law enforcement operation from the Justice Department, the conspiracy would have been broken by now and we would know how bad the damage was that was done to America. It's very apparent that the Attorney General of The United States has chosen to keep her job and sacrifice America at this point. The country is in great jeopardy, because as long as the conspiracy stands we don't know bad the damage was and we can't bring people to justice and until we bring people to justice we don't know how to rebuild the military because we don't know our total vulnerability. Prudence dictates that we should at this point assume a worst case scenario. Everything is gone! I was director of mobilization for the Department of Defense and we looked to the fact that our technology would save us. The great strength of America is our high-tech labs and our high-tech imperative to always be on the cutting edge and that is now compromised and sold out because of Bill Clinton accepting bribes from the People's Republic of China. ..."

NewsMax.com 5/11/99 Inside Cover "...Rep. Norm Dicks, the ranking Democrat on the Cox Committee, calls Chinagate espionage the worst breach of U.S. security since CIA master-spy Aldrich Ames was caught selling secrets to the KGB in the early 90's. ...According to Federal Election Commission documents, Aldrich Ames made his first $1,500 donation to the Democratic National Committee in Sept. 1991, the same month Bill Clinton announced his candidacy for president. The super-spy followed with another $1,000 the month after Clinton placed second in the New Hampshire primary. And in July 1992, the month the Democrats actually nominated the Arkansas governor for president, Ames kicked in another $2,500 to the cause. The super-spy's history of financial support for Clinton was first uncovered by NewsMax.com's Carl Limbacher in 1997 at the height of the DNC's mad scramble to give back illegal contributions from their foriegn donors...."

Political Insights 4/30/99 Justin Valente "....Madeleine Albright has been quoted as saying that the administration does not wish for us to be the only superpower in the world. Their position has always been that the more countries that have nuclear capability, the less likely it is that anyone will use it. In effect, this says that we would trust the Communist Chinese or Saddam Hussein enough to place them on the same moral ground with the U.S., leaving our fate in their hands, so to speak. Can you see how inconsistent this is? Perhaps this helps to explain the administration's cavalier attitude toward the China situation. The story that hardly makes the news, but won't go away, is heating up again..... Over 2 thousand wire taps requested by the FBI and only one was rejected by Janet Reno's Justice Department. Can you guess who that was for? ....Even without the Cox report, there is enough information available on our sale of dual use technology to China to raise a few eyebrows. Major donations were made by Loral and Hughes to the DNC, closely followed by waivers, allowing them to sell their products to China. White House "coffees," attended by many Chinese "players," (with help from John Huang, Charlie Trie, and Johnny Chung,) who came to line the pockets of the Clinton / Gore campaign. An election year - 1996, the same year the wire tap of Dr. Lee was not approved, the same time the Clinton administration was informed of espionage at Los Alamos (actually it was 1995, but you get the picture), the same year Bill Clinton won his second term as President of the Unites States. Recently, John Huang, in a Judicial Watch deposition, was asked if he was ever promised a presidential pardon in exchange for his silence on these matters. Huang pleaded the fifth to this, along with 2 hundred or so other questions. This failed to make the headlines, much the same as it did when 100 others took the fifth in front of Senator Fred Thompson's Senate committee....."

Drudgereport 5/6/99 "...Friday's redhot LOS ANGELES TIMES unloads its Chung File. Reporters Alan Miller and Bill Rempel reveal details that Chung is expected to provide in testimony scheduled to begin Tuesday: Chung says he was told by an associate of Beijing's military intelligence leader that "China had funneled $500,000 to an international trading company established by a former Clinton White House aide and Arkansas attorney Mark Middleton." The TIMES also reports that Chung escorted the wife and son of the Chinese military intelligence chief to a political fund-raiser in Los Angeles in '96 -- fund-raiser where Democratic officials insisted on a $25,000 campaign contribution for the opportunity to introduce his guests to the president...."

Los Angeles Times 5/7/99 WILLIAM C. REMPEL and ALAN C. MILLER ".....Chung's accounts, gathered from a series of recent interviews with The Times, also are expected to shed new light on a possible China strategy to build relations with individuals who had special access to the White House and U.S. political leaders.... Among the new information that Chung is expected to provide in testimony scheduled to begin Tuesday: He was told by an associate of Beijing's military intelligence leader that China had funneled $500,000 to an international trading firm established by a former Clinton White House aide. A Beijing banker told Chung that a former Arkansas restaurateur who was a longtime friend of President Clinton approached the Chinese government sometime prior to February 1996 asking for $1 million to help support Clinton and the Democratic Party..... Now, Chung is poised to become the first prominent figure in the 1996 campaign finance scandal with ties to China to testify publicly before Congress..... Chung says he met Ji at a restaurant in Hong Kong, where Chung was introduced as "a good friend of President Clinton" by Liu Chaoying, the daughter of China's retired top general and a vice president of China Aerospace Corp. Ji, who used the false name "Xu" for their first meeting, told Chung: "We like your president. I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to the president and the Democratic Party. We hope he will be reelected," Chung recalled. Later, in front of Chung, Ji informed Liu that he would wire $300,000 to her and she was to transfer it to Chung. Chung said that Ji also told Liu that he required a receipt "in order for me to report [the expenditure] to the [intelligence] agency." According to Chung, he told Liu, with whom he had an independent business relationship, that he objected. "She said, 'Take it. It makes no sense to spend your own money. Use ours,' " Chung recalled. And, in an apparent effort to further reassure Chung, Liu said, "We've done this before." According to Chung, Liu cited others with American political ties who she said also received support from China. Chung said Liu told him that China steered business to a Hong Kong aerospace executive with controversial links to the Republican Party. She also said that "we gave a Singapore group $500,000" intended for former Clinton aide and Arkansas attorney Mark E. Middleton "to do good things for China." Chung testified before the grand jury that Liu also mentioned the involvement of a "Mr. Wong.".....Middleton, who raised funds for Clinton's 1992 campaign, came to the White House as an assistant to Thomas F. (Mack) McLarty, Clinton's first chief of staff. He left the White House in early 1995 to set up an international trading company. Financial documents show that in 1996 Middleton received a wire transfer of $499,985 from a bank in Asia. And congressional investigators have obtained a note written by Middleton to Singapore billionaire Yip Yan Wong in which the former White House aide thanks Wong for "the update on Ms. Liu."..... Chung, in interviews and statements to FBI investigators, said Liu identified the Hong Kong aerospace executive as Ambrose Tung Young, a major Republican backer who has written pro-China articles for a GOP think tank. In 1994, Young worked with then-Republican Party Chairman Haley Barbour to help arrange a loan of $2.1 million to the Republican National Policy Forum. Shortly thereafter, that group repaid $1.6 million to the Republican National Committee before the GOP's sweep of Congress. ...."

Reuters 5/6/99 "...The committee concluded technical information transferred during satellite launches enabled China to improve its space launch vehicles and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. "Because such analyses and methodologies are also applicable to the development of other missile systems, the committee believes that, where practicable, the PRC (China) will use the transferred information to improve its short range ballistic missiles, intermediate range ballistic missiles, and related technology,'' the report said. "These missiles could threaten U.S. forces stationed in Japan and Korea, as well as allies in the region,'' it added. Since 1990, the United States has approved 33 satellite launches in China. Former President George Bush, a Republican, authorized 14 of those launches, and President Clinton, a Democrat, authorized 19. Each launch is accompanied by a series of technical meetings between U.S. satellite engineers and the Chinese launch service provider in which detailed information is exchanged. "Such interactions between American and PRC (Chinese) engineers provided the PRC (China) with the opportunity to obtain technology and know-how applicable to both civilian and military space programs,'' the report said. Investigations into satellite launches that failed provided China with technical information from U.S. firms, it said. The report cited the explosion in 1995 of the rocket attempting to launch the Apstar-2 satellite built by Hughes Electronics Corp. and the rocket launching the Loral Space Communications Ltd. Intelsat 708 satellite veering off course and crashing into a nearby village in 1996. "The decision to launch U.S. commercial satellites on PRC (Chinese) space launch vehicles created a tension between U.S. national security interests and U.S. commercial interests,'' the report said. The committee said it believed its findings justified a ''reappraisal'' of the policy allowing the export of U.S. commercial satellites to China for launch and recommended a congressional review of the pros and cons of phasing it out. The 45-page report also looked into China's efforts to influence U.S. policy and said intelligence information showed that China undertook a "covert program'' to influence the U.S. political process through donations in the 1996 elections. ..."

The New York Times 5/8/99 David Johnston "....But for all Chung's activities, the most explosive subject Chung is expected to address in his testimony is the source of the payment he received from the People's Liberation Army through Liu Chaoying, a lieutenant colonel and aerospace executive whose father was a top military commander and member of the Communist Party's ruling leadership. In recent weeks, Government officials have said that Ms. Liu was an intermediary for the funds, provided to her by General Ji, the intelligence chief, whose involvement was first reported by The Los Angeles Times...... Chung is also expected to testify about conversations with Ms. Liu that mentioned Mark E. Middleton, a former aide to Clinton and lawyer from Arkansas. Chung said she told him Chinese officials entered into a business arrangement with Middleton. But Robert D. Luskin, Middleton's lawyer, said Middleton had never worked for Chinese clients...."

NY Post 5/10/99 Vincent Morris "....Key senators investigating espionage at American nuke labs said yesterday they've uncovered new evidence that the Chinese military funneled money through U.S. banks to buy influence in Congress. "There are very suspicious banking relationships here," said Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation into security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, the top Democrat on the committee, agreed. "The effort was to influence not only the presidential elections, but ... congressional elections," said Kerrey, who appeared with Shelby yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press." Both lawmakers refused to provide additional details but said upcoming reports would shed more light on the charges. Their allegations came as the Energy Secretary Bill Richardson - for the first time - conceded that the Chinese government stole America's nuclear secrets during President Clinton's administration. "There have been damaging security leaks," Richardson said on the same show. "The Chinese have obtained damaging information ... during past administrations and [the] present administration." In the past, senior White House officials, from Clinton on down, have denied that any nuclear secrets were stolen - or in the case of Clinton, denied being told about stolen atomic blueprints...."

NewsMax.com 5/9/99 "....Now that it's clear America's nuclear security has gone up in smoke, it may be time to borrow a phrase from the Great Chicago Fire and ponder the role of former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary and her onetime cash cow, Johnny Chung. Recent media reports have focused on the $300,000 Chung received from Chinese military intelligence and the $35,000 of that sum (at least) that found its way into Democratic National Committee coffers. But the press seems to be suffering a bout of collective amnesia regarding information on Chung it reported two years ago, which points to a much more direct financial connection to Mrs. O'Leary -- and even a member of the First Family. O'Leary was in charge of security policy at U.S. nuclear labs where Newsweek, for instance, has now described the Chinese penetration as "total". Here's what's been on the record about the Chung-O'Leary money trail for nearly two years: "No less startling was Mr. Chung's allegation that the Democratic Party was not the only player with a ravenous appetite for money. He also described how he was, in effect, shaken down for a $25,000 donation to Africare, a charitable organization supported by the Energy Secretary at the time, Hazel O'Leary." (New York Times -- Aug. 22, 1997) Here's how Chung himself put it, in an exchange with NBC's Tom Brokaw days before the Times report: BROKAW: Were you surprised when someone could get you in to see Hazel O'Leary if you would write a check to her favorite charity? CHUNG: I begin to understand a little bit, but I am still a little bit suprised. BROKAW: Yeah. Who picked up the check? CHUNG: There's one gentleman, present himself as the Energy Department official, and said I'm here to pick it up, the $25,000 check... BROKAW: To Africare? CHUNG: To Africare. BROKAW: A charity that the Energy Secretary supports, she sends over somebody from the Energy Department to pick it up, and you get a meeting with her with a very prominent Chinese petrochemical official? CHUNG: Yes. (Investor's Business Daily -- Aug. 26, 1997.....

Washington Post 5/11/99 Pete Yost "...Testifying publicly for the first time, Johnny Chung said today he used campaign contributions to buy his Chinese clients access to President Clinton and other politicians, but ``never acted as an agent for the Chinese government.'' ...In all, Chung contributed $360,000 to the Democratic Party and visited the White House more than 50 times from 1994 to 1996, when the controversy over foreign campaign donations erupted. Chinese business executives frequently accompanied him..... And he criticized officials of the Democratic National Committee for attacking him in court ``when they were fully aware that I was doing a lot of business and cultivating friendships with people from the People's Republic of China.'' .....Chung said he took in more than $2 million from his foreign clients, and some of that money he used to make contributions to gain access to fund-raisers and White House events...... Chung said he accepted $300,000 from Gen. Ji Shengde, the head of Chinese military intelligence, who told him to use it to help Clinton and the Democratic Party..... In addition, according to congressional sources, Chung also will say he was told by Ji associate Liu Chaoying, the daughter of China's retired top general, that: --China steered business to a Hong Kong aerospace executive with links to the Republican Party. --China had funneled $500,000 to an international trading firm of former Clinton White House aide Mark Middleton, who worked for presidential chief of staff Mack McLarty. Middleton's lawyer, Robert Luskin, has denied that Middleton worked for China...."

5/11/99 Chung testimony observations by ohmlaw98 "...Although it appears Chung was out of the main loop, he appears to implicate others such as Trie amd Middleton, and paints a clear picture that there is a Chinese connection to the Clinton crime machine. Chung has also detailed the framework and methods used by Clinton and the DNC to evade federal campaign laws and conceal the proceeds from their PLA benefactors by routing cash from Hong Kong banks into US holding ("straw")companies. From there it is transferred into the general election accounts at the DNC, and finally to the Clinton/Gore campaign. The "blockbuster" I see developing out of reports is the testimony of the relationship between Charlie Trie and Liu Chao-Ying. Trie possesed several holding companies in the US. Some were backed by the Riady Family and infused with capital from their Lippo co-owned Hong Kong China Bank. Others from Macau and Ng Lap Seng. And now we know that this is the bank that routed money from Liu and Gen. Ji to Johnny Chung in California. With Trie in the picture, we now have the Arkansas connection, Ron Brown, the Riady's, Ernie Green, Mark Middleton....Webb Hubbell? Now that Chung has connected Trie to Liu, the picture is very clear. As others here at FR have already concluded the Chinese benefactors are not only PLA intelligence officers, they are executives and directors for the intelligence gathering arm of Aerospace companies like "China Resources Co." and "Great Wall". The same companies that have worked with Hughes and Loral to perfect delivery systems for their growing arsenal of new and improved nuclear warheads......"

Fox News Channel Website 5/11/99 "...Testifying before a congressional committee, Johnny Chung admitted Tuesday to making illegal campaign contributions to President Clinton, but he also implicated others - including the Democratic National Committee - in the scandal....In his testimony, Chung criticized DNC officials for attacking him in court "when they were fully aware that I was doing a lot of business and cultivating friendships with people from the People's Republic of China." Chung made more than $360,000 in political contributions from 1994 to 1996. Much of that sum originally came from a Chinese general who wanted Chung to aid Clinton's re-election..... After he pleaded guilty, Johnny Chung told the panel Tuesday, he was threatened and offered money from Beijing "to take care of" his legal expenses and family if he refused to cooperate with the FBI. Chung said the threat - and an introduction to a defense attorney who claimed to have Justice Department connections - came from a man who indicated he was connected to a Chinese general who had earlier given Chung $300,000 to contribute to Clinton's re-election and the Democratic Party..... In his prepared statement, Chung said that after he pleaded guilty and was cooperating with the FBI, he was contacted by Robert Luu, a U.S. citizen in Beijing, who said he was helping Liu Chao Ying, the Chinese woman who introduced him to Ji. Luu "starting talking about a Commander Lee, who wanted to take care of me," Chung said. "The message was as follows: 'If you keep your mouth shut, you and your family will be safe.'" Chung said Luu also introduced him to a well-connected former Watergate lawyer, whom Chung didn't name. Chung said he met at least a dozen times with Luu, who never gave him any money. .... Chung also was expected to testify that he was told by a Beijing banker that former Little Rock, Ark., restaurateur Charlie Trie approached the Chinese government sometime before February 1996 asking for $1 million to support Clinton and the Democratic Party..... "

AP 5/11/99 Pete Yost "...But he [Chung] testified he had extensive contacts with Chinese officials -- one who went by a code name -- who were eager to win political influence with Clinton. And he detailed how a 2 1/2-year political giving spree won him access to the White House for his well-heeled Chinese clients.....Chung said Luu then introduced him to an attorney in San Gabriel, identified during the hearing as David Brockway, promising that the lawyer would take care of his legal problems and that Luu would pay his legal bills if he kept quiet. Some of the conversations with Luu were photographed and recorded by FBI agents, who at one point placed Chung and his family in protective custody, Chung said. ``When I met with the attorney and Mr. Luu, there were FBI agents throughout the building,'' Chung said. ``I was told the attorney was connected and knew the No. 3 person'' at the Justice Department ``and that he was familiar with the judge that was presiding over my case.'' ``The lawyer gave me an example of someone who did not cooperate and how everyone around him was taken care of. He said that this client was sentenced to a country club jail,'' Chung said. Neither Brockway nor Luu could be reached for comment......They spoke about Clinton, Chung said, and Ji told him: ``We hope to see him re-elected. I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to the president and the Democratic Party.'' .....Chung criticized DNC officials for attacking him publicly ``when they were fully aware that I was doing a lot of business and cultivating friendships with people from the People's Republic of China.'' The DNC ``should be ashamed of themselves for attempting to jump on me and hide from the fact that they aggressively solicited me for money,'' Chung said. ``I now realize that they took my money with a smile and made fun of me when I turned my back.'' ..."

Judicial Watch Press Release 5/12/99 ".... In addition to Johnny Chung, Judicial Watch has many more depositions planned in the weeks ahead, including past officials of the DNC, such as Marvin Rosen - who worked closely with John Huang and other Asian-American fundraisers. Judicial Watch continues to uncover documents concerning the DNC's involvement in trade missions, which it has failed to produce to the Court, despite Court orders to do so. As Johnny Chung confirmed yesterday, the DNC is deeply involved in the Chinagate scandal. No matter how much the DNC seeks to blame others, it will be held accountable for its outrageous violation of law and its sellout of the interests of the American people to Communist China...."

Insight Jennifer G. Hickey "....The Chung testimony resurrected concern that contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign from China's intelligence services were to buy influence for the Beijing government. His detailed account of his role in the 1996 campaign-finance scandal was, scandal watchers are saying, a smoking gun....Although repeatedly delayed, the testimony of the former busboy and Democratic Party fund-raiser who visited the Clinton White House on more than 50 occasions began on a political note when Chung lit into the reluctance of the congressional panel to approve campaign-finance reform. According to a Capitol Hill staffer, it was as if Al Capone had been brought to Washington to lecture congressmen on the need for better laws against bootlegging...... And the DNC's need of Chung is eloquently evidenced in a Nov. 10, 1995, memo from the DNC's Ari Swiller, asking DNC chairman Don Fowler to call Chung concerning a donation he was to make. "Johnny committed to contribute $75,000 to the DNC at the reception in Los Angeles on September 21. He has still not sent his contribution. Tell him if he does not complete his commitment ASAP bad things will happen," said the memo. It looked like an offer Chung couldn't refuse..... Perhaps it was summarized best by U.S. District Judge Manuel Real of Los Angeles in his sentencing of Chung: "If Mr. [former DNC chairman Don] Fowler and Mr. [DNC finance chairman Richard] Sullivan didn't know what was going on, I think they are the dumbest politicians I've ever seen.".....From the get-go, however, ranking member Waxman tried to make the issue Chung's character rather than corruption of the DNC and the Clinton-Gore campaign. Democrats on the committee were shocked, shocked, that bribery was afoot and took Chung to the woodshed..... A final footnote involves the case of James Parish, a 16-year veteran of the State Department who worked at the American Embassy in Beijing from 1994 to 1996. Parish met Chung when the latter brought a Mr. He, the head of Haomen Beer, to the embassy to assist in getting He's visa renewed. Chung swears Parish arranged visas for dozens of individuals for whom Chung was getting invitations to the United States and, in return, Chung got Parish into a VIP reception with Clinton, trained Parish's secretary in computer skills and spent $7,000 to $8,000 on seven students Parish knew who wanted to be educated in the United States. Chung says this relationship ended when He asked Chung to take a "shopping bag full of money and visas" to Parish....."

Reuters 5/18/99 "...A U.S. appeals court Tuesday reinstated criminal charges against a Democratic fund-raiser accused of soliciting illegal political contributions from a Buddhist temple for the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign. The court said a federal judge was wrong in dismissing five of the six counts charging Maria Hsia with causing false statements to be filed with regulators in a scheme to solicit illegal contributions and disguise them as lawful. The ruling, which sent the case back for trial, was a major victory for the Justice Department campaign finance task force and its investigation of alleged Democratic fund-raising abuses during the 1996 election...... The appeals court ruled that Friedman was wrong in citing the First Amendment's broad protections of religious expression and free speech in dropping five of the charges. "We see no constitutional difficulty in use of the statutes against the conduct alleged here,'' Judge Stephen Williams wrote in the ruling....The appeals court also ruled that Friedman was wrong in requiring that prosecutors show that Hsia knew her conduct was unlawful...."

Associated Press 5/18/99 James Jefferson "...The trial's star witness was expected to take the stand later today. Dia Mapili, who was Trie's bookkeeper, was expected to testify under an immunity deal that her longtime boss ordered her to destroy documents subpoenaed by a Senate committee investigating political fund raising. In opening statements Monday, defense attorneys said Mrs. Mapili lied about Trie before a grand jury after becoming "utterly confused'' under Justice Department pressure...."

Washington Times 5/18/99 Bill Gertz "...A Senate investigation into illegal foreign political payments could not make a direct connection between them and Mr. Clinton's conciliatory policies toward China. Both the White House and the Chinese government deny that Chinese cash influenced policies. But a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee report in 1998 concluded: "It is clear that illegal foreign contributions were made to the DNC and that these contributions were facilitated by individuals with extensive ties to the PRC [People's Republic of China]. It is also clear that well before the 1996 elections, officials at the highest levels of the Chinese government approved of efforts to increase the PRC's involvement in the U.S. political process." ..."

Investor's Business Daily 5/19/99 "...There's no good reason for a child to own an AK-47,'' President Clinton said last week while pushing his kiddie gun control bill. Just as there's no good reason for a U.S. president to entertain the head of a communist entity that sells AK-47s to kids, right? Don't expect an answer from Clinton. He did just that on Feb. 6, 1996. ..... In May 1996, agents of Wang's dealership and another Chinese arms company, Norinco, were arrested for trying to smuggle AK- 47s into the U.S. for sale to drug gangs..... Wang was escorted by one of Clinton's old Arkansas pals. Among other things, Trie was the top donor to the Clintons' legal defense fund - that is, until trustees deemed his cash too dirty to keep. But here's what makes the idea that Wang was just a random guest really hard to swallow. Shortly after the White House meeting with Clinton, Trie escorted Wang across 14th Street to the Commerce Department. There, he met with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown - and John Huang, as we now know from court-ordered depositions.....Clinton's never been pressed on his ties to Wang. Of the 103 so-called coffees, Clinton told the press they were just ''respectful hearings'' for citizens. First off, Wang's not a citizen. Second, what could the president possibly hear and respect from the chief dealer for the world's No. 1 arms proliferator? Unless it's the sound of money dropping into his campaign coffers..... Last week, he held a White House summit called ''Youth, Violence and Responsibility,'' which capped Clinton's multi-city campaign in the wake of the Colorado school shootings to raise our consciousness about the perils of youth violence and guns. Oh, now he cares...."

Reuters 5/19/99 "...Documents allegedly destroyed by a former Democratic fund raiser would have been valuable to a congressional inquiry into President Clinton's 1996 campaign financing, an FBI agent testified on Wednesday. Agent Jerome Campane testified on the third day of the trial of Yah Lin "Charlie'' Trie on federal charges of obstructing a U.S. Senate investigation into alleged campaign spending abuses during Clinton's reelection race...."

Freeper Sockdolagre observes 5/17/99 "... The day after the DNC returned 600k in donations because they were revealed to be from illegal chinese sources, loral/schwartz donated the exact figure to the DNC...."

Koenig's International News 5/19/99 Charles Smith "... As Lawrence DiRita, a scholar at the Heritage Foundation, reported three years ago, Galaxy officials approached several large U.S. telecommunications companies prior to 1994 in the hope of involving them in their partnership with SC&M Brooks. U.S. executives who spoke to the Galaxy representatives said that the Chinese side was counting on the influence SC&M brought to the partnership. Some of those U.S. executives, who declined to participate because of the obvious national security implications, asked out of curiosity how Galaxy intended to get U.S. government approval to transfer to China dual-use (civilian/military) technology. "In response, the Chinese spoke quite openly about the relationships they had already established with senior Democrats, mentioning Mr. Stevenson by name," DiRita explained....."

AP 5/21/99 James Jefferson "...Presidential friend Yah Lin ``Charlie'' Trie today reached a plea agreement on an obstruction of justice charge against him, but details were withheld pending an announcement in court, a prosecutor said..... U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. sent the jury home for the day after the lawyers sought time to resolve differences over defense documents. ... "

Drudge 5/21/99 "...The Justice Department has obtained a note from the Little Rock office of Charlie Trie that suggests he was aware of a bribery, Jeff Gerth of the NY TIMES is planning to report in Saturday editions... The note, handwritten in Mandarin on stationery from a Hong Kong hotel, lists "Hughes" and the U.S. government, export licenses and a bribery problem, Gerth reports... Developing... "

MSNBC 5/21/99 Brokaw and Cox "... Brokaw: "This comes at a time when Charlie Trie, one of the president's friends, a fund raiser, is on trial in Little Rock... Is there a connection between this espionage and political donations that the administration got from Chinese officials?" Cox: "Recently, it has been learned that some of the money that came into the United States apparently for political purposes was in fact directed by the MID, the Military Intelligence Division of the People's Liberation Army. And in fact, directed by the head of that agency, essentially the counterpart to our director of Central Intelligence, General Leeds. The fact that the MID is engaged in the collection of military technology suggests that one of the aims, if not the principle aim, of putting that money in the United States was to make connections to facilitate setting up front companies which would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, that can be used to buy technology inside the United States that wouldn't require an export license." ...."

Judicial Watch Press Release 5/21/99 "...By allowing Trie to escape punishment for obstructing a Senate investigation and funneling illegal donations to the Democratic National Committee in exchange for favors from Bill Clinton, Janet Reno and her corrupt Justice Department have saved Bill Clinton and the DNC from further damaging revelations about their illegal fundraising practices that would have surely come out during upcoming trials of Trie. Judicial Watch also announced today that it will seek Court permission to question Charlie Trie about his participation in the 1994 Commerce Department trade mission trip to China and related matters...."

The Boston Globe 5/26/99 Michael Kranish "...When a Senate panel two years ago investigated allegations that foreign money was given to the Democratic Party, it hoped to nail down the specifics with testimony from three fund-raisers with connections to the Chinese government. But all three men refused to testify without being granted immunity. Now, the same three men, John Huang, Yah Lin ``Charlie'' Trie and Johnny Chung, are secretly telling what they know to the Justice Department in exchange for guilty pleas to relatively minor offenses..... ``It looks bad,'' said Senator Fred Thompson, the Tennessee Republican who headed the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee investigation in 1997. He noted Huang reportedly has not implicated ``higher-ups.'' ``If this is the kind of cooperation they are getting for a probation sentence, it heightens our concern,'' he said in an interview. Thompson said he plans to launch a new investigation focusing on why the Justice Department decided to plea bargain. Thompson often has said an independent counsel should be appointed to examine the campaign finance matter because the administration has a vested interest in closing the probe...."

Washington Weekly 11/17/97 "...Friday's leak through the Washington Post that the FBI has known since 1991 that the Democrat Party is infiltrated by Chinese agents is a seminal event. For it offers sufficient detail to complete the picture of how the entire Chinese intelligence penetration succeeded. When combining it with other leaks, intelligence reports, and congressional investigation results, the following picture can be put together: In the 1980s, the People's Republic of China made a decision to build the most powerful military force in the world. In less than a decade, China's annual military spending tripled. In terms of manpower, it already had the largest army in the world. But to project force, it needed a modern Navy as well. To rival the U.S. military, it needed advanced U.S. military technology, and it needed U.S. dollars to purchase such technology. Republican administrations had permitted trade with China that produced hard currency, but had employed tight export controls to prevent advanced U.S. military technology from falling into the hands of Communists. So the Chinese government bet its money on two Southern Democrats with an expressed and desperate desire to ascend to the U.S. Presidency...."

Washington Weekly 11/17/97 "...Mainland China used its archrival Taiwan, as well as Hong Kong, as conduits for the funds paid to Clinton and Gore. Democratic Taiwan and Hong Kong are the last places you would look for Communist agents, and the many U.S. subsidiaries of Taiwanese, Hong Kong, and Indonesian companies and organizations offered convenient footholds through which to launder money and buy influence with U.S. politicians. China Resources bought into Lippo Bank of Hong Kong and Indonesia and placed its officers John Huang and James Riady in Arkansas. John Huang was born in Mainland China, but had served in the Taiwanese air force. Ya Long Economic Trading of the Chinese Hainan province sought influence and legitimacy through the Hsi Lai temple of Taiwan, through its representative Maria Hsia, born in Taiwan. Both John Huang and Maria Hsia are known by the FBI to be agents of Communist China. Together with James Riady, they formed the Pacific Leadership Council, and invited none other than then-Senator Al Gore to the Hsi Lai temple headquarters in Taiwan in 1989. On behalf of the Chinese government, Maria Hsia promised Al Gore that she would persuade all her colleagues "in the future to play a leader role in your presidential race." ..."

WorldNetDaily 5/27/99 Joseph Farah "....n 1992, the largest single interest to contribute to the Clinton-Gore campaign was not Hollywood. It was not even big labor. Believe it or not, it was the Riady family of Indonesia, ethnic Chinese billionaires who, according to U.S. law enforcement and intelligence, are active agents of Beijing's intelligence apparatus. The Riadys were back again as major contributors in 1996. They were there to provide hush money to an indicted Webster Hubbell when he was ready to blow the whistle on his buddy, the president. And that's just the Riady family. That doesn't even begin to take into consideration all the other funny money funneled into the country through Charlie Trie and a host of others on the take from the Chinese military. What's worse is the fact that the Riadys owned Clinton long before he ever ran for president. The Chinese agents discovered young Bill Clinton in the 1970s when he first ran for attorney general in the state of Arkansas. There's history here -- ugly, soul-selling history....."

Washington Weekly 5/31/99 RICKI MAGNUSSEN ".... TIMPERLAKE: Basically, the Cox report is a definitive bipartisan statement that the U.S. national security is tremendously compromised. I was one of the staff members that established the Cox committee and I want to say what it isn't. The Cox committee was not empowered--nor did it have the scope--to look into campaign finance. A different committee took care of that. Chairman Cox and his team were basically looking into technology transfers. Because of that, individuals who are trying to spin it are trying to make exonerations of the president out of it and that is wrong, this is not a time for spin. Accept it for the reality and fix the problem, that's kind of the bottom line to the Cox report. It's got very useful documents, it highlights the vulnerability....But it is not an exoneration of the campaign finance issue. The Cox report has not investigated linkages to campaign finances, it was not designed to, that was not their scope.....So the point now is what should be done about it. The Cox report starts the process but we are going to have to rebuild our national security with a lot of money and identify the fact that we have lost literally hundreds of billions of dollars. More importantly, as the director of mobilization in the Reagan years, to me the most important issue is that we have lost our technology edge, that's the big deal with us. Americans tend to look at warfare as an issue of trading fire power for man power, that's how we tend to do it, and because of that we have always kept the technology edge and that has given us time to respond to crises by staying ahead and always making sure that we had sufficient quality and that we had sufficient quantity of high-tech quality. That was our goal and that is now all compromised and that's the problem, because with the loss of this technology we have lost our most precious asset: time....."

WorldNetDaily 6/1/99 Charles Smith "...The Cox report notes some very interesting parties helped John Huang stay in touch with his boss. According to the Cox report, "Huang maintained contact with representatives of the Lippo Group while he was at the Department of Commerce." "During the 18 months that he was at Commerce," states the report, "Huang called Lippo Bank 232 times, in addition to 29 calls or faxes to Lippo Headquarters in Indonesia. Huang also contacted Lippo consultant Maeley Tom on 61 occasions during the same period. Huang's records show 72 calls to Lippo joint venture partner C. Joseph Giroir." The one key fact missing from the Cox report is that "Maeley Tom" is also an employee of the powerful beltway lobbyist company, Cassidy Associates. In 1994, Cassidy Associates sent Democratic National Committee donor Maeley Tom to Indonesia on a Ron Brown trade mission. The same mission included DNC donors Charlie Trie, Pauline Kanchanalak and Nora Lum. Why no mention of the D.C. lobbyists? The answer may be that Cassidy Associates also made hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations to both Republicans and Democrats. In fact, Cassidy Associates made a total of over 2,500 political contributions between 1991 and 1998, nearly one donation every two days...."

Fox News 6/3/99 "...In late spring of 1998, Johnny Chung, the former Democratic fund-raiser who pleaded guilty last year to charges of breaking campaign finance laws, was approached by Robert Luu, a suspected Chinese operative. Over the course of many conversations, Luu essentially asked Chung to engage in a cover-up, to hide the sources of the money he'd funneled to Democratic causes in the 1996 campaign season. Much of that cash had come from Gen. Ji Shengde, head of Chinese military intelligence, and had been arranged by Liu Chaoying, a lieutenant colonel in China's People's Liberation Army and a senior manager at China Aerospace International, a firm that launches American satellites into space on Chinese rockets. Robert Luu wanted these names kept out of Chung's upcoming grand jury testimony, and he told Chung that if Luu cooperated, he and his family would be taken care of. What Luu didn't know was that Chung, already under observation by the FBI, had agreed to wear a wire and that every word they spoke, every fax and note they exchanged was being recorded by American law enforcement authorities. Fox News has obtained transcripts of the FBI wiretaps, and now presents an exclusive look at excerpts from the hundreds of pages of secret communications...."

Freeper Helen from Insight 9/9/97 "..."There were bugs placed in over 300 locations," says a high-level source with detailed knowledge about the extraordinary top-secret operation run by the FBI in conjunction with intelligence personnel from the National Security Agency, or NSA, and the Office of Naval Intelligence, among many others. . . . . "Just about every single room was bugged," according to the high-level source who spoke to "Insight" on condition of anonymity. "Vehicles were bugged," as were telephones and conference centers. Even a charter-boat trip arranged by the president to Blake Island, a 475-acre state park in the Puget Sound, was monitored by agents with electronic-listening devices...."

Freeper Helen from Insight 5/26/97 "..."The ex-Russian intelligence agent's allegation of Chinese penetration has been confirmed by Randolph Quon, a former Hong Kong investment banker for two decades. Quon is close to several of the Chinese princelings - the sons and nephews of China's ruling leaders who head the major Red Chinese trading companies. He says China had a "guan-xi," or connection to get access, for its U.S. political operation. "Li Peng was told the Lippo Group had a back channel to the White House, to Bill Clinton," Quon says, through "dealmaker" John Huang, the former Commerce official and ex-vice president of the Indonesia-based Lippo Group, which had extensive joint ventures with Chinese power companies. All utility companies in China are operated by the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, say defense-intelligence specialists." ..."

Freeper Helen from NY Post 6/12/97 "...A key Republican last night said there's electronic eavesdropping evidence that Democratic funny-money man John Huang passed classified spy data to a China-linked company. "We believe that the intercepts that we have show that Mr. Huang was passing on classified information ... dealing with the economy, espionage and breaches of national security," House Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) told CBS. ..."

Freeper Helen from BTOnline 7/11/97" ..."US President Bill Clinton admitted on Wednesday that he intervened personally in hiring a political fund-raiser now under scrutiny by Congress for soliciting illegal campaign donations from Asian sources."..."

NY Times 6/7/99 AP "...A federal judge Monday declared a mistrial in the tax evasion trial of Democratic fundraiser who is also accused of funneling money through Buddhist nuns at a 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign fund-raiser. The jury had reported it was unable to reach a verdict Friday on the tax evasion charges, which are separate from the Buddhist nuns case. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Paez told the panel to resume deliberations, but the jury again reported it was divided on all four counts but leaning toward acquittal Monday. Outside the courtroom, Maria S. Hsia pledged to repair her reputation. ``I think Asian-Americans have to work together and support each other, and they have to stand up and fight for justice, not just for ourselves but for our children,'' she said.

Curt Weldon Website 6/8/99 "... Now, I can tell my colleagues my constituents cannot ever get in the White House. We cannot even get White House tour tickets which are available for schools because we only allow four a year. These are American schoolchildren. Let me read you, Mr. Speaker. John Huang; he visited the White House four times in March of 1993, four times in April of 1993, two times in May, one time in June, one time in November, all in 1993. Now my constituents cannot do that. Yet this White House opened the floodgates to welcome selected people in who were a part of this network, Mr. Speaker...."

Curt Weldon Website 6/8/99 "...What is this document, Mr. Speaker? These are the FBI wiretap transcripts of conversations between Chung and Robert Lu, the FBI wire tapped transcripts that took place from May 6 of 1998 all the way through August of 98. In these transcripts in the words of these key players in this process, the American people, Mr. Speaker, for themselves can see what was going on and can read with their own eyes about the discussions that were taking place....Before I yield to my good friend, Mr. Speaker, I want to say what the rallying cry of this Member, and I would ask for, if I could, a price for that for the next day so I can decide whether or not to put it in the Congressional Record, but I would tell the American people it is available. It was given to me by Carl Cameron from Fox News. It is running nationwide, and I would encourage every American person, every colleague of mine, to read the transcripts contained in here of conversations as documented by the FBI....."

newsmax.com 6/9/99 Carl Limbacher and Caron Grich "....Some suspect that the Clinton administration staunchly supports the Baku-Ceyhan route, not so much out of concern over pipeline security -- but because the Turkish route was initially favored by a major contributor to the Democratic National Committee, Lebanese oilman Roger Tamraz. As recently as May 1995, the U.S. took no official position supporting either the Black Sea, Turkish or other pipeline plans. That month, Tamraz met with NSC official Shelia Heslin but failed to sell her on his plan to pump oil from Baku to the Turkish port city of Yumurtalik. Afterwards, Heslin tried to keep Tamraz out of the White House and away from Clinton. But throughout the summer and fall of 1995, $195,000 of Tamraz's money made its way into DNC coffers. That September, the persistent oilman attended two White House coffees with Clinton on hand. Afterwards, former Clinton Chief of Staff Mack McLarty arranged for Tamraz to meet with Energy Department officials. By October, Tamraz's project had the backing of the Clinton State Department. The pressure brought to bear on Tamraz's behalf was quite impressive, considering that even with his subsequent donations, he had given a only $300,000. But for that amount, spare change really for someone in Tamraz's league, DNC chairman Don Fowler personally chatted up Ms. Heslin on Tamraz's behalf. Around the same time, even the Clinton CIA began sending Heslin favorable reports on the Lebanese oilman. But just as Tamraz seemed to be making headway, the Azerbaijani oil consortium began to move away from the Turkish route, seeing projects like Tamraz's as too costly. Falling crude prices throughout the late 90's cooled other larger oil companies on a Turkish pipeline as well. Still the Turkish route, Baku-Ceyhan in particular, continued to enjoy strong American support, despite the fact that by October 1998 the major oil companies had flat out rejected the plan...."

newsmax.com 6/9/99 Carl Limbacher and Caron Grich "...Writing for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty in May, Michael Lelyveld explained it this way: "For several months, the gap between the U.S. government and the oil industry appeared to be widening....the (Clinton) administration has refused to accept the industry's rejection and has mounted a determined diplomatic effort to keep the Baku-Ceyhan scheme alive....The result has been increasing friction and loss of (U.S.) credibility on the pipeline issue." One possible reason the U.S. stubbornly clings to the now rejected Turkish pipeline may be Turkey's ever increasing value as a strategic ally.....

Chicago Sun Times 6/10/99 Robert Novak "...In the first week of July 1997, the Justice Department dispatched a lawyer from its campaign-finance task force and an FBI agent to Little Rock, Ark., in quest of a warrant to search the home and offices of restaurateur and Clinton fund-raiser Charlie Trie. But they were called back to Washington before any warrant could be issued. Not until 3 1/2 months later was the search made. By that time, as court testimony has shown, material subpoenaed by Senate investigators was destroyed by Trie's order. After the story of the aborted search warrant was confirmed last week by Justice in briefing the House Government Reform Committee staff, Chairman Dan Burton subpoenaed records of what transpired two years ago. Typically, the department missed the subpoena's due date. Such stonewalling by Attorney General Janet Reno long ago cooled the investigative fervor of the Republican-controlled Congress. But not Burton's. Dogged despite intense abuse, the chairman still targets illegal foreign financing for President Clinton's re-election in 1996. What's more, Burton has cited new evidence in asking Reno to reconsider something she has steadfastly refused: naming an independent counsel. This effort to breathe life into Burton's inquiry comes as Reno's lieutenants are putting a lid on the scandal that once threatened the Clinton presidency. Trie and fund-raiser John Huang both have entered guilty pleas for lenient sentences, with the Clinton White House and the Democratic National Committee off the hook. The Justice Department's deadly delay in executing the Trie search warrant bears an eerie resemblance to its refusal to wiretap a scientist suspected of giving nuclear weapons secrets to China. In Trie's Little Rock trial last month, his office manager, Maria Mapli, testified under a grant of immunity that she followed Trie's orders to destroy information sought by Sen. Fred Thompson's investigation beginning in mid-1997. According to committee sources, the FBI pressed for the search warrant, only to be forestalled by Justice Department orders from Washington. "It is troubling to wonder what additional records that we will never know about may have been destroyed in this time frame," Burton said in a June 4 letter to Reno accompanying the subpoena...."

Chicago Sun Times 6/10/99 Robert Novak "...The Burton committee's open-ended investigation still is seeking testimony from Trie and Huang. But, as usual, the Justice Department is insisting on delays..... In again calling for an independent counsel, Burton in a May 26 letter to Reno cited two pieces of evidence that "coffees" at the White House were, in fact, fund-raisers. The first was the assertion in former White House Special Counsel Lanny Davis' new book that the "coffees were held to raise money during a political campaign. That's a fact." The second, retrieved from the computer of March Fong Eu, former U.S. ambassador to Micronesia, describes the coffees as fund-raisers presided over by the "man"--presumably Bill Clinton. Reno, guided by her highly political aides, has been impervious to new evidence when she has refused to invoke the independent-counsel statute. That was made clear in a chilling interview on ABC's "Nightline" May 26 with former Justice Department campaign-finance task-force chief Charles LaBella. His 94-page memo recommending an independent counsel, he indicated, was ignored last year because Reno already had made up her mind. "Nobody talked to me about that [report]," LaBella said. "Nobody ever debriefed me on my report." He was soon shuffled out of government service. LaBella also revealed that he had been ordered by the deputy attorney general's office: "Don't talk to Congressman Burton." Complaining to me that "we have been blocked by the Justice Department," at every turn, Burton is one member of Congress who argues that an independent counsel mechanism is essential...."

Chicago Sun-Times 6/10/99 Robert Novak "...n the first week of July 1997, the Justice Department dispatched a lawyer from its campaign-finance task force and an FBI agent to Little Rock, Ark., in quest of a warrant to search the home and offices of restaurateur and Clinton fund-raiser Charlie Trie. But they were called back to Washington before any warrant could be issued. Not until 3 1/2 months later was the search made. By that time, as court testimony has shown, material subpoenaed by Senate investigators was destroyed by Trie's order. After the story of the aborted search warrant was confirmed last week by Justice in briefing the House Government Reform Committee staff, Chairman Dan Burton subpoenaed records of what transpired two years ago. Typically, the department missed the subpoena's due date. Such stonewalling by Attorney General Janet Reno long ago cooled the investigative fervor of the Republican-controlled Congress.... This effort to breathe life into Burton's inquiry comes as Reno's lieutenants are putting a lid on the scandal that once threatened the Clinton presidency. Trie and fund-raiser John Huang both have entered guilty pleas for lenient sentences, with the Clinton White House and the Democratic National Committee off the hook..... According to committee sources, the FBI pressed for the search warrant, only to be forestalled by Justice Department orders from Washington. "It is troubling to wonder what additional records that we will never know about may have been destroyed in this time frame," Burton said in a June 4 letter to Reno accompanying the subpoena. The Burton committee's open-ended investigation still is seeking testimony from Trie and Huang. But, as usual, the Justice Department is insisting on delays. Expressing concern that in return for their light sentences, the cooperation by the two fund-raisers might be "very limited," Burton wrote Reno: "The American people have a right to know what role these individuals played in the campaign fund-raising scandal and whether they are providing full and honest cooperation with the U.S. government."..."

6/14/99 AP "...Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang was arraigned Monday on a conspiracy charge as part of a plea bargain that was reached after he helped the government's campaign finance investigation. He is expected to plead guilty in federal court next Monday. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of a year's probation, 500 hours of community service, a $10,000 fine and a requirement that he continue cooperating with the government. Huang's plea agreement specifies that he has already participated in 21 interviews with prosecutors and agents....."

 

CHUNG AND SASSER

On December 9, 1995 Chairwoman and co-founder of the Back to Business Committee solicited a donation from Johnny Chien Chuen Chung and afterwards not only arranged a private meeting for him with Ambassador James R. Sasser in China but also arranged a meeting for Chung with a Commerce Department official in Washington. Chung said that Cutler indicated Maggie Williams, the First Lady's chief of staff, suggested she contact him. Chung made a $25,000 donation to Back to Business Committee, a private committee that publicly defended the President and Hillary Clinton against Whitewater attacks. Less than a year earlier, Maggie Williams had accepted a $50,000 donation from Chung in the White House, which he said she solicited. Back to Business arranged for a network of volunteer speakers to counter Clinton critics and disseminate pro-Clinton information through the media between 1994 and the summer of 1996. Ann Lewis was Cutler's Back to Business partner, both are now White House aids. Cutler was vice chairwoman of the DNC from 1981 to 1992. Lewis served as deputy manager of the 1996 Clinton/Gore campaign.

Investigators are looking into Ambassador to China Jim Sasser, a lease agreement between a federal agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and a longtime friend of Vice President Al Gore, Chattanooga developer Franklin Haney. Sasser, former Democratic senator from Tennessee, was Haney's lawyer in 1995 and 1996 after he lost his Senate seat and before he was appointed ambassador to China. Haney is a longtime Gore ally and loyal Democratic supporter, Peter Knight, Haney's attorney, is a former Gore aide who ran the Clinton/Gore campaign in 1996. Haney is part owner of the Portals, a cluster of buildings in southwest Washington. He joined the partnership in 1996. The FCC has resisted moving to the Portals for more than a decade. The empty building has cost the federal government almost $ 14 million. A $1 million payment was made in 1996 from Haney to Knight on the same day the lease was signed. It is not known whether Sasser received a similar payment from Haney. Sasser and Knight met separately with top officials of the FCC and the General Services Administration about the lease. Haney, Sasser and Knight are all refusing to cooperate with the Congressional investigation.

DNC Richard Sullivan's attorney, Robert Bauer, is from the Perkins Coie law firm which also represents the interests of the People's Republic of China in the U.S. Robert Bauer, Judith Corley and Holly Shadler, also of Perkins Coie, helped set up the "Back to Business" committee Robert Bauer, Judith Corley and Holly Shadler helped set up James Carville's Education and Information project devoted to investigating and attacking enemies of the White House.

Government Reform and Oversight Interim Report ". Chung's relationship with Liu Chao- Ying followed a familiar pattern. He wrote a letter of invitation to facilitate the acquisition of a visa. He formed a company with her that never appeared to do any business. He made contributions to open doors. He escorted her to fundraisers and meetings with Federal officials. .It is instructive, but not conclusive, that Chung received a $190,000 wire from Hong Kong three days before the event, and contributed $45,000 to the DNC one week after the event. Until the Committee is able to interview Chung and Liu, it will be unable to determine conclusively if the wire from Hong Kong was intended for political contributions. During the July trip, Chung also arranged for Liu, as part of a larger group of people, to have lunch in New York with the Executive Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York -- Israel Sendrovic. Sendrovic said that Chung introduced Liu as the daughter of "the head of" the People's Liberation Army, but did not recall discussing business matters with her.."I would like to invite you to visit the United States again regarding a couple of issues that we discussed before. First, I've made arrangement with the Federal Stock Exchange Commission and a professional investment broker to discuss the promotion of your company in the U.S. stock exchange. Since your last meeting with Mr. Sendrovic, Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, I had several follow up conversations with him. He had also mentioned that he wished to meet with you again." "Second, I have contacted Boeing and McDonald (sic) Douglas regarding your interest of purchasing aircraft miscellaneous parts. They have agreed to meet with you and as soon as you inform me of your schedule, I will be able to make the appointment. Looking forward to seeing you again." ..Shortly thereafter, Chung and Liu traveled to Washington and met with Senator John Kerry. Senator Kerry had contacted Chung "numerous times that summer because they were nearing the end of a tough campaign." According to press reports, Chung "was interested in learning how to clear the way for Chinese companies to get listed on U.S. stock exchanges." Chung visited Kerry's office in late August and met the Senator with "businessmen and several associates." Chung asked for Kerry's assistance in setting up a meeting at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chung claims that a letter was faxed to the SEC from Kerry's office while Chung was present. That afternoon, he and his guests met with Brian Lane, Director of the SEC's Corporation Finance Division, and his deputy, Meredith Cross. ..

Capitol Hill Blue 5/24/99 Doug Thompson "...James Sasser, President Bill Clinton's appointed ambassador to China, has a long history of helping enemies of the United States. As a Senator from Tennessee, Sasser voted more than 100 times to approve US aid to Communist Cuba, Marxist Angola, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China and Russia, an examination of Senate voting records reveals. Shortly after losing an reelection bid in the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, Clinton appointed Sasser as Ambassador to China, even though the Tennessee Senator was considered to be a lightweight in foreign affairs issues..... But, as more and more details emerge about China's overt spying in the US and the Clinton administration's complicity in the growing scandal, intelligence professionals say Sasser's appointment fits into the pattern. "Sasser had a long record of support for China," says intelligence analyst Sander Owen. "As a political appointee, he would support the administration's approval of sensitive technology transfers to China where a career diplomat might question such a policy. It's obvious the administration wanted a 'yes man' in place." ..."

Washington Times 5/7/99 Helle Bering "....In effect, while China was actively engaged in nuclear espionage, Bill Clinton's political sugar daddy was engaging in the unauthorized transfer of the technology to launch from the same missile several of the smaller, improved warheads at different targets. A few months later, the chief of Chinese military intelligence personally directed $300,000 from Beijing to Democratic fat cat Johnny Chung's Hong Kong bank account for the sole purpose of helping to finance Mr. Clinton's 1996 re-election, telling Chung, "We like your president."..."

NBC NEWS Mike Viqueira Robert Windrem "…The biggest issue, says committee sources, is the matter of how much information will be released on the relationship between Democratic fund-raiser John Chung and Liu Chaoying, a lieutenant colonel in the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army. Most of the media attention has been focused on Chung’s $400,000 in contributions to the Democratic National Committee, much of which came from Chinese sources. Sources told NBC News that what Liu was after is using political connections to steal U.S. secrets. But the Cox Committee found a larger issue: Chung’s facilitation of contacts between Liu and U.S. officials. Sources told NBC News that what Liu really was seeking was political connections in order to steal U.S. secrets. One congressional source says that the two committees that investigated the campaign contributions missed the point if they concluded the contributions were an attempt to influence the election. "It wasn’t even a thumb on the scale," the source said….The sources said Liu was working in conjunction with her father, who was then the Chinese equivalent of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a man with enormous influence in China. Sources said the two wanted to set up phony companies and register them in the United States, so they could circumvent the need for some export licenses. This would have allowed stolen technology to be shipped to China with no questions asked….When asked if Hughes and Loral violated the law intentionally, one key congressional source would only refer to Cox’s comments that the companies "have harmed national security." ….While the Chinese were unable to glean sensitive material from the Loral Corp.’s analysis of a Chinese rocket failure, the hotel rooms where the Loral employees stayed were bugged and the Chinese were privy to their conversations, sources told NBC…. He said that Hughes gave the Chinese information that helped the accuracy and reliability of their rockets, while Loral helped with guidance. Hughes also helped with the design and shape of the Chinese rocket nose cone and atmospheric problems, the sources said. They said Hughes gave the Chinese information on how to build a "shroud" to cover satellites during launch, while knowing full well that the shroud is essentially the same thing as a "faring," used to cover nuclear warheads during flight…. "

Investors Business Daily 3/30/99 Paul Sperry "…In auditing former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary's bloated travel budget in June 1996, House Commerce Committee investigators didn't really focus on her China trip any more than her other three overseas ''trade missions.'' ….Fast forward to 1999. Committee investigators now know that: Chinese spies stole the U.S.' latest nuclear missile secrets from Los Alamos and possibly other labs that Energy owns, thanks in part to the security cuts O'Leary made in February 1995 - the same month she went to China….. Beijing bagmen -including John Huang, Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung - beat a path to the White House during the 1996 campaign, raising millions in illegal cash. Chung claims to have bribed O'Leary into meeting with a Chinese petrochemical industry official in October 1995. Former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown allegedly ''sold'' tax-paid seats on his own China trip to big Democratic Party donors like Loral Corp. CEO Bernard Schwartz, who cut a controversial satellite export deal with Beijing officials. All told, Brown's trade junkets raised an estimated $17 million for Democrats. Against that backdrop, O'Leary's China trip takes on new weight, sources say. ''Now we have a clearer picture of all this Chinese chicanery in the 1996 (election) cycle,'' said a House aide familiar with the O'Leary probe. ''And it (O'Leary's China trip) looks like it was just a shakedown operation following the Ron Brown model.''….. The Energy chief led her China mission about six months after Brown's. She took at least 45 ''business delegates,'' while Brown took at least 24. (The agencies still haven't fully disclosed all the participants.) Some showed up on both trips. One, Westinghouse Electric Co., has managed to tag along on yet another tax-backed junket to China - this one led by Commerce Secretary William Daley. He and 18 executives are in China this week. Like Brown's delegation, which boasted 15 major Democratic Party givers, O'Leary's was packed with Democratic donors. An Investor's Business Daily analysis of Federal Election Commission records from 1994 to 1998 shows that, among Energy's China delegation, Democratic donors outnumbered GOP donors by more than 2-to-1. And big Democratic donors dwarfed big GOP donors by 4-to-1. Democratic donors tended to open their wallets wider after the trip. For instance, AES Corp. Chairman Roger Sant gave $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 1996 and 1997, but nothing in 1994 or 1995. He also gave his thanks to O'Leary, who now sits on the AES board. The Arlington, Va.-based contractor builds and runs coal-fired power plants and is working on projects in China. Or take Entergy Corp., which owns Arkansas Power & Light. It kicked in $100,000 in soft money to the DNC about four months after the China trip. Entergy President and CEO Terry Ogletree, who rode on the plane, gave $1,000 (the maximum individual gift to candidates) to the Clinton- Gore campaign at the same time, records show. Entergy was also represented on Brown's August-September 1994 trip to China. There, it signed a $1.3 billion deal with Indonesia-based Lippo Group to expand and run a coal- fired power plant in northern China….. Schwartz, for one, joined Brown's key China mission just two months after writing a check to the DNC for $100,000…… In Brown's mission to China, Klayman only recently discovered that fund-raiser Chung tagged along as an ''unofficial'' delegate. While there, Chung met with People's Liberation Army officers. In 1996, Chung funneled at least $100,000 in PLA money to Democratic causes. In auditing O'Leary's trip to China, even the inspector general couldn't make a firm head count…… While there's no direct proof of a pay-to-play scheme at Energy, the department did work closely with Commerce on its trips. For example, O'Leary testified that she and Ron Brown '' convened (with a team from the White House) to conduct trade missions to China.''….. At the same time Energy officials were exchanging information with communist leaders in early 1995, they were dismantling the security system at the nation's top-secret nuclear-weapons research labs. It was also in 1995 that intelligence officers learned that China had stolen from Los Alamos critical data for building miniature nuclear warheads…….. Some experts fear there might be a link between recent Chinese espionage and the administration's trade trips to China. Computer encryption, satellite and energy secrets would be the three most likely things compromised on the trips, they say. Officials with both Commerce and Energy assert that business delegates got ''counterintelligence briefings'' at the airport before takeoff. But according to Layton's report, the China group wasn't briefed until ''the secretary met (them) in Shanghai,'' their first stop, on Feb. 19, 1995. In her statement to Congress, O'Leary said, ''the National Security Council approved our foreign travel in advance.'' That would be the same NSC that gave Chinese espionage at Los Alamos low priority for three years after its discovery. Another troubling aspect to O'Leary's China mission is what happened about eight months later. On Oct. 19, 1995, O'Leary met here with a Chinese petrochemical industry official in what she says was a routine meeting. But Chung claims he arranged the meeting -after giving O'Leary a $25,000 donation. The charge, made on NBC News in August 1997, triggered a review by Attorney General Janet Reno to see if it was probative enough to name an independent counsel to investigate. On Dec. 2, 1997, she announced that it was not…."

Los Angeles Times 4/4/99 William Rempel, Henry Weinstein, Alan Miller "...About a month after press accounts reported his deal with federal investigators, Chung was approached by a San Gabriel Valley businessman, who said he was an associate of Liu. That session was secretly recorded by the FBI and videotaped with a camera hidden in a clock. In a conversation conducted in Chinese, the businessman offered Chung a carrot and a stick. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the businessman advised Chung to keep silent about his contacts with Ji. In return, Chung would receive funds sufficient "to live very comfortably." But the businessman suggested that Chung and his family could have safety concerns if the offer was ignored, the sources said. The threats were veiled but ominous, the sources said, declining to provide details. Furthermore, the businessman advised Chung to go to jail if necessary, assuring Chung that friends in high places would support him. The businessman even suggested that Chung could expect to be pardoned by the president...."

ConservativeNews.org 4/13/99 Ben Anderson "...House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-IL) has written letters to President Bill Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno and Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, in another attempt to win their cooperation to determine the extent of Chinese influence in the 1996 elections. Burton's latest attempt is rekindling flames in a campaign finance investigation launched two years ago, but delayed by 121 witnesses fleeing the country or refusing to testify and by White House assertions of executive privilege. Following-up on Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji's commitment last week to "cooperate" with an investigation of illegal campaign contributions, Burton wrote to the Premier asking for the Chinese government's cooperation on two levels: Interviews with would-be witnesses and bank records of wire transfers to Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung, both Democratic National Committee donors. When committee investigators applied for visas in January 1998, to interview witnesses in China, Embassy officials in Washington said they were under orders from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to deny visas pertaining to a congressional investigation. "My staff was further informed that anyone who attempted to travel to China or Hong Kong to conduct interviews in this investigation would be arrested," Burton wrote in his letter to Zhu. According to Burton, the committee has "received little or no cooperation" in obtaining "information about wire transfers from the Bank of China to key figures" in the fundraising investigation....With media reports of Chung's testimony before Federal investigators and Zhu's visit as a backdrop, Burton asked Reno for help in making Chung available to testify before the Committee. Despite reaching a plea agreement with Chung more than one year ago, the Justice Department has failed to bring about one indictment, Burton notes. "Recent media reports have suggested that the Task Force's work has ground to a halt," Burton said, referring to Fox News Channel's report that Reno had essentially approved of keeping the case open simply for political expediency, but allowing the work of the investigation to stall...."

NewsMax 4/7/99 Debra Saunders "... According to Chung, Liu told him that she and Ji were using other people to launder money to Clinton's re-election campaigns. "We like your president," Ji reportedly said. In the last few months, Americans have learned that U.S. national security is weaker and China is stronger because of Clintonia's feckless China policies. Ji should like Clinton. The New York Times reported that the Chinese government stole U.S. nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, thereby gaining vital intelligence that beefed up its nuclear capabilities. A bipartisan House committee headed by Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., reportedly determined that Hughes Electronics Corp. and Loral Space & Communications Ltd. shared sensitive U.S. technologies with Chinese entities. Cox doesn't believe that Chinese biggies funneled money through Chung because they wanted to assure Clinton's re- election. No matter how much they like him. Cox sees a wilier motive. "General Ji runs the People's Liberation Army's military intelligence department, which is responsible for collecting science and technology info with military applications. Colonel Liu is quite evidently in the same business," Cox said yesterday. "There is reason to conclude that the PLA was more interested in using their U.S. political connections for technology acquisition than they were in influencing the outcome of an election with campaign contributions." Put another way: It's the military secrets, stupid. And stupidly, greedily, Team Clinton got cozy with the bad guys...."

United States House of Representatives 4/29/99 The Honorable Dan Burton (R. In) "....Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, my committee, the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, of which I am chairman over the past 2 1/2 years, has been investigating illegal campaign contributions that came in from a variety of countries around the world...During the past 2 1/2 years we have been trying, day and night, to get to the bottom of this. We have tried to get people to come forward and testify, we tried to get cooperation from the Justice Department, the White House, but we have been very, very unsuccessful because there seems to have been a stone wall erected by the White House and the Justice Department and other agencies to keep us from getting to the bottom of this. We have had 121 people, 121 people take the Fifth Amendment or flee the country. That is unparalleled in American history...Now today I rise on a different subject, but it may be related, and that is why it is so troubling to me. The Chinese communists, through people in their government, the head of their military intelligence and the head of their Chinese aerospace industry gave a man named Johnny Chung $300,000 to give, at least in large part, to the Clinton Reelection Committee, and they were not doing it in my opinion for Mr. Clinton's good looks. They obviously had some kind of an agenda. The head of the Chinese military intelligence and the head of the Chinese aerospace industry giving campaign contributions to a candidate for President in this country would lead almost anyone to say there is something amiss here, there is something wrong, and it should be thoroughly investigated. Mr. Speaker, we just recently found out that at Los Alamos, one of our nuclear research facilities, that they had a man there named Wen Ho Lee who had been there for a long time who is believed to have been involved in espionage. I am very concerned about some of the statements that have come out of the administration with respect to China's thefts of these U.S. nuclear secrets. Again and again we have seen administration officials all the way up to the President make misleading statements about what they knew and when they knew it. Let me provide you with some examples...."

United States House of Representatives 4/29/99 The Honorable Dan Burton (R. In) "....One good example is on March 19, 1999, President Clinton was asked by a reporter, `Can you assure the American people that under your watch, no valuable secrets were lost?' The President responded, `Can I tell you there has been no espionage at the lab since I have been President? I can tell you that no one,'--listen to this--`I can tell you that no one has reported to me that they suspect such a thing has occurred.' So the President was saying he was totally uninformed. He did not know anything about it. Well, Mr. Speaker, the President's response about his knowledge of Chinese spying is not only troubling and disingenuous, it is just hard to believe. The Clinton administration, his administration, knew about the full extent of Chinese spying at Los Alamos and Livermore and other laboratories as far back as 1996, over 3 years ago. Then the National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger, head of the NSC, was briefed about the Chinese spying by the Energy Department's chief of intelligence, a Mr. Notra Trulock. Berger was told that China had stolen W-88 nuclear warhead designs and neutron bomb technology. He was told that a spy might still be passing secrets to China at Los Alamos, our nuclear research facility. He was even told that the theft of neutron bomb data occurred in 1995 under the President's administration..."

United States House of Representatives 4/29/99 The Honorable Dan Burton (R. In) "....Mr. Speaker, in August of 1997, Gary Samore, the senior National Security Council official assigned to the China spy case, received a briefing from Mr. Notra Trulock, who is the head of intelligence security over at the Department of Energy, and immediately after the briefing about this spying, he went to the CIA director and asked the CIA director to seek an alternative analysis about how the Chinese had developed these small nuclear warheads. So after he had been told they stole this nuclear technology and that spying was going on, he went to the CIA and said, `Can't you give us a different way they got this technology?' Why would he do that? Why, when presented with such overwhelming evidence of Chinese espionage, did Gary Samore seek to downplay the significance of the information, asking the CIA to come up with another explanation, other than espionage, about China's advances? We had already gotten some of this information from our intelligence sources over in China...."

United States House of Representatives 4/29/99 The Honorable Dan Burton (R. In) "....This has been going on for some time. Norris's colleague, physicist Matthew G. McKenzie said that `unauthorized access to those programs, so-called legacy codes, used to simulate warhead detonation, would represent an unprecedented act of espionage in his scope. Get this. The espionage in the Manhattan Project, that was right after we discovered the nuclear bomb that ended World War II, the espionage in the Manhattan Project would pale, would pale, in comparison.' This is so much more damaging. We are focusing everything right now in the media almost on Kosovo, and our heart goes out to the people who are suffering over there. But this espionage endangers every man, woman and child in this country if we ever go to war with Communist China. And they have made threats in the Taiwan Straits. They have made overt threats about we would not go into Taiwan to protect them because we value Los Angeles more than we do Taiwan, which was an implied threat. So you do not know what might happen. They are a Communist dictatorship. Yet they got all this, and we keep working with them and dealing with them as if nothing happened...."

United States House of Representatives 4/29/99 The Honorable Dan Burton (R. In) "...My committee will continue to investigate the illegal campaign contributions. The Cox report which looked into this espionage should be made public. The White House has blocked, according to the information I have, the White House has continued to block the Cox report from being made public. Much of it has been leaked to the American people through the media, but not all, and that information needs to be made known to every man, woman and child. Because if this administration has been derelict in its responsibilities and endangered every man, woman and child, it is more important than Kosovo. It is more important than anything. And we need to get to the bottom of it and those who let this happen, for whatever reason, campaign contributions or because they like the Chinese or whatever reason. They need to be held accountable and brought to justice...."

Labella on NightLine Freeper kristinn reports 5/26/99 "...Labella says Reno not interested in his memo--her mind already made up. His report was ridiculed as "emotional". He was never debriefed on it by Justice. Says he managed to alienate the power establishment and was run out of town. Points to two phone messages, one right after the other. First is a "call me" message from Rep. Dan Burton. Second one is from a Justice Dept. official, "Don't talk to Burton." LaBella shipped out to San Diego, then passed over for appointment as U.S. Attorney. Questions raised about the motivations of nominator, Sen. Boxer about why she nominated LaBella's underling for the post...."

Roll Call 7/20/98 Amy Keller "The Democratic National Committee is planning to return more than $105,000 in tainted contributions this week in the wake of the recent indictment of Democratic contributor Duangnet Kronenberg, and House Government Reform and Oversight Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind) is digging to find even more questionable money still sitting in the DNC's coffers. The DNC has already returned more than $3 million in suspected foreign contributions since the last election. With the party still mired in $3.24 million worth of net debt, GOP sources are crowing that the DNC can ill afford to start refunding more money.GOP investigators are also wondering why the DNC has kept at least $100,000 in contributions from Jessica Elnitiarta, the daughter of Indonesian businessman Ted Sioeng, who is believed to have funneled at least $400,000 in donations from Hong Kong-based companies..Last week, committee lawyers were slated to conduct depositions of the two witnesses, but the witnesses hired a new lawyer on the night before the scheduled depositions -- thereby causing another delay. The pair is now being represented by Brian Sun, who represented the Buddhist nuns that testified before Sen. Fred Thompson's (R- Tenn) campaign finance panel last year. A witness related to Sioeng could not be deposed because of problems in obtaining a translator. "Everything is like pulling teeth," the GOP source lamented."

Washington Times 8/10/98 Editorial "At the rate the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is refunding illegal donations that arrived from Indonesia during the 1996 presidential campaign, the International Monetary Fund will soon have to include the DNC among the organizations involved in the international economic bailout of Indonesia. Last year the Democratic Party was forced to refund $450,000 to Arief and Soraya Wiriadinata, whose father was a major investor in the Lippo Group, an Indonesia-based conglomerate controlled by the Riady family. Lippo's initial U.S. base of operations was established in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Riady clan and their employees befriended Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and later became major contributors to his campaigns. The DNC seems to have more refunds to make. Last week, investigators for the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee revealed that another $200,000, which originated in Indonesia in the form of travelers checks issued by a bank formerly controlled by the Riady family, made its way stateside in 1996, where much of the money was laundered into illegal contributions to the DNC or used as payments and "gifts" to party contributors and fund-raisers. Former Little Rock restaurateur Charles Yah Lin Trie, President Clinton's longtime friend who was indicted earlier this year and charged with illegal fund-raising activities, controlled much of the money. Also involved was Mr. Trie's business associate, Antonio Pan, a former Lippo executive, who was also indicted earlier.It should be noted that the matter involving the $25,000 laundered through Mr. Ho came to light only because a committee investigator, not the Justice Department's task force, initiated contact with Mr. Ho last month, though the Justice Department knew of the travelers checks for several months. After interviewing Mr. Ho in New York on July 15, the committee investigator, Tim Griffin, told a Democratic committee staffer on July 21 that the Republicans wanted to publicize the checks. Alerted by the committee's minority staff, the Justice Department dispatched an FBI agent and a lawyer the next day to interview Mr. Ho in New York. Subsequently threatened with a subpoena by Mr. Griffin, Mr. Ho became more forthcoming and implicated Mr. Pan. This is a significant development because for the first time it links Mr. Trie with Indonesian money. Given that Mr. Pan, the former Lippo executive, seems to have been intimately involved, it raises more questions about the extent to which Lippo itself may have sought to subvert the election here.."

Washington Weekly 9/6/98 Wesley Phelan Marvin Lee "Two weeks ago Roger Clinton went on live television to issue warning from his brother, the president, to "politicians who live in glass houses..." Rep. Dan Burton, Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee did not heed the warning.. The reaction was swift. A whispering campaign in Washington alleged that Vanity Fair had investigated the sex life of Dan Burton and was set to publish the story. Press reports indicated that Vanity Fair writer Russ Baker had spent six weeks digging through Burton's trash and sexual history..The timing of the Vanity Fair leak makes it unlikely that it was made independent of the White House, whose modus operandi it is to gather dirt on critics by illegally obtaining their FBI file or by having private investigators like Terry Lenzner or Jack Palladino investigate them. In order to launder such illegally obtained information, however, the White House needs the cooperation of a friendly journalist willing to act as a fence and put his name on dirt provided by the White House.Past attacks on Clinton critics have been funded, in part, by the People's Republic of China. Johnny Chung has admitted that he donated $25,000 to the "Back to Business" committee that distributed the White House "Communication Stream of Conspiracy Commerce" report that laid out the "vast right-wing conspiracy" of Clinton critics. The "Back to Business" committee was incorporated by the Perkins Coie law firm which represents the interests of the People's Republic of China in the United States. Perkins Coie also incorporated James Carville's "Education and Information Project" that has sponsored attacks on Dan Burton in the past. U.S. intelligence has intercepted claims from the Chinese equivalent of the CIA that it had been successful in "thwarting" the Thompson Committee's investigation of Chinagate last year. If these claims are more than mere bravado and exaggeration, Chinese intelligence could only have done so through allied Senators or journalists. Kim Kessler of Vanity Fair denied that Russ Baker had received any funding from Chinese sources or that the investigation of Dan Burton was an attempt to derail the Burton Committee's investigation into the Chinagate matter. Russ Baker was not available for comment."

Charles Smith WorldNetDaily 9/15/98 "According to Chinese General Sun Tzu "All war is based on deception." Tzu wrote those words over 2,000 years ago and his first rule of war still applies today. For example, a hidden November 1994 letter written by Democratic National Committee donor Sanford Robertson to President Clinton that clearly details the sale of Commerce trade trips for campaign donations. Robertson was so bold as to include a telling "P.S." where he notes for Clinton that "Bob Rubin" turned out the "Silicon Valley" at a Robertson sponsored fund-raiser that took in "$100,000" for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Of course, neither Robertson nor current Treasury Secretary Rubin expected that letter to be revealed. In November 1995, Vice President Al Gore called Sanford Robertson from the White House and asked for a $100,000 donation. In January 1996 Robertson obliged and kicked in $80,000 soft and $20,000 in so-called "hard" donations to the Clinton/Gore campaign. The fact that Gore made the call from inside the White House is the least of his legal problems. In 1993 Clinton named Gore to head U.S. export policy for encryption technology in a TOP SECRET order written by National Security advisor Anthony Lake. A 1996 secret memo on a secret meeting of DCIA Deutch, FBI Director Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno states: "The Vice President chairs the senior group that set the Administration's encryption policy; since February 1994 it has been supported by a working group co-chaired by NSC, and OMB, composed of NSA, CIA, FBI, State, Commerce (BXA, NIST), and Justice." ."

An analysis by Freeper Stillman 9/14/98 "On March 12, 1997, The New York Post published an article entitled "Bill's Big Switch on China $yndrome," by Deborah Orin, Washington Bureau Chief. That article contains the following lead: The White House yesterday conceded two National Security Council staffers could have briefed President Clinton on charges China was meddling in U.S. elections -- but didn't. That acknowledgment came a day after Clinton complained "the president should know" and suggested the FBI briefed two NSC staffers but told them not to tell anyone else. The FBI believes China was trying to funnel illegal campaign funds into the United States. In Monica Lewinsky's testimony before the Starr Grand Jury, she stated the President Bill Clinton ended their sexual relationship on March 29, 1997, because he had found out that a "foreign embassy" had monitored their phone sex calls. All of those calls took place over unsecure telephone lines..It is possible those briefings concerned the fact that President Clinton's phone sex was being monitored by a foreign embassy. This would have led to Clinton's breaking off his relationship with Lewinsky at their next tryst. The NY Post article goes on to say: The FBI also briefed several lawmakers, mostly Democrats, about Chinagate.... Also briefed were Sens. Daniel P. Moynihan (D-N.Y.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). So, members of the President's own National Security Council were briefed, as were an odd assortment of liberal Democrats in Congress. But this information was not passed on to the President of the United States. Moreover, the FBI took specific steps to ensure that the President would not be notified.."

Freeper Garland F 5/17/99 observed "...I pressured Henry Hyde to go forward with the China evidence from the Burton and Thompson committees at a fund raiser for Bob Barr last week. He claimed that the Burton and Thompson committees must develop the evidence further. I told him that it was already developed and documented by the Congressional investigators in the Year of the Rat and got basically no reply. Even without the Cox report we already know that Clinton / Gore campaigns and the DNC had seven sources of revenue tracable through 11 streams to organizations and individuals directly connected to the Communist Chinese government. We also know that Bill Clinton is the only president in history to give sophisticated American military use technology to a Communist government over the objections of his own government agencies. He did it four times on four separate transfers over the objections of the DOD, NSA, State & Justice. This evidence is two years old and should have been included in the Articles of Impeachment. This is treason and bribery and it is hard to believe, but Newt and Henry Hyde were instrumental in keeping that evidence out of the Articles of Impeachment...."

5/25/99 Chairman Dan Burton (R-IN) today issued a subpoena to Democrat National Committee (DNC) fundraiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, to appear before the Government Reform Committee in June.... "Charlie Trie is one of the most important witnesses in the campaign finance scandal and we have many questions to ask him," Chairman Burton said. "We want to know about his contacts with the Chinese government and about the origins of the large amounts of foreign money that he funneled to the DNC. "I hope that the Justice Department and Mr. Trie will now cooperate with the Committee and that Mr. Trie will come in and resolve all of these unanswered questions. The American people have waited a long time for answers and they have a right to know the truth." More than 20 people associated with Trie have either fled the country or invoked their Fifth Amendment rights to avoid testifying. Antonio Pan, who was indicted with Trie for violating federal election laws, has fled the country. Macao developer Ng Lap Seng, Chinese executive Wang Jun, and most of Trie s foreign benefactors have refused to cooperate with Committee investigators. The Clinton Administration has provided no assistance in obtaining the cooperation of foreign governments...."

Softwar.com 5/25/99 "...Feinstein's financial ties to the communist Chinese and COSCO include her husband, Richard Blum. Blum is reported to be heavily tied to the PRC through his far east investment firm, Newbridge Capitol Corp. Blum's partner at Newbridge, Peter Kwok, also served as a consultant to COSCO, and COSCO Hong Kong Holdings, a company owned by Chinese billionaire Li Ka-Shing. In 1989, Kwok helped CITIC and Li Ka-Shing raise $120 million to buy a HUGHES built communications satellite for a company also part owned by Chinese Generals. Senator Feinstein is far closer to red China than a few business ties to her husband. The Los Angles Times reported in 1997 that Blum and Feinstein have visited with communist Chinese officials three times. Blum reportedly accompanied the Senator at his own expense and met with President Jiang Zemin and other top communist party officials. In January 1996, Feinstein and Blum were honored as the first foreigners to stay at Mao Tse-tung's former residence. One Feinstein document that screams out for further investigation is a letter dated Nov. 1, 1994, from a million dollar Democratic donor to President Clinton. Investment banker and Democratic fund-raiser Sanford R. Robertson wrote a "thank you" note to Clinton for a Ron Brown trade mission to China. Robertson complimented Brown's "diplomatic skills" in a meeting with Chinese dictator Li Peng. Robertson wrote that Secretary Brown "deftly navigated the human-rights issues by obtaining an agreement on further talks and then moved directly into the economic issues at hand: helping Chrysler, Sprint and others with their 'joint ventures.'" The Robertson letter closes with a smoking-gun postscript: "(Treasury Secretary) Bob Rubin came to our home on Thursday for a Dianne Feinstein dinner, which raised over $100,000 for her campaign. Bob, of course, turned out the financial community and Silicon Valley." The honorable Senator Feinstein was never asked by her colleagues on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee investigating the China connection about Robertson, her husband or the returned $12,000. There has never been any investigation of COSCO or Poly Tech. Bill Clinton has never answered detailed questions on Ron Brown, Wang Jun, Charlie Trie and John Huang. ..."

FoxNews 4/8/99 "...China's military intelligence official most likely to be interested in stealing U.S. secrets, sources say, also turns out to be the mastermind behind China's alleged plot to get the Clinton/Gore team re-elected in 1996 with illegal contributions. At the beginning of a complicated money trail is the head of Chinese military intelligence, General Ji. He pulls the strings at a massive Chinese conglomerate called China Resources Company. U.S. intelligence say some China Resources divisions in Hong Kong and worldwide are known fronts for China's Peoples Liberation Army and espionage. China Resources has joint ventures with an Indonesian-based international firm called the Lippo Group. Lippo is run by the ethnic Chinese Riady family. James Riady has visited the White House; his family has long supported the Clintons. The Riady family's chief advisor on U.S. political donations: John Huang. Huang left Lippo for a Commerce department job, then became a fundraiser, where mostly through connections to the Riadys, he collected nearly $2 million in illegal foreign contributions for the Democratic Party. Thus completes what investigators say was the Chinese military's circuitous route to funnel money to the president's re-election effort. Some checks to the Democratic Party were written from Hong Kong, drawn from accounts in the Lippo Bank, which is jointly owned by China Resources, Beijing's alleged front for spying. Johnny Chung, who has pleaded guilty to raising illegal foreign contributions, has told a grand jury that some of the money he contributed came from General Ji, the Chinese military intelligence chief. Chung has also said that Ji was coordinating efforts by John Huang and Charlie Trie, the president's old friend and fundraiser from Little Rock. Between the three of them, they raised over $3 million in illegal donations that have been linked back to China and its military...."

FoxNews 4/8/99 "... Vice President Al Gore, stung for attending a fundraiser at a Buddhist Temple where foreign contributions were laundered, has been connected, too. On September 23, 1993, Huang and Riady came to the White House to meet Gore, and introduce Zhen Zhur En (ph), head of Beijing's alleged espionage front, China Resources Company. Four days later Gore attended the California fundraiser with all of them, where over $100,000 in illegal contributions out of China were received. The vice president has denied doing or knowing about anything illegal. Evidence of Chinese spying and illegal campaign contributions have plagued president Clinton for the last three years. In addition to being a major foreign policy and national security problem right now, it's shaping up to be a campaign problem for Al Gore in 2000. On Capitol Hill, Carl Cameron, Fox News...."

USA Today 5/19/99 James Freeman "...What did the Chinese get for their money? The thugs who run the world's last communist empire aren't stupid. They didn't send a river of cash flowing toward Clinton/Gore without any expectations. So what was the return on their investment? We don't know yet. But China, currently the only country in the world with missiles targeted at the United States, apparently has acquired our most valuable nuclear technology. Rep. Christopher Cox, Chairman of the House Select Committee on China, says in an e-mail: "The compromise of our nuclear codes is exceptionally damaging, not only to U.S. national security but to the peace of the world for decades to come." ...."Something like this would have been a red flag. These were not low-level warnings," says Dov Zakheim, President of defense contractor SPC International. "If these reports are true, the Chinese now have our most modern capabilities," he says. Former top officials in the Clinton and Reagan Administrations, speaking on background, say they can't understand why the White House did not react aggressively to the threat of Chinese nuclear theft. U.S. secrets have been stolen before. What's new about this case is that once the government learned of the problem, U.S. officials did not act quickly to minimize the damage.... It's important to remember who these people are who run China's government. According to a 1997 report by the Department of Defense, their key objectives include "eventual recovery of claimed territories, and most important, preservation of the current communist political system." The report notes that China has sold nuclear and missile technology to Iran and Pakistan, among others, and there's more reassuring news: "China's current inventory of chemical agents includes the full range of traditional agents, and China is conducting research into more advanced agents." The report also reminds us that "China is the only country other than Russia whose land-based strategic missiles can strike the United States." That raises an interesting question. What are they going to do with the data they just stole from our labs? .....Now we have to count on Beijing's good sense and good will. When you see how this regime treats its own people, you might start to get nervous. ..."

USA Today 5/19/99 "...To date, there is no direct evidence linking Chinese money to changes in American defense policy. But if there's a reasonable explanation for the following list of coincidences, it's about time we heard it from the President. - Early in the Clinton Administration, China received America's "hot-section" technology, the key to building state-of-the-art fighter planes. The U.S. used this technology during the Cold War to gain a critical edge in creating metals used in jet engines. - "During the '80s, Soviet engines had a mean time between failures of 200 hours," says Steve Bryen, a former DOD official who directed the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Agency during the 1980s. "For U.S. engines, the figure was about 10,000 hours. This was a huge advantage. China's engines were even less reliable than the Russian ones."..."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "....In 1994, U.S. Commerce officials knew there was a crime in progress -- a crime that involved millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars being used to pay off corrupt foreign politicians. Did the Commerce Department attempt to stop this crime? No. As a matter of fact, the federal agency appears to have done its best to help the criminals succeed. On Nov. 16, 1994, Bill Clinton and the late Ron Brown traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference, at which Clinton signed deals to supply Indonesia with electric power using U.S. taxpayer loans. The deals were worth billions to U.S. corporations such as Cal Energy, Mission Energy and General Electric....."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "...In September 1994, long before Clinton signed the power deal, the Commerce Department documented that Indonesian dictator Suharto had cut himself in for a bribe. According to a 1994 Commerce document, 0.75 percent ownership of a $2 billion U.S.-backed power project was given -- at no cost -- to dictator Suharto's second daughter, Siti Hediati Prabowo. Prabowo's 0.75 percent ownership is equal to a free gift of $15 million from the U.S. taxpayers. The $15 million is part of a $50 million bribe split between Prabowo and other Suharto relatives. In return, the Indonesian dictator selected companies owned by major Clinton donors to build the Paiton power plant in east Java.....The Paiton power project consisted of two 600-million watt, coal-fired plants to provide electricity for east Java. The partners in the U.S.-led consortium included Mission Energy, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan, General Electric Capital Corporation of the U.S., and P.T. Batu Hitam Perkasa, an Indonesian firm formed in 1989 to participate in the development of the country's private power industry. The leader of the U.S. project in the Paiton power plant, Mission Energy, is also a partner of Indonesia's Lippo Group, a consortium partly owned by Indonesian billionaire Mochtar Riady and the Chinese Army's CITIC (China International Trust and Investment Corporation) bank...."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "...According to Federal Election Commission records, Mission Energy CEO, John Bryson, donated money to Clinton's campaigns and donated money to Clinton's legal defense fund. Riady, Bryson's partner in the Paiton project, is also accused of illegally donating money to Bill Clinton's political campaigns....On Sept. 30 1994, The Commerce Department, State Department, Mission Energy and several consultants met to review the Paiton project. According to hand written notes, "ADB is still considering this, b/c of very minimal involvement of Indo ruling family in the Mission project. ... ADB's delay revolves around concern for projects in Indonesia involving the first family. .75% ownership of the Mission project by daughter of Indo pres." ..."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "...In another document dated, Nov. 1, 1994, only days before the Jakarta signing by Clinton, the Commerce Department noted, "Ambassador Barry stated that the project is facing two problems." Those two were "(i) the ADB financing may cave in and (ii) EXIM financing. Regarding ADB, technical questions have been satisfied, but ADB is skittish about involvement of Indonesia's first family (a minority shareholder is married to Pres. Suharto's daughter)." The Commerce Department documented that Indonesian dictator Suharto had cut his son-in-law into a kickback scheme. The documents show that Commerce was not only aware of Suharto's corrupt activities but quietly cooperated by seeking U.S.-backed financial aid for the project...."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "...The Commerce documentation shows that U.S. Ambassador Barry worked directly with Linda Yang, executive director of the Asian Development Bank, to obtain financial support despite the concerns over kickbacks to Suharto.... However, after the signing by Clinton, in 1995, the ADB decided to not finance the Paiton deal due to their concerns. According to notes taken by Commerce Department officials at a Paiton meeting, "Mission Energy expecting default by March [1995] ... first project to go on bond market $180 M and will default also." In April 1995, Ron Brown came to the rescue and provided the U.S. Export-Import bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to substitute for the Asian Development Bank. Over $1.8 billion in limited recourse project debt was provided to Paiton by The Export-Import Bank of Japan, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States, and eight commercial banks...."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "....Commerce documents show that Lippo business partner Mission Energy (now named Edison Mission Energy) received strong Clinton administration support for the Paiton project. In March 1995, Mission Energy CEO John Bryson wrote Commerce Secretary Brown: "Dear Ron -- Thank you once again for being so ready to support a successful completion of the Paiton Power Project. ... The U.S. Government, from the President on down, has put a high priority on the Paiton Project." Furthermore, the Paiton power plant was designed to burn "low-sulfur Indonesian coal." In 1996 President Clinton created the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, placing off-limits the world's largest deposit of low-sulfur coal. In the process, Clinton also greatly enriched Suharto. The coal for the Paiton plant is provided under a no bid contract from the global monopoly of "soft" environmental coal. Prabowo's brother-in-law, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, owns the Indonesian reserves of soft coal and is also another partner in the Mission Energy-General Electric partner at Paiton. Furthermore, Hashim is not only an old friend of Suharto, but Hashim's brother is Suharto's son-in-law and a general in the Indonesian army...."

Worldnetdaily 6/15/99 Charles Smith "...The Commerce Department has done its best to conceal evidence and hide the facts. On June 7, 1999, Commerce refused to release all the information on the Indonesian Paiton power plant, citing "commercial" privacy. Many of the documents released by the Commerce Department contained whole sections blacked out for "privacy" reasons...."

Washington Times National Weekly Edition 6/28-7/4/99 Jerry Seper "...The Democratic National Committee, which denies knowing the source of campaign contributions from Johnny Chung, actively targeted the California businessman for hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations shortly after his return from a 1994 trip to China. Just-obtained documents show the relationship between the DNC and Chung was far more significant than previously known and -- after a Republican victory in the 1994 general elections -- became even more intense over the next two years as the 1996 presidential election closed in. DNC records show that the organization made specific donation demands on Chung in exchange for giving him and several Chinese nationals, including members of China's military intelligence, access to President Clinton. Chung's ability to raise money became such an integral part of the DNC's fund-raising effort that the organization's finance director, Richard Sullivan, was formally assigned as his "contact."..."

Washington Times National Weekly Edition 6/28-7/4/99 Jerry Seper "...The records show that DNC officials did little to screen Chung's donations or to attempt to discover the identities of several Chinese officials and others Chung escorted to private meetings with the president. They portray a fund-raising effort bent solely on gathering hundreds of thousands of dollars for the 1996 race in exchange for access to the president. In October 1996, for example, the DNC insisted that Chung come up with a $25,000 donation so he could introduce Mr. Clinton to the wife and son of Gen. Ji Shengde, the chief military intelligence officer for the People's Liberation Army, during a political fund-raiser at Universal Studios in Los Angeles...."

Washington Times National Weekly Edition 6/28-7/4/99 Jerry Seper "...The DNC also solicited a $40,000 donation from Chung during a December 1994 fund-raiser in Los Angeles attended by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. That donation also helped Chung to attend a DNC leadership fund-raiser at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington for Vice President Al Gore and to the White House Christmas party, where he and two Chinese businessmen associated with the Haomen Beer Co. posed for pictures with the president and the first lady...."

Washington Weekly 6/20/99 ROBERT STOWE ENGLAND "...There are a few dots trailing between the transfer of missile technology by Hughes and Loral to China and President Clinton, his 1996 re-election campaign, and the Democratic Party. However, no one has ever successfully connected all these dots. Loral's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Schwartz, for example, has given over $1.5 million to various Democratic Party funds in recent election cycles, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. He has become the single largest donor to the Democratic Party. Schwartz has also given $16,050 to the Republican Party..."

Washington Weekly 6/20/99 ROBERT STOWE ENGLAND "... Former Hughes Chairman C. Michael Armstrong, on the other hand, has given only a few $1,000 donations to both Democratic and Republican candidates. He's now the chairman of AT&T. Campaign contributions linked to Chinese military officials were also funneled into the Democratic Party -- many of which were returned -- and Republicans have suggested that the Clinton Administration relaxed controls on technology transfer to China to reward its campaign donors. Some of the money tied to Chinese military sources was funneled through Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, a Little Rock, Arkansas, restauranteur and long-time friend of President Clinton. Trie raised $1.5 million from foreign sources during the 1996 election, but only donated $220,000 to the Democratic National Committee. Among the donations received by Trie was a May 1996 transfer of $100,00 from CP Group, shareholders in the Chinese-government controlled Asia Pacific Telecommunications Satellite Company in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Tel Sat was Hughes's satellite client on the 1995 rocket launch that failed to launch its Apstar 2 satellite. No one has successfully connected the dots from the CP Group contribution through Trie to the Commerce Department waiver a year earlier that granted Hughes permission to provide data to improve the very rocket that failed to launch Apstar 2...."

Washington Weekly 6/20/99 ROBERT STOWE ENGLAND "...The Cox Report's only allusion to campaign finance involves Hughes, not the big-time campaign donor Loral. Hughes's name surfaced in notes written in Mandarin on stationery from the Hong Kong International Hotel. The notes were found when Justice Department investigators searched Trie's Little Rock office. The handwriting on the Mandarin notes has not been analyzed to identify its author. Among 16 separate items in the notes are these three cryptic lines: Hughes U.S. Government Export Control Licenses Bribery Problem -- Government Official Cox committee investigators attempted to contact Trie through his attorney, the Cox Report states, but Trie refused to provide any information or testimony as he was facing trial on conspiracy charges to obtain benefits by circumventing election laws. ..."

The New Australian 6/99 Phyllis Schlafly "...The nuclear secrets stolen by Communist China are not inconsequential; they give the PRC "design information on thermonuclear weapons on a par with our own." The Cox Committee states that the PRC will surely "exploit this design information in its next generation of weapons." The hallmarks of the PRC's espionage strategy are the blurred lines between military and commercial technology. The Central Military Commission adopted Deng Xiaoping's "16-Character Policy," his command to combine the military and civil, combine peace and war, give priority to military products, and let the civil support the military. The Cox Report unravels the many ingenious Chinese techniques used to acquire U.S. military technologies. The Chinese constantly pressure U.S. commercial companies to transfer technology in joint ventures, and they extensively exploit dual-use products and services for military advantages. Nepotism is the name of the game in China's socio-political structure. The elite of the post-Deng ruling clique are the "princelings," the sons and daughters of Party officials who are credentialed with exalted business, military and political titles. Their status, as well as the cash bulging in their pockets,gave them extraordinary access to the Clinton White House. Among these specially anointed emissaries from China were Wang Jung, son of the late PRC President, and Liu Chaoying, daughter of the former most powerful PRC military boss. ..."

The New Australian 6/99 Phyllis Schlafly "...Wang, who attended one of the notorious Clinton coffees in the White House, was connected to $600,000 in illegal campaign contributions made by Charlie Trie to the Democratic National Committee, and also to the 1996 Chinese attempt to smuggle AK-47 assault rifles to Los Angeles street gangs.Liu, who was ostentatiously garbed with the titles Colonel in the People's Liberation Army as well as Vice President of a major missile and space corporation, attended a Clinton fundraiser in California. She gave $300,000 to Johnny Chung to use for Clinton's reelection in order "to better position her in the United States to acquire computer, missile, and satellite technologies." ..."

Nation 6/12/99 Christopher Hitchens "....It's always suspicious when Washingtonians start breaking into bad Latin. There may be a quid, you hear them say, and there seems to be a quo. But--aha--there's no smoking pro to connect the two. This pseudo-talk combines my least favorite styles: that of the overpaid attorney and that of the overpaid political obfuscator. Thus, it is not denied that Chinese military-industrial sources managed to transfer an awful lot of money to the Democratic National Committee. Nor is it denied that many tranches of valuable information made their way from American nuclear laboratories into the computer systems of the People's Republic of China. Nor is it denied that large American corporations were eager to share missile and satellite technology with the PRC, and that they, too, were generous to the DNC. All that is denied is that these things have anything to do with one another..."

Nation 6/12/99 Christopher Hitchens "....Here is Jeffrey Garten, formerly Clinton's Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade (and a onetime Nixon and Kissinger underling), recalling his work for Ron Brown in an incautious Newsweek essay in March 1997: John Huang, the suspicious DNC official, was a Commerce official first. You can't understand the 1996 money mess without grasping the environment in which commercial diplomacy was born. It is, after all, the major thrust of the President's foreign policy.... In our single-minded drive to help American companies, we dramatically expanded our commercial involvement in big emerging markets like China, India and Brazil. This push attracted a lot of foreigners who wanted to play in the new game.... There were people, like the Riadys or Charlie Trie or Johnny Chung, who may have thought they could gear this process to their own enrichment by buying special influence. If you open a wild bazaar, as we did, you have to expect the occasional pickpocket..... Here is another series of admissions in the guise of excuses. (The term "commercial diplomacy" is worth having, you must admit.) A former senior official affirms that there was a revolving door between the Commerce Department and a bunch of shady businessmen, all of whom are friends and backers of the President. And you notice (see my last "Minority Report") that all the "pickpockets" identified as polluting this otherwise noble enterprise have Asian names. How this squares with Clinton's indignation about "Asian-bashing" is more than I can say...."

Salon 6/21/99 David Horowitz "...The book [Year of the Rat] begins with the authors' observation that the No. 1 funder of the Clinton-Gore 1992 campaign was an Arkansas resident and Chinese banker named James Riady, who has been a friend of Clinton's for 20 years. Riady is the scion of a multibillion-dollar financial empire that is a working economic and political partnership with China's military and intelligence establishment. The Riadys gave $450,000 to Clinton's presidential campaign and another $600,000 to the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties. But the importance of the Riadys to Clinton's ascent is far greater than even these contributions suggest, and not merely because the Chinese network, in which the Riadys are only one important factor, extends through thousands of companies and individuals whose contributions no one has as yet attempted to track. Without the Riadys, Clinton would not have won the Democratic nomination in the first place, and would not have been in a position to benefit from their later largesse. In the presidential primaries of 1992, in fact, the Riadys were the absolutely crucial factor that stood between Clinton and defeat. After losing the New Hampshire primary, the candidate faced a crucial test in New York. But he had also run out of money. At this critical juncture, James Riady stepped in to arrange a $3.5 million loan to the Clinton campaign. New York proved to be the last real competition that Clinton faced on his path to victory. When the Arkansas governor stepped onto the national scene, Clinton and Riady were not new acquaintances. They had met in 1978, when Clinton was attorney general, and had not yet become governor of the state. They were introduced by Clinton's chief political backer, Jackson Stephens, the head of Stephens Inc., one of the largest private investment firms outside of Wall Street. "Thus began a friendship," in the words of Timperlake and Triplett, "that has lasted 20 years, and has spread a web of intrigue, financial corruption and foreign influence into American government." Riady had begun his American banking career earlier in the '70s as an intern at Stephens. Later, they became partners in the Worthen Bank of Little Rock, the very same institution that subsequently experienced a mysterious fire that destroyed records being sought by Kenneth Starr and other Whitewater investigators in their inquiries into Hillary Rodham Clinton's Rose law firm activities. It was through the Worthen bank that Riady arranged the $3.5 million credit to Clinton's failing primary campaign...."

Salon 6/21/99 David Horowitz "...The Riady relationship extended beyond the Clintons themselves to their friends and to Hillary's associates at Rose, including its head, Joe Giroir, and a White House aide named Mark Middleton, who later invoked the Fifth Amendment when he was called before a congressional committee. It was the Riadys who provided a $100,000 "job" for the indicted Web Hubbell, at the moment when he had indicated to the Starr prosecutors that he might be ready to talk. After the payment from Riady and others, Hubbell changed his mind and chose jail instead.

Salon 6/21/99 David Horowitz "...A central figure in the economic track of Chinese activities was the vice president and Far-East area manager for the Worthen Bank, a Chinese-born American named John Huang, who was a friend of Bill from Little Rock days. Triplett and Timperlake make a strong case that it was through the personal intervention of Hillary Clinton that in 1994 Huang was made a top official in the Commerce Department, where he had access to all the information an agent would need to strip America of the supercomputer technologies vital to the development of advanced weapons systems. Huang also inexplicably retained his top security clearance in the Commerce Department when he left the government. The decision to leave the government for a position at the Democratic National Committee was made for Huang at a meeting in the Oval Office attended by the president, Huang, Riady, Riady partner and former Rose law firm head Giroir and presidential aide Bruce Lindsey. This meeting took place three days after the president had decided on a strategy to rescue his failing political fortunes, which had reached a nadir following the Democrats' historic defeat in the congressional elections of 1994 and Newt Gingrich's ascension to the speakership of the House. It was the first Republican majority in the House in 48 years. Designed by the president's new political advisor, Dick Morris, the strategy involved a massive television dvertising campaign, directed against Gingrich and the Republican House. The campaign has been directly credited with turning the political tide and ensuring the reelection in 1996 of the Clinton team. The chief fund-raiser for this campaign was John Huang. It should be evident from these facts (and they could easily be amplified with many more) that the alliance Clinton has made with the Riadys and their China network is the pivot of his political career, and the absolute key to his survival. It has had consequences for American politics and security so vast that no brief summary can begin to describe them...."

 

AP Michael J Sniffen 8/3/98 "Democratic fund-raiser Gene K.H. Lum, who already has pleaded guilty to illegal contributions to 1994 congressional campaigns, was charged Monday with falsely claiming more than $7.1 million in deductions on tax returns for him and his wife."

Freeper Brian D. reports that "Freeh says president and core group of individuals may be involved in federal criminal activity" regarding the House Oversight Hearing 8/4/98

Drudge 8/4/98 ".New evidence surfaced on Tuesday of apparent of illegal foreign contributions to the Democratic Party in 1996. Congressional investigators provide details of $200,000 in travelers checks that were purchased from a bank in Indonesia, BANK CENTRAL ASIA in Jakarta, and later cashed or deposited in the United States by associates of Charlie Trie and Antonio Pan.One well-placed congressional source tells the DRUDGE REPORT that at least $50,000 of this laundered money was contributed to the Democratic National Committee! One stray travelers check, purchased in Indonesia, was cashed at the White House Federal Credit Union!."

AP Linda Deutsch 8/3/98 "Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia pleaded innocent to federal income tax charges today and her lawyer said they would seek to delay her trial until after a separate prosecution for allegedly disguising contributions to President Clinton's re-election.."

AP 12/22/98 Anne Gearan "…A longtime friend of President Clinton's tried to get a Taiwanese passport and may have planned to flee overseas to avoid charges related to his donations to Democrats, a prosecutor said today. Yah Lin ``Charlie'' Trie applied for the passport two weeks ago -- a day after he was last in court for a hearing on federal conspiracy, obstruction of justice and witness tampering charges related to his work for the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign… ."

NY Times 12/23/98 Steven Holmes ".A U.S. judge on Tuesday placed tighter restrictions on the movements of Yah Lin Trie, an Arkansas restaurateur who has been indicted on campaign fund-raising charges, after it was learned that Trie had applied for a Taiwanese passport. Judge Paul Friedman of U.S. District Court ordered that Trie, also known as Charlie, report twice a week in person to a court officer in Norfolk, Va., and that until his trial date he be subject to a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. The curfew will be enforced by random calls to the home in Virginia Beach, Va., where he is living with his sister.."

Washington Post 1/26/99 Bill Miller "…Saying he feared that former Democratic fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie was scheming to leave the country, a federal judge yesterday ordered Trie placed in a halfway house "24 hours a day," pending his trials on charges stemming from the Justice Department's campaign finance probe. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman acted at the request of prosecutors, who accused Trie of an elaborate ruse to get a new Taiwanese passport to replace one seized by the court. The FBI learned that Trie applied for the passport last month, even though he was barred from leaving the country as a condition of his pretrial release on personal recognizance.."

Boston Herald 7/3/99 "...Huang, who raised millions so illegally that most of it had to be returned, obviously can give answers to some very serious questions, such as: What was he telling Riady and what was he hearing from the CIA? Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) wants to bring him back before his investigating committee, after his sentencing next month, under a grant of immunity from further prosecution. Incredibly, Janet Reno objects because there's a ``continuing investigation'' still under way, and the Democrats on Thompson's committee will use that lame excuse to block immunity. We haven't seen the end of Reno's stonewalling, which saw the resignation of her special adviser on the fund-raising scandal and her rejection of the advice of the head of the FBI to seek an independent counsel. As we've said before, there are ample grounds for impeaching her and removing her from office. No Cabinet officer has ever been impeached, but the Constitution permits the impeachment of ``all civil officers of the United States,'' and she is one. What would be the grounds? Obstruction of justice for a start. No one in the House of Representatives has the stomach for another impeachment, so she skates. But honesty demands clarity about what she deserves....."

LA Times 7/3/99 Henry Chu, Jim Mann "...The chief of Chinese military intelligence has been reassigned in a move that government officials here insisted was unrelated to his role in the U.S. campaign donations scandal. Gen. Ji Shengde's apparent demotion--from directing intelligence for the vast People's Liberation Army (PLA) to running a department at a military research institute--was characterized as a lateral transfer by a spokesman for the National Defense Ministry. Ji's new assignment, effective in June, came two months after The Times disclosed secret grand jury testimony by Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung alleging that Ji gave him $300,000 in the summer of 1996 to help support President Clinton's reelection campaign. Chung's subsequent high-profile testimony before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee in May was particularly embarrassing for Ji. Chung testified that Ji told him in mid-1996: "We really like your president. We hope he will get reelected. . . . I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to . . . your president and Democrat Party."....Jonathan Pollack, a longtime specialist on Chinese military affairs at the Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, said Ji's transfer was in no way routine. "It's a face-saving way to do this," Pollack said. "I don't see this as a normal rotation at all. "For someone who's been career military intelligence, it doesn't compute," he added, "They don't work that way. In [Chinese] military intelligence, they grow their own and they keep their own."...."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES Jerry Seper 7/8/99 "…The phone conversations began May 6, 1998, after news of the inquiry first surfaced. Mr. Luu told Chung that Cmdr. Li Yuan, an intelligence officer for the People's Liberation Army, was concerned about Chung's plight and wanted to meet with him. But he said the plan was scrubbed because of Chung's high visibility and legal problems. Five days later, Mr. Luu and Chung met at the Hilton Hotel in Torrance, Calif., where Chung was handed the secret code to arrange future meetings and was reassured that his "friends" in China were concerned about his problems. At a May 13, 1998, meeting at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, Mr. Luu introduced Chung to lawyer David Brockway, saying he could help with his case, although he privately told Chung in Chinese not to tell the lawyer about the Beijing connection. "Don't let him know about the Beijing matter. Don't discuss it with him," Mr. Luu said. "We don't want him to know too much. OK?" …"

THE WASHINGTON TIMES Jerry Seper 7/8/99 "…During that same meeting [6/24/98], Mr. Luu told Chung to gather all the "pictures, documents or letters" he had of Chinese officials so they could be returned to China. He said "the old gentleman" in Beijing --identifying the PLA's chief military intelligence officer, Gen. Ji Shengde -- "would like you to give these to him through me" before his court appearance. "Keep the documents sealed in an envelope. Even I am not to open it, understand?" Mr. Luu said….. Chung, who gave $366,000 to the Democratic Party between 1994 and 1996, told the House Government Reform Committee in May that Mr. Luu said he was in contact with "some people from Beijing." He said Mr. Luu told him he had received money from Chinese officials "to take care" of Chung's legal expenses……"

Judicial Watch 7/16/99 "…Johnny Chung, a Clinton fundraiser who admitted to funneling money from the China's military to the Democratic National Committee to help Bill Clinton, testified to Judicial Watch last week that the Reno Justice Department didn't want to hear all the information and evidence he had on Clinton Administration illegal fundraising and that he was abandoned by the Reno Justice Department despite repeated threats to his life from Chinese operatives. The complete text of Chung's testimony is now available on the Judicial Watch Internet site at www.judicialwatch.org. Mr. Chung also implicated an unnamed top official of the Justice Department, head of the Civil Division, in an effort to keep him quiet by fixing the case against him on campaign fundraising. In fact, Mr. Chung received no jail time. But Judicial Watch believes that the Eric Holder, the number two at the Justice Department, is the likely culprit here.
Another star witness in this case, Nolanda Hill, implicated Holder in similar activity -- accusing him of wanting to keep her quiet about what she knows about the illegal fundraising of her former confidante Ron Brown, the Clintons, and Al Gore. Chung also implicated President Clinton directly in a scheme to keep Chung quiet. Chung testified that he was told by a Chinese operative that President Clinton had a deal with the Chinese that Chung would be pardoned as long as he kept quiet. Chung also gave testimony indicating that Clinton and the Chinese President had agreed together on a cover story to explain away the Chinagate scandal….Chung also testified about threats to his life from at least two squads of Chinese operatives sent to the United States to harm him and his family. Despite these and other threats, Chung was recently told by the U.S. Attorney (appointed by Reno) overseeing his case that he should "call 911" if any future threats occurred… His latest testimony puts him at significant personal risk and is an act of patriotism. The fact that Reno, with Chung's testimony and other evidence, hasn't indicted one high-level official is absolute proof of a massive cover-up, one that Judicial Watch is committed to unraveling…"

Judicial Watch 7/16/99 "…Hillary Clinton, former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary, the Commerce Department, and other government officials were also tied to illegal fundraising, bribery, and other crimes in Chung's sworn testimony. Chung's testimony came in Judicial Watch's Chinagate lawsuit against the Commerce Department over its sale of taxpayer-financed trade mission seats in exchange for campaign contributions and related issues…."

New York Times 7/16/99 William Safire "… The most dramatic clash between the F.B.I. and the heavily politicized Reno Department of Justice took place in February 1997. Stimulated by press reports of "the Asian connection" to the Clinton-Gore campaign, the Bureau teletyped all field offices for reports on foreign attempts to influence U.S. political campaigns. On Washington's Birthday the F.B.I.'s counterintelligence chief, John Lewis, delivered a packet of those top-secret reports to Janet Reno. "The Attorney General gave the packet of teletypes to then Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick," reports Michael Bromwich, the in-house Inspector General. At the same time, White House Counsel Charles Ruff made two calls to Justice seeking to find out what embarrassment was in store. Never told by Ms. Reno of F.B.I. restrictions on the documents, Ms. Gorelick bucked them to the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review. They then blithely passed them on to Laura Ingersoll's Justice "task force," selected for its ineptitude. Nothing doing, said the F.B.I., which "retrieved the packet shortly after the Task Force received it," according to Bromwich. When I asked the F.B.I. Director, Louis Freeh, yesterday if he had been aware of the confrontation -- an unprecedented dispatch of agents to snatch back evidence from Main Justice -- he replied, "I knew about it and certainly approved of it." …Justice was passing the surveillance of messages to Ted Sieong and Maria Hsia -- both in direct contact with Al Gore in his fund-raising -- all over the building. And so the F.B.I. acted to prevent contacts with the White House officials under investigation, to avoid the sort of improper "heads up" given them in Whitewater….The name-no-names whitewash by Ms. Reno's I.G. admits that Congress was not given two pieces of espionage information it should have had until September 1997 -- after the Senate investigators had all but closed shop and Democrats happily declared the Asian penetration unproven…."

New York Times 7/16/99 William Safire "… Bromwich's 569-page report dumping on the F.B.I. and claiming innocent ineptitude on high is stamped "top secret" because it might jeopardize an ongoing failure at Justice. The two of its deep, dark secrets … are covered in Elizabeth Drew's new book that has a chapter about the successful obstruction of the Thompson committee investigation, "The Corruption of American Politics." One is the Hong Kong source of the $400,000 contribution of Indonesia's Sieong, most of it routed to the Democratic National Committee through his resident alien daughter…. Another secret was sent the committee only after its hearings were over. It alleged that Ms. Hsia had recruited someone in California's state government to be "an agent" for China. In the Bromwich sandwich, eight more bits of intelligence information concealed from Congressional oversight are deliciously embedded, but not for the public to see until after the next election…."

AP 7/14/99 "…Bromwich called on Justice and FBI officials to resolve a dispute over how much to tell the White House's National Security Council about this intelligence. The FBI and some Justice officials believed providing China intelligence to the White House ``was akin to briefing the subject of an investigation about that investigation.'' Other Justice officials believed the White House needed to receive national security information from the probe. As a result, the FBI has not attended NSC briefings on the Chinese intelligence or campaign finance investigations, Bromwich said. Finally, until Reno stepped in, FBI counterspies insisted on giving campaign finance investigators paraphrases of their data rather than direct access to the intelligence….."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...New evidence shows conclusively for the first time that the Chinese government's effort to buy political influence in the United States led to concrete decisions by the Clinton administration that have harmed our national security. Uncovered by U.S. government investigators and aired publicly by Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Penn.), the evidence includes bank transfer documents making it possible to trace specific campaign contributions back to Chinese military intelligence; corporate documents for Chinese front companies; and transcripts of secret conversations between a Chinese intelligence operative and campaign donor Johnny Chung, which detail a cover- up scheme allegedly agreed upon by President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. "This is the first time in U.S. history that an American president has been compromised by a foreign intelligence service," one U.S. government official involved in the investigation told TAS..... Unveiled at a press conference on May 27 that was ignored by the mainstream press, Weldon's charges were buttressed with new documents establishing key linkages between the Chinese companies used to funnel campaign contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign and China's Central Military Commission, the highest military authority in the PRC...."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...The Chinese government became so concerned that its campaign contribution scheme would be exposed that it dispatched an undercover operative to Los Angeles last year to threaten Johnny Chung and his family with physical harm if Chung cooperated with federal prosecutors. The FBI wired Chung for the meetings with the Chinese agent, and eventually struck a deal with Chung allowing him to testify publicly this May before the House Committee on Government Reform.... The Chinese agent, Robert Luu, specifically told Chung never to reveal to U.S. investigators that two U.S. companies selling China critical technology--Hughes Electronics and Loral Space Systems--were tied to Liu Chaoying, who was Chung's link back to Chinese military intelligence. In one taped session, aired on the Fox News Network on May 24, the two discussed a cover-up scheme. "So blame it on the Princelings," Chung said, referring to the sons and daughters of top Chinese Communist Party officials. Replied Luu: "Yes. Chairman Jiang agreed to handle it like this. The president over here also agreed." ..."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...Senate investigators have also begun looking into a 76-page confidential report, prepared by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which documents how the Chinese government transferred $92 million to front companies in California through the Far East National Bank in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996. Government investigators told TAS that the money was used to buy political influence; to finance intelligence gathering and high-tech procurement operations; and more mundanely, to establish overseas investments for various Princelings. ..."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "..."This was not some fluke or rogue operation," one U.S. government investigator told TAS. "This leads directly back to Jiang Zemin." Weldon says he had been helped in his investigation by individuals he calls "patriots," who continue to work inside the U.S. government bureaucracy despite attempts by the administration to destroy their careers. (Five such individuals testified before the House Armed Services Committee on June 24.) These officials have provided unclassified documents tying the campaign contributions to the high-technology giveaway, and provided insight as to how the technology transfers to Communist China have been organized...."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...What Chung didn't know, however, was where General Ji got the $300,000. Documents obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice in late 1997, which were only turned over to Burton's committee the day that Chung testified in May, show that Chung received a transfer of HKD 2,318,850 ($300,000) from Liu Chaoying's Citibank account in Hong Kong on August 14, 1996. According to one of the U.S. government officials who helped Weldon compile his charts, that money and other contributions to the DNC sent by General Ji to other conduit donors were siphoned off from the Hong Kong accounts of J&A Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd., a subsidiary of the largest securities trading company in Communist China. J&A Securities, based in Shenzhen, was set up in 1992 by the PLA, corporate records examined by TAS show. Its original name, Jun An Securities, conflates the Mandarin characters for "Military" (Jun) and " Security" (An). If these investigators are right, then it is the PLA's secret money tree.

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...Justice Department investigators quizzed Chung on June 12, 1998, about his ties to General Ji and to J&A Securities, whose involvement in the money transfers Chung appears to have ignored. Unbeknownst to Chung, the Justice Department had been contacted by the Chinese government through Interpol, the international police liaison agency in France, in connection with the alleged embezzlement of COSTIND funds by J&A Securities Chairman Zhang Guoqing, a U.S. official said. Zhang was arrested in July 1998 in Hong Kong and taken to Beijing for questioning, according to press reports in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...As part of his plea bargain with the Justice Department, Chung agreed to wear a body wire in meetings with an emissary sent by General Ji, who went by the name of Robert Luu. Chung first met Luu in China in 1996. Luu resurfaced two years later in California, and warned Chung not to tell U.S. prosecutors about the involvement of General Ji or China Aerospace in the campaign donation scheme.."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...In a conversation with Luu on June 11, Chung tried to draw him out on the subject of Zhang Guoqing. "Who is Mr. Zhang--mysterious person Mr. Zhang! I never met Mr. Zhang. I don't know who he is. I was well aware of whom I had meals with"--a reference to General Ji. "I'm very clear about where the facts are. Ji Shengde is Mr. Zhang," Chung said ...In fact, what Chung meant is that Ji Shengde's money came from Zhang, the elusive head of J&A Securities in Hong Kong. The same Zhang had recently been arrested by Chinese authorities in Hong Kong, because he knew too much. He disappeared last summer and has not been seen since. Indeed, in one account in a Hong Kong daily, Zhang reportedly told the Ministry of State Security officers who had come to arrest him that they had better consult Beijing before mistreating him. "I have a laser disk in the United States, and the disk data will affect the national image," he reportedly said..."

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...J&A Securities grew from a single brokerage house in Shenzhen in 1992, to more than 3,000 branches throughout China by 1998. It began as a classic PLA operation, with nominees sent to Hong Kong to buy up a shell company with a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange--Massique Limited--then infusing it with mainland Chinese assets to attract foreign investment. J&A Securities took off with the booming Pacific Rim economy, floating bonds in Chinese state companies and making instruments available for foreign investors to gain a foothold in Chinese state industries. But by July 1995 another, more unusual plan for J&A Securities began to emerge when the Shenzhen parent company, which owned the majority share, transferred its stock to a new front company set up in the tiny South Pacific Island nation of West Samoa. The new company was called J&A Holdings, Ltd. ...West Samoa, which borders the America Pacific territory of Samoa, is the closest non-Western state to the United States, lying some 2,400 miles south of Hawaii..'"

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...The money trail shows there were two driving forces behind the Chinese government's campaign contributions in the United States: the PLA's Military Intelligence Department (Er Bu), and COSTIND, the State Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense. Er Bu reports directly to the General Staff Department, which is controlled by the Central Military Commission, chaired by Chinese President Jiang Zemin. COSTIND reports to the State Council, which is chaired by Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. COSTIND sets the technology requirements for the Chinese military; Er Bu collectors acquire those technologies from foreign sources. The two may be rivals in some ways, but they also work hand-in-hand.

The American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth R. Timmerman "...The key role played by Liu Chaoying shows how this works. Liu's father, General Liu Huaqing, was vice chairman of the Central Military Commission before his retirement in October 1997. This gave Ms. Liu the Er Bu connection she so forcefully demonstrated to Johnny Chung by introducing him to Er Bu Director General Ji. But Ms. Liu also worked for CASIL, which was a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Corporation, which is controlled by COSTIND. Another China Aerospace Corporation with which Ms. Liu was associated, China Great Wall Industries Group, manufactures China's liquid fuel strategic rockets and space-launch vehicles. They have also become the main partner for U.S. aerospace firms seeking to launch satellites in China.

Drudge 7/26/99 "…The DRUDGE REPORT has learned that the NEW YORK TIMES is holding back a new blockbuster report that details how a New York City bank has been slow to cooperate with various federal investigations looking into money transfers from China to individuals suspected of passing cash to the Democratic National Committee…. One congressional committee investigating the cash transfers from China is now threatening to subpoena individuals from CITIBANK to explain the lack of cooperation. China's alleged money laundering scheme has been on Gerth's radar for months. "[Gerth] filed a solid story, that was very well sourced," one TIMES insider said of the Pulitzer Prize winner. "No one really knows why it hasn't run." Or if it will ever run? …"

New York Times 7/27/99 Jeff Gerth "...The investigations, led by lawmakers who rarely find common cause, are examining how Citibank -- and a handful of other institutions -- handle the private accounts of foreign officials and their relatives... More recently there was Liu Chaoying, the daughter of China's former top military official and the reported paymaster for $300,000 in Chinese military money intended for the Democratic Party in 1996, according to testimony from a participant in the payment.... Last week Burton, chairman of the House committee on government reform, complained in a letter to Citibank about "undue delays" and a "seeming lack of compliance" with a committee subpoena for records on the $300,000 wired to a Democratic fund-raiser. Bank records list the sender as Ms. Liu, a Chinese military officer and aerospace executive whose father was then China's senior military official..... In his letter last week, Burton also questioned the lack of authorized signatures for Citibank accounts held by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank. Last year federal bank regulators had similar questions about these accounts as they tried to trace tens of millions of dollars from the central bank to an account at Citibank Private Bank that was controlled by the daughter of one of the Communist Party's old guard, government documents show. The woman is the sister-in-law of Ms. Liu and a former official at a small California bank that served the Chinese business community.... Money from the People's Bank of China flowed through a number of American financial institutions, but the comptroller pushed for more information about the Citibank accounts because that bank handled a significant part of the total. But Citibank gave the same explanation offered by Lahiff: Chinese law prohibited disclosure of much information.... By now, the China trail is cold or incomplete. But Burton continues to press the matter beyond where federal investigators have gone. He is trying to trace the $300,000 that Ms. Liu wired to Chung, a small fraction of which wound up with the Democratic National Committee. A select House committee concluded the payment was an attempt by Ms. Liu to "better her position in the United States to acquire computer, missile and satellite technologies." Burton's next stop will be Ms. Liu's account at Citibank Private Bank in Hong Kong...."

7/21/99 Letter to Citibank from Dan Burton "...July 21, 1999 Via Facsimile Thomas M. Lahiff, Jr. Vice President Citibank, N.A..... To date, your cooperation has been accompanied by what appears to be undue delays. In your conversation, you confirmed that you are pursuing the answers to the Committee's recent inquiries regarding the records of Liu Chao Ying. First, several numbers were listed on Citibank documentation of the August 14, 1996, wire transfer from Liu Chao Ying to Johnny Chung. These numbers include: XXXXX-XXX-XX-XX, XXX-XXX-XX-XXXXX or XXX-XXX-XX. You are determining whether any of those numbers identifies an account held at Citibank, N.A., Hong Kong or any other Citibank related entity. Second, you are attempting to locate the documentation that should have been generated as a result of Liu Chao Ying's exchange of USD 300,000 for HKD 2,318,850 on or about August 14, 1996. In your conversation, you also represented that you are having difficulty acquiring answers to the Committee's inquiries due to two main obstacles: (1) the "twelve hour time differen[tial]" between New York, New York and Hong Kong which has forced you to call Hong Kong at 1:30 a.m.; and (2) the "language barrier." which has made communications difficult.

I am confident that as a Vice President of an international bank with locations spanning the globe you and your company have developed efficient and effective ways of communicating across time zones. In the event that Citibank is not as sophisticated as I have been led to believe, e-mail would seem to be an available form of communication for a multi-national corporation. Furthermore, with regard to the "language barrier," I have a simple suggestion. Call the Citibank, N.A., Hong Kong, legal department. Mr. Griffin has spoken with individuals there. As I'm sure you are aware, they are fluent speakers of the English language. Whatever method you choose, it is evident to me that a number of employees in the Hong Kong office--from teller to counsel--should be able to determine the existence of the account in question....."

July 21, 1999 Via Facsimile Thomas M. Lahiff, Jr. Vice President Citibank, N.A..... In our initial conversations with Citibank employees, we provided a Citibank reference number obtained by the Committee from the Hong Kong Overseas Trust Bank, Ltd to assist in the identification and tracking of the wire transfer information. That same reference number was later included in the June 22, 1999, subpoena to Citibank. Repeatedly, Citibank personnel indicated that they were uncertain whether the reference number was a Citibank number and to what the number referred. On July 15, 1999, you produced part of the subpoenaed documentation of the Liu Chao Ying wire transfer. The reference number provided on the Citibank documentation identically matched the reference number provided to the Committee by the Hong Kong Overseas Trust Bank, Ltd. and subsequently to Citibank by the Committee. In light of this match, I am unclear as to the search capabilities of Citibank's record keeping system. Does Citibank have the capability to search for data on a wire transfer using a "TRN" reference number? If so, why was this documentation not provided sooner? ...."

July 21, 1999 Via Facsimile Thomas M. Lahiff, Jr. Vice President Citibank, N.A..... On July 13, 1999, you produced Customer Account Information Forms for several accounts held by the People's Bank of China: 36081826, 36981797, 36081818, 360802968, and 36081834. These forms appear to be incomplete. They do not include authorized signatures of signatories or contact and address information of the specificity one would expect. Is there additional contact information for these accounts that has yet to be located or is soon to be produced to the Committee? I am also interested in whether the United States Justice Department pursued the same information regarding Liu Chao Ying. Did the Justice Department and/or any other department or agency of the United States request or subpoena information regarding the wire transfer to Johnny Chung? If so, when was the request made or the subpoena served? When and how did you respond to that request or subpoena? ...Dan Burton Chairman ..."

Washington Times 7/26/99 Paul Craig Roberts "...The Clinton administration cannot stand up to Beijing, because Beijing used illegal campaign contributions to compromise the Clinton administration. The most striking feature of President Clinton's foreign policy is its lack of consistency. A different view would be that his policy is consistent only in its perversity. Compare Mr. Clinton's China policy with his Serbia policy. Mr. Clinton and his minions - for that is what they are - are hot and bothered because Taiwan referred to itself as an independent state. Mr. Clinton has cancelled or delayed various U.S.-Taiwan exchanges, and The Washington Times reports that Pentagon officials are "considering a cutoff of U.S. military assistance to show displeasure over Taipei's pro-independence comments." Taiwan has been an independent state for a half century. But Mr. Clinton cannot allow Taiwan to speak for itself as a state, because it makes China mad. We have a "one-China' policy, says the State Department. We do "not support Taiwan independence." China, whose human rights record is worse than Serbia's, has the Clinton administration by the short hairs. All the communist government in Beijing has to do is acknowledge that it made campaign contributions to Mr. Clinton and provide the evidence. That would blow Attorney General Janet Reno's cover-up of the illegal affair and send some Democrats off to prision...."

FOXNews.com 7/27/99 Carl Cameron "...A Justice Department task force investigating alleged illegal foreign contributions to the Democratic Party has possessed potentially incriminating documents since the fall of 1997, Fox News has learned. The documents - bank records from Citibank, which has branches in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong - indicate that big-time Democratic donor Johnny Chung received $300,000 from Chinese government officials. Sources say Chung in 1997 turned over the records, which show he received a wire transfer from Citibank's Hong Kong branch from Liu Chaoying, a vice president at China Aerospace, a firm that helps loft satellites into orbit on Chinese rockets. China Aerospace has worked numerous times with U.S. satellite makers Hughes Electronics and Loral Space & Communications, whose chief executive, Bernard L. Schwartz, was the top donor to President Clinton's re-election campaign, contributing almost $1 million.... Sources say the Justice Dept. never bothered to pursue the bank records, a simple piece of evidence that would have revealed that the origin of Chung's cash was one of China's top spies. A senior DOJ task force source said investigators chose to concentrate on other leads ....Sources say Johnny Chung, too, is telling friends he offered the Justice Dept. new details of White House and DNC knowledge of foreign fund-raising impropriety, but investigators "did not want to hear it." One senior Justice Dept. prosecutor expressed his frustration to Fox News, saying there is "fertile ground" to till and that he is being pressed to ignore it. ...."

FOXNews.com 7/27/99 Carl Cameron "...There is also a battle raging within the Department of Justice campaign finance task force over how to proceed with the plea-bargained sentencing of long-time Clinton friend and fund-raiser Yah-Lin Charlie Trie, who has pleaded guilty to fund-raising violations. Sources familiar with Trie's DOJ cooperation say some FBI investigators want to hold off on Trie's sentencing in order to pursue his allegations that top Democratic National Committee and White House officials were aware of - and on at least two occasions encouraged - illegally funneled foreign contributions to the Democratic Party during the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. Sources close to Trie say he has been trying to tell investigators about several alleged illegal contributions from a mysterious Macao businessman named Ng Lap Seng. Also known as Mr. Wu, Seng, who has ties to Asian organized crime, allegedly funneled several hundred thousand dollars to the DNC through various illegal means. Sources with knowledge of Trie's testimony say, however, that top-level Justice Dept. political appointees have expressed little interest in Trie's revelations and want the case wrapped up...."

 

Media Research Center 7/30/99 Brent Baker "...After outlining on Tuesday night how the Justice Department thwarted probes or failed to pursue leads involving Johnny Chung, John Huang and Charlie Trie, FNC's Carl Cameron returned Wednesday night with a look at how two others with names not uttered much recently will also escape charges. In a piece which led the July 28 Special Report with Brit Hume, but unlike the previous story did not also appear an hour later on the Fox Report, Cameron began: "Indonesian businessman Ted Sioeng funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal Chinese contributions to the Democratic Party in 1996. He dined with the President at one glitzy fundraiser and accompanied the Vice President to another at a Buddhist temple. And though FBI and congressional investigators say they have conclusive evidence that Sioeng worked for Chinese intelligence, Fox News has learned no charges of any kind will be brought against him. "Sioeng fled a year ago to the Central American nation of Belize, refusing to cooperate with U.S. investigators. Despite owning a Chinese-language newspaper and several import-export firms in California, investigators have no plans to freeze or leverage Sioeng's U.S. assets to bring him back."..."

Media Research Center 7/30/99 Brent Baker "...Cameron then moved to Sioeng's partner.... Hsia currently faces only minor tax and election fraud charges, although she was identified by Congress as a Chinese agent." Reporter in crowd outside courthouse: "Are you an agent for the Chinese government, Ms. Hsia?" Nancy Luque, Maria Hsia's attorney: "She's certainly not an agent of the Chinese government." Cameron countered: "But even before her lawyer's denials, the Justice Department had what sources tell Fox News was conclusive evidence that, indeed, Hsia was working for China. But like similar intelligence information in the Sioeng case, investigators mishandled it and both suspects are now about to slip through the net."..."

Media Research Center 7/30/99 Brent Baker "...But that's all part of a pattern, Cameron noted in again citing a report ignored by the other networks: "According to an inspector general's report, key facts in the Justice Department's China cash investigation and specific intelligence data on Maria Hsia and Ted Sioeng's China connections was, quote, 'supplied in a fashion that belied their significance' because it was, quote, 'serendipitously included in memoranda on other subjects, or buried amid documents.' That so downplayed the evidence that, quote, 'Some officials were unaware that they had received these pieces of information.' Cameron honed in on Reno and how the FBI was afraid to share information because they knew the White House would get it: "Some Justice Department investigators suspect their bosses deliberately dropped the ball to protect the President, though the inspector general concluded it was poor judgment and not intentional. But congressional critics think Attorney General Janet Reno and her closest advisers were playing pure politics. And according to the report, when Reno's top troops wanted to share evidence with the White House, the FBI protested, even boycotted meetings, to prevent the handing over of such information, saying it was, quote, 'akin to briefing the subject of an investigation about that investigation.' ..."

Media Research Center 7/30/99 Brent Baker "...Giving a clue about who is providing him with his information, Cameron observed: "Line-level investigators and prosecutors, disgruntled with the way Department of Justice management have handled, and some say botched, this entire case, almost daily now are disclosing more information. Last night Fox reported on how the initial investigation into the Buddhist temple fundraising event was thwarted by the attorney general's office. In fact, one specific individual, the head of the Office of Public Integrity, Lee Radick (sp?), has essentially been fingered as trying to close down that investigation. And as a result, Congress plans to subpoena Mr. Radick's documents to find out whether or not he tried in some way to close things down in order to protect the President." ..."

Fox News Channel 7/30/99 Freeper Cincinatus' wife reports "...Fox News had a long report today on Burton's investigation of the China campaign money connection. Carl Cameron's still on this story. Tony Snow's Sunday show will be doing an in depth story on Janet Reno's obstruction of this investigation. Carl Cameron reported about FBI investigators being pulled back from issuing a search warrant in Little Rock for Charlie Trie even as they were on the way to serve it. This order to desist, came from Reno's Justice Department even though investigators had told Justice that document shredding was going on. Cameron reported that investigators were told by someone in Washington (I didn't get his name), that the investigation should stop because Justice was going to have an independent council look into this and while at the same time, this same person was arguing against an independent council back in Washington. A woman who is on Dan Burton's committee looking into this, said Justice has blocked and given heads up to people who then had time to skip the country and shred evidence. She also said that the Buddhist monks were given time, by the Justice Dept., to shred documentation . This was quite a report and Tony Snow's Sunday Fox News program should be a block buster...."

Judicial Watch 8/2/99 Larry Klayman "... Republican leaders admitted on the weekend talk shows that, as far as the Republican-controlled Congress is concerned, Chinagate is, for now, a lesser-issue and must await a new Administration before any real action is contemplated. Congressman Chris Cox, when asked what he will now do about allegations of corruption at the Clinton Justice Department, admitted, AThis will have to await a new Justice Department and a new President....Most in Washington, D.C. know the Reno Justice Department is in full cover-up mode, yet Republicans sit on their hands. Whether it is Reno and other Justice officials looking the other way as Chinagate evidence was shredded, or Renos refusal to authorize a wiretap for a suspected Chinese spy, there is ample evidence that the Clinton Justice Department cant be trusted and is corrupt at the highest levels. Johnny Chung, one of the few Chinagate figures to testify truthfully and who was therefore targeted to be killed by Chinese agents, testified to Judicial Watch that he was recently told by the Reno Justice Department to call 911" if he and his family were threatened again...."

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 8/20/98 Robert Novak "...As it downsizes and gets ready to go out of business, the Justice Department's task force on campaign finance is acting strangely. It lists as "ongoing" long-dormant cases that could embarrass President Clinton. It has classified as "inactive" the probe of an inquiry into a major fixer of illegal Chinese campaign contributions. And it still lists as "active" an inquiry that appeared to surely be dead: targeting former Republican National Chairman Haley Barbour. This is the kind of information that closed-mouth Attorney General Janet Reno would not reveal to Congress, much less to the public, even under excruciating torture. The status of the task force's investigation is disclosed in a three-page memo dated June 4, which was not leaked by the zippered-up Justice Department but was inadvertently released. In the intervening two months, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder has been desperately trying to retrieve all copies. No wonder. The cryptic document tends to confirm suspected politicization at Justice. That is the interpretation of Reno's most severe congressional critic: Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. Shown a copy of the task force document, Burton told me: "The attorney general was blocking for the president, to keep us from holding hearings."

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 8/20/98 Robert Novak "...Surprise No. 1: Listed among the "ongoing investigations" are former Democratic National Chairman Don Fowler and businessman Roger Tamraz....Surprise No. 2: Also in the "ongoing" category is the Lippo Group, the Asian conglomerate that poured big money into Clinton's 1996 campaign. The Burton committee last year cited $1.2 million in illegal contributions from Lippo, but here, too, it has been forestalled by a Justice proceeding that shows no progress. Surprise No. 3: Former Clinton White House aide Mark Middleton, accused of engineering campaign loans, was stricken off the task force's list of investigations "likely to be [closed] shortly" and added to the "ongoing" list with this notation: "reinvigorated in light of Trie debriefing." Just what the Justice Department learned from Clinton fund-raiser Charlie Trie, who has made a plea bargain, is a mystery. Surprise No. 4: Liu Chao Ying, the daughter of a highly influential Chinese general, is on the list of "pending inactive investigations"--a real eyebrow-raiser.... Surprise No. 5: After two years of facing gossamer charges involving 1996 Republican soft-money contributions from abroad, GOP insider Barbour--now a member of George W. Bush's "exploratory" committee--is still on the "ongoing" list.... Surprise No. 6: Nearly two years since Burton was accused of trying to shake down a lobbyist, Reno's archenemy is now listed in the "shortly-to-be-closed" category with this notation: "closing memo sent to Public Integrity section of Justice Department." Was this fruitless investigation kept open for so long, with no announcement of the "shortly" designation and without notifying Burton, in order to give the attorney general a club? ..."

Roll Call 8/2/99 Morton Kondracke "... It smells. Despite abundant evidence that Democratic fundraisers channeled Chinese government money into the U.S. election campaign in 1996, no one is going to jail. One by one, Attorney General Janet Reno's Justice Department has cut generous plea bargains with the money launderers and hasn't come near prosecuting any Democratic Party or White House officials. And if there is any connection between Chinese money and cozy Clinton policy toward China, it's unlikely to be discovered as Justice lets the fundraisers off and removes their incentive to talk. Today, one of the major figures in Chinagate, John Huang, is scheduled to be sentenced to a fine and community service after pleading guilty to minor charges having nothing to do with the $1.6 million he raised that the Democratic Party was forced to return. Instead, the Justice Department charged him with making two illegal donations worth $7,500 in two California campaigns in 1993 and 1994....In spite of all the tantalizing investigative leads Huang represents -- and in spite of his utter refusal to cooperate in Congressional Chinagate investigations -- Justice is closing out its probe of Huang with a slap on the wrist and a promise to bring no further charges against him. ...Later this month, Justice is scheduled to close the books, too, on President Clinton's friend, Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, who raised more than $1.3 million -- mainly from Asia -- that had to be returned. He, too, has refused to cooperate with Congress, yet was permitted to plead guilty to one felony count of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to six years in prison and fines of $350,000, but prosecutors recommended that Trie get a penalty of three years' probation. ..."

Roll Call 8/2/99 Morton Kondracke "... Cameron reported that Mansfield, who successfully prosecuted former Rep. Jay Kim (R-Calif.), was ordered to desist in a letter from Lee Radek, head of the public integrity section of the Justice Department, on grounds that it was a matter for an independent counsel to investigate. However, no independent counsel was ever appointed -- with Radek reportedly one of those most vociferously urging Reno not to take that step....Burton also has been chasing down evidence, also reported by Cameron, that in 1997 the Justice Department ordered the immediate return to Washington of an FBI agent and prosecutor sent to Little Rock, Ark., to stop documents from being shredded by Trie's secretary. And Burton charges that, for two years, the Justice Department failed to follow up on information it had about the wire transfer of $300,000 to Chung through a Citibank account of Liu Chaoying, a Chinese military officer, aerospace executive and daughter of China's former military chief. Burton has appealed to Reno and to federal judges in Little Rock and California to hold off the sentencing of Trie and Huang to give them an incentive to testify before his Government Reform Committee.

Chances are, the fundraisers will get off. The former chief counsel in Thompson's 1997 campaign finance probe, Michael Madigan, said the plea bargains have "all the earmarks of something being swept under the rug." Indeed, they do..."

Arizona Republic 7/29/99 Jeff Barker "...A House committee today will unveil evidence of new favors provided to a former visa official at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing by a Chinese government-owned conglomerate, including a free stay at a luxury Scottsdale suite. Charles M. Parish Jr., the embassy's former visa section chief, accepted a number of previously undisclosed gifts from Elizabeth Mann, operator of a Phoenix real estate company called BNU Corp., which is owned by the conglomerate, according to House Government Reform Committee investigators.

The committee is holding a hearing today with Parish expected to be the lead witness. The Arizona Republic reported in March that Parish, in violation of State Department rules, accepted free lodging at corporate apartments in Las Vegas and Norwalk, Calif., in 1995 and 1996 from China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Import and Export Corp. The committee says Parish, who has denied any quid pro quo relationship, was providing visa assistance at the request of Mann and others so that officials of the conglomerate, known as COFCO, could travel frequently to Phoenix and other U.S. destinations. State Department rules forbid embassy officials from accepting gifts from anyone seeking visas or other official action..... The Republic has learned that the new information includes: Mann gave Parish "a number of gifts," a former COFCO vice president, Jay Ding, has told the committee staff. Ding has told the panel's investigators that he saw Mann pass several wrapped boxes and an envelope to Parish while he was dining with COFCO and BNU officials in Beijing and Phoenix. Ding told the committee he didn't know what the gifts were. He said Mann mentioned a gold Rolex watch and $2,000 in casino chips in connection with Parish, but Ding is not sure she gave either to Parish. The committee said Parish stayed free of charge at a COFCO luxury suite in Scottsdale. The address could not be obtained from either the committee or Mann's office. Several e-mails in Parish's office suggest that Parish, at Mann's request, helped Fuli Lin, vice chairman of BNU, obtain a visa, according to the committee..... "The U.S. Embassy in Beijing is one of our most sensitive diplomatic posts in the world," Burton said in a prepared statement. "It is unfathomable that these kinds of activities could go on right under the noses of top embassy officials for a year and a half."..."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... I first met Liu Chao Ying in a restaurant in Hong Kong in June 1996 at a dinner I attended with one of my business associates.. She explained that she was thinking of putting a company on the New York Stock Exchange. She said she would give me $300,000 that I was supposed to use to help her set up her business, which was supposed to be in telecommunications and commercial fishing in Southern China. I then set up Marswell Investments in late July/early August 1996 for this purpose. At the time, I used my own money to set up the company but I expected that these costs would ultimately come out of the $300,000 Liu Chao Ying had promised me. During the Washington, D.C. event with Liu and Mr. Yao, I introduced Liu to Don Fowler as the daughter of a powerful General. Fowler joked that he had a low rank in World War II. Also during that trip, I had a discussion with Liu Chao Ying at the Willard Hotel. Liu Chao Ying asked me if I had a Hong Kong bank account. I said yes and gave her my bank account number in Hong Kong by writing void across a blank check and giving the check to her....."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "...When General Ji arrived, he came through the kitchen and introduced himself as "Mr. Xu" - the Chinese equivalent of Mr. Smith. The general said, "You can call me Mr. Xu" and it was clear from the way he said this that this was a bogus name. I and Liu Chao Ying spoke with Ji about her recent trip - talking up the past times I was able to get meetings with politicians and dignitaries. Liu Chao Ying was very deferential to Ji in a way that it made me think he was her boss or superior. The key information relayed to me at this dinner from Ji was the following: -"We really like your President" -"We hope he will be re-elected" or ["We would like him to be re-elected"] -"I will give you $300,000 U.S. dollars" -"You can give it to [or use it for] your President and Democrat Party" ...Ji then left through the kitchen and then we left the way they came in. No one paid the bill..."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... On August 13, 1996, I met again with Liu Chao Ying and General Ji back in Hong Kong. We met at a hotel lobby in the bar. The hotel is next to the Shangri La Hotel. I first was with Liu and then General Ji came in to join us. Ji said to me - "Now you know who I am." He told me that his name was so sensitive that he still wanted me to call him by an alias - Mr. Xu (equivalent of "Mr. Smith") Ji spoke in Chinese to Liu saying "I will wire $300,000 to your account and you wire it to him." Ji said he needed a "receipt" or "report" to give "to the organization"...."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... In what I perceived as an effort to persuade me that it was okay to do it this way, she told me that Mark Middleton also "got half a million" from a Sinapore group from someone named Hwang, Huang or Wong and the purpose of the money was "to do good things for China," or to benefit China. She also mentioned a "Boeing Representative in Hong Kong," whom she said they gave a lot of business to. In conjunction with the "Boeing representative," the name Young was mentioned. She also said that "we gave him the business in order for him to do good things for China." I did not have a first name of this Mr. Young. My sense was that I was told this so I wouldn't be worried about taking this money from Ji and Liu Chao Ying. My impression of these other examples was that they were involved in developing relationships and access to help China...."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... I next saw General Ji's wife when she came back to the United States with her son. I set up their attendance at a Presidential fundraiser - the "Back to the Future" event - at a California movie studio on October 17, 1996. I took my driver and secretary as well as the General's wife and Alex to meet the President. There was a mix-up with the DNC and my driver and secretary were given a private audience with the President while me and the General's wife and son were not included. While my driver and secretary were very appreciative, I was very upset. When the President came into the main event, I moved my way to the front and got in contact with the President and introduced the General's wife and son. The President spoke with Alex and asked him what he was majoring in at college. A picture was then taken by the General's wife or Alex, but I do not know what happened to it. ..."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... In early 1995, Mr. He, the president of Haomen Beer, asked me to obtain a visa because his was expired. I had previously met Mr. He when I took he and a delegation around Washington, DC in December 1994 in order for them to promote their beer in the United States. I took Mr. He to the United States embassy where I was introduced to Charles Parish. I felt at that time that Mr. Parish and I sort of "hit it off" and was going to be friends. It was not until later that I became aware that Parish and Mr. He of Haomen Beer had developed a separate relationship. Charles Parish helped me get visas for dozens of people who asked me to provide them with invitations to the United States. I also socialized and did many favors for Mr. Parish. I took him as my guest to the September 1995 DNC fund raiser at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, to which he also brought his sister and his girlfriend. At the event I took Parish to a private VIP reception with President Bill Clinton. Mr. Parish insisted that Mr. He and Mr. He's girlfriend have the opportunity to have their picture taken with the president. This was a request that prompted the DNC to ask me for an additional $70,000 contribution. After the Century Plaza event, I arranged a private tour of First Lady Hillary Clinton's office for Mr. Parish when both he and I were in Washington D.C.... At Mr. Parish's request I gave invitations to the United States to at least two women who were girlfriends of his. In Beijing, Parish would occasionally stop by my office. On one of these visits he asked me to hire a computer tutor to train his secretary at the embassy. I spent $500 of my own money accommodating this request. He also asked me to pay the tuition for seven students who he knew, that wanted to be educated in the United States. Although I did not know these students, I spent between $7-8,000 of my own money doing this for Mr. Parish, including sending school supplies like computer programs and books directly to Beijing at his request. Charles Parish did help me out on many occasions. As I stated previously, he approved visa applications for business associates that I brought to him. However, by the end of 1995, I decided I did not want to continue my relationship with Parish. Part of the reason why I no longer wanted to deal with Parish was because he and Mr. He had entered into a relationship that I was not comfortable with. On at least one occasion, I was asked by Mr. He to give a shopping bag of money and visas to Parish. Several months later Mr. Parish asked me to have Mr. He call him. Parish said that he wanted to be sure that the people he provided visas for actually came back to China. Later, Parish told me that indeed, they did return to China. I became unhappy with the way I was being treated by my business associates in Beijing so I decided to close my office. Too many people were asking me for visas, rather than doing business with me...."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... I was introduced to the people and one of the people in the room was Mr. Robert Luu who was a Chinese-American/U.S. citizen who was in Beijing and had not gone back to the States because of some legal problem. He asked me how to handle his case and I told him he should go back to the U.S. to work it out. I next met Luu in mid-1996. Luu came to the AISI office in Los Angeles, where I met him for approximately ten minutes. Luu discussed a business proposal. The next time I heard from Luu was before my plea. In February 1998, I received a call at my business office from Mr. Luu. A message was left that I had received a call from a Mr. Luu from Beijing. I didn't remember who Luu was and I did not call him back. I pled guilty in March 1998 and began being debriefed by the FBI. Luu called me again. At that time I had been told by the FBI to keep a recording device to record any suspicious conversations, so I did so with this man. In late April/early May 1998, Luu called me and asked how I was doing. He also spoke sympathetically about me being in a difficult situation. Luu asked to meet with me and I obtained specific instructions from the FBI about how to deal with Luu. Again, I was instructed to record all of their conversations. In their first meeting Luu started talking about a Commander Lee, who wanted to take care of me. The message was as follows: if you keep your mouth shut, you and your family will be safe. The Chinese are more polite and indirect than this so the words do not precisely translate. The Chinese communication was much subtler. Nevertheless, this was how I interpreted the meaning of the words. Essentially the message that I believed I was given was that me and my family would be safe if I didn't talk and if I did talk, I could not be certain what would happen. At a minimum, I believed I was being threatened. The FBI told me that they suspected Luu might have criminal connections. Luu also suggested he was in contact with some people from Beijing. Luu said they would give me money to take care of my legal expenses and my family and I could retire. Luu also asked if we could meet again and gave me an address. I was also given a code to use. This was in early May. Throughout this process, the FBI was monitoring communications. The FBI identified Luu as a San Gabriel businessman...."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... When I met with the attorney and Mr. Luu, there were FBI agents throughout the building. I was told the attorney was connected and knew the number three person at DOJ and that he was familiar with the Judge that was presiding over my case. Luu and the attorney were pitching me to replace my lawyer, Mr. Sun. The lawyer gave me an example of someone who did not cooperate and how everyone around him was taken care of. He said that this client was sentenced to a country club jail...."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "... One of the things that the FBI encouraged me to ask Mr. Luu was - who's behind you? When I asked him, Luu responded by giving me the nickname that I given previously to Liu Chao Ying. The nickname was "gunyang" which means country girl. Luu said "gunyang" was happy that I was protecting her. Luu also mentioned General Ji. Luu also suggested they could plant newspaper stories and that I might be able to get a presidential pardon. Separately, Mr. Luu implied that they could ensure that the Judge would give me a light sentence. The attorney also said he had experience with Watergate. I asked him how he could help me. I was coached by the FBI to be skeptical and press for answers. In this meeting Mr. Luu said that they could take care of my attorneys fee. I was very nervous during this meeting and afterwards the FBI concluded that I had to be moved to a safer place. At that time they moved me to a hotel for 21 days with my family. My daughter who was graduating in this timeframe had to go to graduation with an FBI escort. I also had many phone calls and faxes with Mr. Luu both before and after these meetings. This was a period of great stress for me and my family...."

Johnny Chung's website, testimony to Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 5/11/99 "...By July, Mr. Luu started making self-serving statements on the tapes and tried to distance himself from previous statements. I was instructed by the FBI to tell Mr. Luu that I was going to be subpoenaed by the grand jury and that I had to tell the truth. Mr. Luu at that point had talked about how he thought he was being followed or taped and he told me to tell the truth. By the end of the summer, I told Mr. Luu that I was going to be subpoenaed and asked what I should do. By this time, Luu suspected something was going on - either he was under surveillance or he was being taped - and he began making self-serving statements and exculpatory statements. Luu said if he was ever caught he "would deny" everything and that he does not "know Liu Chao Ying; doesn't know anybody" Luu told me at this point that I should tell the truth. Luu also said at this point that he just wanted to get my case for the other lawyer. I also asked Luu if I should blame this on General Ji and Mr. Luu said sure - the "gunyang" would like that. My last question to Luu was "What should I tell them about you?" This question made Luu very uncomfortable and Luu said, "I know nobody, I'm nobody..." I told him I couldn't lie to the grand jury. I worked with the FBI throughout this entire effort and was coached on what to say to Luu...."

fox.com 8/2/99 Carl Cameron "...Just a few hours before former Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang was to plea bargain to minor fund-raising violations and be sentenced to probation and a fine, a federal judge in California ordered a last-minute delay Monday to determine whether Huang should be forced to testify before Congress before his case is closed. At the same time, Clinton friend and fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie's scheduled plea bargain two weeks from now in Little Rock was postponed by top Justice Department officials. Attorney General Janet Reno's aides were persuaded by the FBI's Campaign Finance Task Force to further investigate what sources say is Trie's assertion that some White House and Democratic National Committee officials knew he was soliciting and receiving illegal foreign contributions...."

fox.com 8/2/99 Carl Cameron "...The chair of the House investigation into illegal foreign campaign contributions, Dan Burton, R-Ind., has for weeks been asking Justice to postpone Huang's and Trie's sentencing so he could question them. Justice declined. Under the plea deals Huang and Trie will not be charged for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal foreign donations - much of that from Chinese citizens and corporations - to help President Clinton get re-elected, but instead must cooperate with investigators. Burton complained that Huang and Trie are not being forced to testify against bigger fish and are being let off easy. "For them to not be prosecuted fully or get a plea bargain without then turning on some people higher up - it's just criminal," he said...."

NY Times 8/3/99 AP "...A hearing for John Huang was postponed when a Republican congressman demanded that the former Democratic Party fund-raiser testify before Congress before making a courtroom plea bargain. Huang, the Democrats' chief fund-raiser for the Asian-American community in 1996, brought in $1.6 million in questionable donations that later were returned. He has been cooperating with Justice Department investigators in their campaign finance probe......Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, said Paez delayed the hearing until Aug. 12 and ordered attorneys in the case to begin submitting legal briefs on whether Huang's case should be postponed indefinitely...."

Press Release - House Committee on Government Reform Rep Dan Burton 8/3/99 "...Chairman Dan Burton today said that he hoped a federal judge's decision to postpone the sentencing of DNC fundraiser John Huang improved the chances that the Government Reform Committee and the American people would finally hear Huang's testimony. On July 15, Burton wrote to Judge Richard A. Paez, the Federal Judge presiding over the Huang case, to request that Huang's sentencing be postponed until he agreed to cooperate with Congress. Judge Paez referenced Burton's letter as the basis for his decision to postpone sentencing. Burton also wrote to the federal judge presiding over Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie's case and made the same request. Trie's sentencing has also been postponed. "Congress and the American people have waited for over two and a half years to hear from John Huang and Charlie Trie," Burton said. "I hope the judge's decision is a step in the right direction." ...."The one and only time that we got any cooperation from the Justice Department we were finally able to hear from Johnny Chung. His testimony laid to rest any doubts about whether the Communist Chinese Government tried to interfere with our elections," Burton said. "If John Huang and Charlie Trie are allowed to plead guilty without ever talking to anyone other than the Justice Department, there will always be doubts as to whether they got a sweetheart deal. I hope Judge Paez and Judge Howard will agree that John Huang and Charlie Trie should be required to cooperate with legitimate Congressional investigations." ..."

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 8/3/99 Linda Satter "...If a House committee looking into possible campaign fundraising allegations wants to talk to Charlie Trie, it can stop trying to take advantage of a plea agreement he made in Little Rock and instead grant him immunity, Trie's lawyer asserted Monday.....The plea agreement he made with the Justice Department "plainly does not cover statements made my Mr. Trie in any other forum, such as a Congressional hearing," noted the brief filed by Washington defense attorney Reid Weingarten. It's not as if Trie hasn't alread cooperated and thus hasn't earned a sentence reduction, Weingarten argued. He noted that since the plea, which ended Trie's Little Rock trial that had been under way for a week, Trie has been "debriefed by the government" 14 times for a total of 75-100 hours...."

American Spectator 8/99 Kenneth Timmerman "...Senate investigators have also begun looking into a 76-page confidential report, prepared by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which documents how the Chinese government transferred $92 million to front companies in California through the Far East National Bank in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996. Government investigators told TAS that the money was used to buy political influence; to finance intelligence gathering and high-tech procurement operations; and more mundanely, to establish overseas investments for various Princelings. The OCC report was sent to the Senate Banking Committee on May 9 by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). In his letter of referral, Shelby said the money was wired to the California bank "either directly or through front companies, by the People's Bank of China," and wound up in accounts "created for the front companies by bank officers." Shelby noted he was "very concerned that some of the individuals and entities involved are reported to be, or believed to be associated with PRC intelligence activities in some manner."

 

Roll Call, www.rollcall.com 8/2/99 Morton Kondracke "...It smells. Despite abundant evidence that Democratic fundraisers channeled Chinese government money into the U.S. election campaign in 1996, no one is going to jail. One by one, Attorney General Janet Reno's Justice Department has cut generous plea bargains with the money launderers and hasn't come near prosecuting any Democratic Party or White House officials. And if there is any connection between Chinese money and cozy Clinton policy toward China, it's unlikely to be discovered as Justice lets the fundraisers off and removes their incentive to talk. Today, one of the major figures in Chinagate, John Huang, is scheduled to be sentenced to a fine and community service after pleading guilty to minor charges having nothing to do with the $1.6 million he raised that the Democratic Party was forced to return. Instead, the Justice Department charged him with making two illegal donations worth $7,500 in two California campaigns in 1993 and 1994..... In spite of all the tantalizing investigative leads Huang represents -- and in spite of his utter refusal to cooperate in Congressional Chinagate investigations -- Justice is closing out its probe of Huang with a slap on the wrist and a promise to bring no further charges against him. Later this month, Justice is scheduled to close the books, too, on President Clinton's friend, Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, who raised more than $1.3 million -- mainly from Asia -- that had to be returned. He, too, has refused to cooperate with Congress, yet was permitted to plead guilty to one felony count of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to six years in prison and fines of $350,000, but prosecutors recommended that Trie get a penalty of three years' probation. The third major Chinagate fundraiser, Johnny Chung, was sentenced in December 1998 to probation and community service. But at least Chung did cooperate with Congress...What's disturbing is that Thompson and other Republican leaders haven't kept energetically digging into the finance scandal, leaving the work to a few journalists, right-wing activists and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who's easily dismissed for hyper-partisanship..... Burton is pursuing some interesting avenues, such as a report by Carl Cameron of Fox News that a former crack federal prosecutor in California, Steven Mansfield, was ordered to halt a probe he started in 1996 into Vice President Al Gore's infamous fundraiser at a Buddhist temple. Cameron reported that Mansfield, who successfully prosecuted former Rep. Jay Kim (R-Calif.), was ordered to desist in a letter from Lee Radek, head of the public integrity section of the Justice Department, on grounds that it was a matter for an independent counsel to investigate. However, no independent counsel was ever appointed -- with Radek reportedly one of those most vociferously urging Reno not to take that step. Burton also has been chasing down evidence, also reported by Cameron, that in 1997 the Justice Department ordered the immediate return to Washington of an FBI agent and prosecutor sent to Little Rock, Ark., to stop documents from being shredded by Trie's secretary. ....The former chief counsel in Thompson's 1997 campaign finance probe, Michael Madigan, said the plea bargains have "all the earmarks of something being swept under the rug." Indeed, they do...."

The O'Reilly Factor 8/4/99 Freeper truthkeeper "...Bill O'Reilly said at the end of his show tonight that a MAJOR story was "just breaking:" Dan Burton's House Oversight & Reform Committee had issued a subpoena to Janet Reno regarding campaign finance. No details in yet, but I noticed there's a thread saying they'll be getting Mark Middleton's testimony, too...."

AP 8/5/99 "...Attorney General Janet Reno today denied that the Justice Department has kept open campaign finance investigations involving Democrats to block Republicans in Congress from conducting their own. A House committee investigating alleged fund-raising abuses in the 1996 presidential election is barred from questioning anyone who is a target of an active Justice Department investigation...."

Washington Times 8/5/99 Jerry Seper "...The House committee is expected to ask Mr. Middleton about $275,000 he received from the Riadys through the Arkansas International Development Corp.; whether he had any role in finding Huang at job in 1995 at the Democratic National Committee; his connections to Chinese financier Ng Lap Seng, who wired $1 million into Trie's bank account; and about meetings he arranged for the president and the first lady with would-be contributors, some of whom have since been indicted...."

Washington Times 8/5/99 Jerry Seper "...Mark Middleton, former confidant of Charles Yah Lin Trie, John Huang and Johnny Chung, all of whom confessed to making illegal donations during the 1996 presidential election, is the highest ranking administration official to refuse to cooperate in the campaign-finance probe. Mr. Middleton, a longtime Clinton confidant who raised more than $4 million during the 1992 election, was called to appear before the House Government Reform Committee, which will ask him about his ties to Trie, Huang and Chung and his financial connections with the Lippo Group, a $6 billion Indonesian real estate and banking conglomerate controlled by the Riady family -- also Clinton supporters...."

Washington Times 8/5/99 Jerry Seper "...Chung testified before the committee that Liu Chao-ying, a lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army and a China Aerospace Co. executive with whom Chung had a business relationship, told him that Mr. Middleton received $50,000 in PLA funds to do "good things" for Mr. Clinton. Mr. Middleton has denied the accusation.

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...According to a [Presidential Legal Expense Fund] defense fund trustee, Harold Ickes and Hillary Clinton had knowledge of the corrupt money and did nothing to stop the flow of it until newspaper columns and stories triggered Ickes' tip-off to the DNC that maybe Trie's fundraising would be linked to John Huang and James Riady and, yes, Mr. McDougal...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...A Justice Department investigation into improper political fundraising activities has uncovered evidence that representatives of the People's Republic of China sought direct contributions from foreign sources to the DNC, the Democratic National Committee, before the 1996 Presidential election. Mr. Speaker, our intelligence--the FBI and CIA--warned Janet Reno directly that China was attempting to influence the White House in policy decisions through campaign finance reports, much like they did in the port that we just talked about, by giving cash donations. The Justice Department task force has discovered that in early 1995, Chinese representatives developed a plan to spend nearly $2 million to buy influence in Congress, this body, and the Clinton administration, and investigators are apparently trying to determine if any of that money was received by John Huang, Charlie Trie, among others. So the FBI has given us warning and the CIA that the Chinese are trying to influence our Government to make decisions in their favor. And then the Clinton administration gives them a $50 million coal burning plant, gives them a $127 to $137 million loan to build Chinese Communist ships. Then they give them access to Long Beach Naval Shipyard and complete control of it. We think that there is a direct problem...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...In 1992, Candidate Clinton described as unconscionable Indonesia's treatment of the East Timorese, 200,000 of whom had perished since Indonesia had annexed East Timor 20 years ago. The administration even supported the United Nations resolution criticizing Indonesia's East Timor policy. Around the same time, Mark Grobymer, an Arkansas lawyer who golfs with Mr. Clinton, joined Mr. Huang and Mr. Riady on a trip to East Timor. In April the three men visited Mr. Clinton, and, guess what? The President reversed his position. Human rights activists claimed the administration's concern for Timor would be looked into. John Huang helped raise $425,000 from an Indonesian couple whose primary bread earner was as a landscaper. When it was looked into, and that checks were made concurrently by the same source and it was brought up to the press, the DNC returned the money...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...Mr. Huang's message slips from the Commerce Department also showed calls from one Chinese Embassy official in February 1995 and three calls from the Embassy's commercial minister in June and August of that year. Mr. Huang's desk calendar entries had three meetings scheduled with Chinese Government officials. He attended policy breakfasts at the Chinese Embassy in October 1995 and visited the Indonesian Embassy on October 11, 1995. In March, President Clinton, after this meeting in Indonesia by Mr. Huang, in March 1996, President Clinton reversed a key administrative policy on immigration following a $1.1 million Asian fund-raising dinner, the most successful Asian-American political fund-raiser in United States history. Held the previous month and organized by, who else? John Huang, a former employee of Lippo...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...President Clinton had previously opposed the practice of allowing foreign-born siblings of naturalized U.S. citizens to come to the United States, based on recommendations of a commission he appointed himself, and affirmed his desire to halt immigration in an early 1996 letter to the Speaker of the House. But in March 1996, President Clinton made a last-minute about-face, after the Indonesian meeting with Mr. Huang and after the fund-raising of $1.1 million, and reversed his position and put top priority recommendations made in a strongly worded John Huang memorandum to Bill Clinton. And then, and now former, Senator Alan Simpson said: I never in 18 years in Congress, and I quote, saw an issue that shifted so fast and so hard...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...After receiving $1.1 million from Indonesia, Mr. Huang began aggressively arguing for U.S. trade policy toward Vietnam only 1 day after joining the Commerce Department, and again with no security clearances whatsoever or background check, in July 1994, and pushed the idea for the next 17 months when Lippo Group sought to expand its investment empire into Vietnam itself. He also attended interagency meetings of an Indonesian working group. The next month, a United States trade mission to China resulted in a $1 billion power plant that Lippo would finance and benefit from. This is at the same time when the President agreed to give Communist China $50 million for a Chinese coal-burning plant...."

 

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...I feel it is very important that we bring up another subject. That is the subjugation of the United States by a Communist-owned company, and control of. What I would like to do tonight is talk on the facts. Those facts are based on when I served in the U.S. Navy, I served on 7th Fleet staff and was responsible for all Southeast Asia countries, the defense of, not only in the training exercises, but in the real world threat.... Cosco is a Communist-owned, Communist Chinese-owned company. Its purpose is ship containers in and out of major ports all over the world..... What I plan to show tonight is a direct link between the White House fundraising with China and assets that have gone in favor of Communist China that could pose as a national security threat to the United States. I have intelligence reports that state so. I have facts that also state so, and I would like to make that case this evening....."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...Last year, it was Cosco that delivered to the State of California 2,000 AK-47's. The company that builds the AK-47's, the company that negotiates the trade of AK-47's around the world, the company Cosco, all set up by the PRC, the People's Republic of China, owns. They do not report to department heads. Their CEO is Communist China, all owned and coordinated and controlled by Communist China. Yet, they delivered over 2,000 AK-47's into our country, with the intent of selling these arms to our inner cities to disrupt, to disrupt our inner cities, and disrupt our political environment within the United States of America. At the same time, the Clinton White House accepted both Cosco and the gunrunners themselves in a White House coffee..."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...Long Beach Naval Shipyard, the marines lost a bid for the site to a China Cosco firm, and I quote from the Washington Times: Several officers in the Marine Corps have raised questions about why the Clinton administration favored turning over a military base in Long Beach, CA to the Chinese ocean shipping company, Cosco, over the protest of marine reserve battalion made homeless by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Briefings on the firm fail to convince many of its members. The CIA, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Coast Guard reinforced the view that Cosco's strong link with the Chinese Government is a fatal flaw in its proposal to deliver the base to a company.... "

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...Johnny Chung, a Chinese American businessman from California, gave $366,000 to the Democrats, the DNC, that was later returned on suspicion it illegally came from foreign sources. Chung brought 6 Chinese officials to the White House last year to watch President Clinton make his weekly radio address. One of the 6 was the advisor from COSCO who was later given by the President access to Long Beach shipyard and also the actual gun runners that were there in the White House gave money to the DNC. The chairman of one of these two Chinese arms companies implicated in the scheme to smuggle the 2,000 illegal Chinese-made weapons into Oakland aboard COSCO's ship had coffee in the White House in an affair associated with D.C. fundraising. Officials of the weapons company were indicted for shipping those arms...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...On the campaign trail last year and in a White House meeting in 1995, President Clinton endorsed the proposal to transfer land of the Long Beach Naval shipyard to COSCO, but it was this March, 1995, the White House radio address that had critics talking. A COSCO advisor was among the Chinese businessmen invited to hear the President in the oval office just two days after a California businessman, Johnny Chung, made a $50,000 donation to the DNC and hand-delivered it to Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff Margaret Williams, CBS Evening News, March 11, 1997...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...Shortly after the Long Beach Naval shipyard land transfer was arranged, the Clinton administration helped arrange, listen to this, Mr. Speaker, in the President's budget that he submitted, he gave free, no strings, gave to Communist China $50 million to burn a coal burning plant, after these meetings and after these DNC fund-raisers from the Chinese. He can cut impact aid for education, but he can also give $50 million to Communist China in the name of trade and just give it. That is not fair trade...."

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...He also gave a multimillion dollar loan to build 5 Communist Chinese ships, COSCO ships, in a nonrecourse loan. What that means, Mr. Speaker, this is a loan of some $137 million, which may not be much to many Members around this body, but you ask the American people, $137 million of their taxpayers' dollars back up a nonrecourse loan to Communist China, a state-controlled company by Communist China, and if they forfeit, who is left holding the bag? The United States taxpayers. Our own ship builders do not have access to this type of loan, Mr. Speaker. Incredible. But yet the administration gives Communist China.... "

House of Representatives 4/15/97 Rep Cunningham "...COSCO was fined for paying kickbacks to shippers instead of abiding by tariffs. This is, again, a Chinese-operated company that was cited for giving kickbacks, payoffs for access.... Mr. Speaker, President Clinton took a personal role in promoting the interests of COSCO. At the same time he was cutting over 100 warships from the U.S. fleet, drawn up by the Bush administration, a 23 percent cut. The symbolism could not be anymore stark. ...."

Washington Weekly 8/9/99 Marvin Lee "...Burton asked Middleton about a statement attributed to Liu Chao-Ying, an agent of the Chinese intelligence, that Mark Middleton got a half-million dollars through a group in Singapore to "do good things for China." "We've received testimony that you were doing something clandestine with agents of the Chinese military -- the daughter of the PLA's most senior general. It was very cryptic. But since you haven't spoken to us, it's all we have to go on," Burton said. What is known is that Middleton was instrumental in buying the silence of Whitewater witness Webster Hubbell with money from China. James Riady and John Huang met repeatedly with Middleton in the White House before wiring $100,000 from a Hong Kong bank partly owned by Chinese intelligence to Webster Hubbell. And when Chinese Triad Mobster Ng Lap-seng entered the U.S. with a suitcase containing $175,000 in cash, he went to see Mark Middleton at the White House. Ng Lap-seng is a friend of Clinton crony Charlie Trie and has been suspected of carrying cash between the Chinese government and the White House. The White House has never accounted for the source of or the spending of these suitcases full of cash, and neither Ng Lap-seng nor Middleton are willing to talk...."

FoxNews O’Reilly Factor 8/16/99 Freeper go star go reports "…

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Chung just said the DNC told him 'the bad thing will happen to you it you don't pay $70,000'!

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" Freeper kristinn adds ".Chung tells of DNC memo, in Congressional committee records, that threatens that "bad things" will happen to Chung if he doesn't come up with $70,000 for a 2 person photo-op at a dinner for which he had already paid $25,000 for 25 people to attend with him (17 were Chinese nationals.) Chung says that when it came to the source of his contributions, the DNC position was, 'don't ask, don't tell.' …" Freeper Patriot adds "…Dec 94, Chung paid 40k to meet Gore....They are showing photos of Chung with Gore. He said that he was solicted at the WH. O'Leary would not meet with Chung until he gave 25k to Afro-Care her favorite charity...He keeps mentioning Sullivan...He seems to be involved in arranging the meetings... " Freeper kristinn adds "…

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Chung says Gore asked for "support" from him and others during a meeting in Veep's office after a function. O'Reilly says that without a specific solicitation for campaign contributions, a crime cannot be charged. The $25,000 donation to Hazel O'Leary's 'favorite' charity, Africare, came from an aide who said it would get a meeting arranged for Chung. He says that the $25,000 bought him a table at a dinner which he was the only one sitting at. O'Leary came by to thank him and ask if the meeting went well. No mention by her of the donation…." Freeper Patriot adds "…Chung just called Maggie Williams a liar! She know what the $50K was for when he gave it to her for Hillary..... " Freeper Howlin adds "…Evan Ryan set up meeting with Maggie Williams. Chung hands her a check for $50,000.00. "That's correct." Williams says she didn't know what was in the envelope. Chung says, "That's wrong." Evan Ryan tells Chung in the WH that Hillary has HUGE debt to DNC for a Christmas party. Lightbulb time. He offers $50,000 on the spot…." Freeper Howlin adds "…Room Number 101, Old EOB......Williams opens envelop, looks at check, calls White House Mess to make reservations for them to eat. He is definitely calling Maggie a liar. "Is not" telling the truth. National Teachers Association awards at the White House. Hillary's office says come back at 3....they did. In Rose Garden.....everything all set up....... Goes to Map Room. He asked Ryan does HILLARY know about the $50,000 to DNC. Ryan says YES. …" Freeper Howlin "…

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BTW, the name is Evelyn Ryan.......and she is HRC's secretary at the White House. …" Howlin adds "…

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...I was simply amazed that the request was made in a government office!....I'm sure he said DOJ.......but why would he be talking to a DOJ person to try to get into the DOE? I may be wrong about the department, but he DEFINTELY said in the office! …." Freeper citizen ".....He keeps mentioning Sullivan. --- Richard Sullivan, DNC. He was the first so-called witness in the Fred Thompson campaign finance hearings. Sullivan lied his lying butt off. Conferred with his lawyer and stuttured out answers is a more apt discription. They even called Sullivan back to testify late in the Thompson hearings because his first testimony was already proven to be highly suspect. Sullivan did much better this time, he lied more convincingly with less speech impediments. Though his truculence at being recalled shone through at that last session. Congressional hearings are now a joke, no fault to those trying to do their job. Partisan hijinks and manuevers gaurantee a muddled no-bill. A compromised DOJ allows no reprisals for baldfaced liars…."

FoxNews 8/17/99 "…In an exclusive interview with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News Channel's O'Reilly Factor Monday night, Johnny Chung, a key figure in the 1996 campaign finance scandal, said he had visited the White House 57 times. Chung also stated that he was on a first-name basis with President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton…. He also stated that the Democratic National Committee never asked him if he received money from foreign nationals — it is against the law for foreign nationals to contribute funds to candidates or political parties, so-called "hard" and "soft" money, respectively. Chung stated that he viewed the contributions from Chinese businessmen as his own money. Perhaps his most explosive comment during the interview was that executives of the Democratic National Committee threatened him in the aftermath of a fund-raiser in Los Angeles. Chung said that he donated $25,000 for a table at a Clinton-Gore fund raiser, which entitled his party to two photos with the president. Chung said he wanted four photos with the president and was told he would have to donate an additional $70,000 to secure the extra photos. He said that DNC executives noted that he had promised the additional $70,000 and that bad things would happen to him if he didn't pay. Chung went on to say that he never donated the additional $70,000. Chung also contradicted the claim of Maggie Williams, Mrs. Clinton's former chief of staff, that she did not know that an envelope he handed her in the White House contained a check for $50,000. Chung said that Williams looked in the envelope, which contained the check for the Democratic National Committee, and a note to Mrs. Clinton. Williams has said that she did not look in the envelope. Chung said he donated the money to help Mrs. Clinton pay off a debt to the DNC incurred in a Christmas party….. "At the very beginning of 1997, the Democrat side of the Government Reform Committee sent a package to my office, to my attorney's office," Chung said in the interview, adding that the package, "Tried to teach me how to plead — take the fifth." Chung testified before the congressional panel in a five-hour closed session in November 1997 and again in May 1999 after claims that his account differed from press reports of what he told federal investigators….."

NewsMax.com 8/16/99 "…In his exclusive interview with FOX News Channel (FNC) anchor Bill O'Reilly, host of FNC's highest rated show, Johnny Chung, the central figure in the campaign finance scandal, revealed he received a package on "how to plead the Fifth" from the chief counsel for the Democrats on The Government Reform and Oversight Committee….. CHUNG: Mr. O'Reilly, at the very beginning of 1997, the Democrat side of the Government Reform Committee sent a package to my office, to my attorney's office. O'REILLY: The Democratic side? CHUNG: The Democrat side. O'REILLY: Of the -- what committee? CHUNG: The Government Reform and Oversight…….CHUNG: I don't receive personal, but my attorney's office received the package. It say how you can plea -- how you can take a Fifth in the United States Congress. O'REILLY: Who sent you that package? CHUNG: Government Reform Committee, Democrat side…."

NewsMax.com 8/16/99 "…Chung also clarified for Bill O'Reilly that he had not been to the White House 49 times as has been widely reported, but had actually been there 57 times.: O'REILLY: So the DNC knew that you were giving them money and they made the calls to the right people in the White House to get you in to meet the president, the first lady, the vice president, and on and on. Fine. The president of the United States, Mr. Clinton, did he ever wonder why Johnny Chung was always in the White House, 49 times? CHUNG: First of all, I want to correct you. It's not 49 times, this is official. Fifty-seven times…."

NewsMax.com 8/16/99 "… O'Reilly asked Chung if the DNC knew the money being donated was from Chinese Nationals: CHUNG: DNC know I've been cultivated the business with those Chinese people all along. O'REILLY: They knew you were involved with the Chinese nationals. CHUNG: Even the documentation, we'll show it to you. They invite those people to come to certain event. O'REILLY: OK. But they never asked you point blank, "Johnny Chung, are they giving you money that you're handing us?" Did DNC ever ask you that Fowler… any of those guys ever ask you that? CHUNG: Don't ask, don't tell. Chung also explained how the DNC tried to get around scrutiny by having Chung cut 23 separate checks for $1000, instead of one large check: CHUNG: I used my employee -- after they told me that they cannot take that $25,000, I instruct my general manager to collect a 23 check, and I reimbursed him. O'REILLY: And you reimbursed him, OK. CHUNG: And that was... O'REILLY: There's one more loose end I want to tie up on this DNC fund-raiser in L.A. CHUNG: But I do want to point it out here is, they did know, on that two table there are Chinese national, they come to greet them. O'REILLY: Sure. CHUNG: And then, how come they don't take my $25,000 for DNC, and they insist to ask me to give them another 23 individual check, each one is $1,000…"

Washington Times 8/18/99 Jerry Seper "…Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee sought for two years to delay and obstruct the panel's campaign-finance investigation, even telling a top White House aide to make himself unavailable for a deposition to which he had been subpoenaed, according to congressional records. The documents, reviewed in the wake of accusations this week by former Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung that he was coached on how to plead the Fifth Amendment before a 1997 appearance before the committee, outline a suspected plan by Democrats to block the committee's ongoing probe. Republicans have begun an investigation to determine what role Democrats played in trying to protect the White House against accusations of campaign-finance abuses….."The Democratic minority counsel has acted as defense attorneys for a whole list of would-be witnesses, trying to scare them into not testifying," said the committee's spokesman, Mark Corallo. "They didn't have to come right out and blatantly tell the witnesses not to testify, but they certainly set a tone of fear and intimidation. "They made no effort to find out the truth of whether campaign-finance abuses during the 1996 election compromised our national-security system," he said…..But Republicans said yesterday that committee records, including depositions of key witnesses and numerous letters written concerning the panel's inquiry, document GOP concerns that committee Democrats and their attorneys sought to delay the depositions, intimidate would-be witnesses and obstruct the investigation. They said the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California, wrote in an April 3, 1998, letter to committee Chairman Dan Burton, Indiana Republican, that he was "disappointed" the deposition of White House Deputy Counsel Bruce Lindsey -- a key figure in the campaign-finance probe -- had been scheduled during the spring recess. Mr. Waxman told the chairman that he had advised Mr. Lindsey to "not be available for this deposition" -- a suggestion roundly criticized by Republicans as an example of what they said were delaying tactics utilized by Democrats throughout the probe….."

Washington Times 8/18/99 Jerry Seper "…The committee records, copies of which were obtained by The Washington Times, show that: … - During the deposition of one White House official, minority counsel raised objections on 49 occasions, and that during another deposition, the Democrats sought to prevent a witness from answering questions by the majority counsel despite the witnesses' willingness to do so. -At some depositions, objections were raised directly by Mr. Waxman and Rep. Tom Lantos, California Democrat, both of whom challenged with some regularity the validity of questions asked by the majority counsel. During the deposition of one White House aide, Republicans said Mr. Waxman tried to prevent questions concerning former Justice Department official Webster L. Hubbell, a longtime friend of President and Mrs. Clinton. -Democrats sought to block committee efforts to subpoena records from state Democratic Party organizations, through which suspected illegal campaign funds had been funneled. Mr. Waxman argued there was no evidence of wrongdoing. Investigators later discovered that illegal donations had been routed to the state organizations….."

Judicial Watch 8/18/99 Larry Klayman "…Today, Judicial Watch will file a complaint before the House Ethics Committee, alleging, based on information disclosed by Johnny Chung, and expanded upon by The Washington Times, that Democrats, led by Congressman Henry Waxman of California, have obstructed Congressional investigations into Chinagate. Based on recent reports, Congressman Waxman also may be linked to a scheme to use the Internal Revenue Service to audit, harass and harm critics of the Clinton Adminisration. Judicial Watch will also ask the House Ethics Committee to look into this as well. Judicial Watch takes a particular interest in Congressman Waxman because of its California office in San Marino. If Judicial Watch is to represent the interests of Californians and Westerners, as well as all Americans, it cannot turn a blind eye to the conduct of Congressman Waxman and his friends…."

Judicial Watch 8/18/99 Tom Fitton Letter to Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, US House of Representatives "… Re: Complaint Against Congressman Henry Waxman and Involved Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee. Dear Committee: On behalf of the American people and in the public interest, we hereby file a complaint against Congressman Henry Waxman of the 29th District of California. Judicial Watch is a public interest group dedicated to fighting government corruption.

In recent days there have been press reports on the Fox News Channel and in the Washington Times that Congressman Waxman and Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee have attempted to impede the free flow of testimony of a material witness, Johnny Chung, in the campaign finance/Chinagate scandals. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1, and incorporated by reference are the transcripts, a video clip, and press reports of these allegations.

Furthermore, recent press reports have suggested that Congressman Waxman may be one of the individuals, including, but not limited to, officials of the Democratic Party and the Clinton Administration, who have engaged in a scheme to use the Internal Revenue Service to audit, harass and harm critics of the Clinton Administration. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2, and incorporated by reference are press reports of these allegations.

If true, these reports on the campaign finance/Chinagate and IRS scandals would mean that Congressman Waxman has violated laws and rules that include, but are not limited to: 18 U.S.C.§§ 1505, 1502; House Rule XXIV, Code of Official Conduct, no.1; and The Code of Ethics for Government Employment, nos. 1, 2, 9 & 10. We therefore demand a full investigation on behalf of the American people.

In light of the fact that Chairman Dan Burton of the Government Reform Committee has continuously complained about Democrat obstruction of his investigation into the campaign finance/Chinagate scandals, and given his remarks yesterday evening on The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News (enclosed as part of Exhibit 1), it is clear that he should certify that he believes this information is submitted in good faith and warrants the review and consideration of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

Judicial Watch, Inc., certifies that it has provided an exact copy of this complaint and all attachments to Congressman Waxman and Chairman Burton.

Sincerely, JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. Larry Klayman…"

Investors Business Daily 8/19/99 "…The Washington Times is reporting that Democrats stalled a congressional investigation into White House fund- raising practices. We're not surprised. That's what happens when politicians forget principle and focus on holding on to power. Once the Democratic Party was a bastion of idealism. It was guided by principle. Its members held tight to deep convictions. Now, with Republicans in control of Congress, Democratic leaders have all but forgotten their party's ideological foundation. They will do whatever's necessary to stay in the White House, the only tie to power they still have. Their desperation caused them to ignore campaign finance laws to re-elect President Clinton. As one lie begets another, they later found they needed to block probes into the alleged violations if they were to keep the presidency and have any hope of regaining Congress. Wednesday's Washington Times reveals that Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee delayed - even obstructed - the panel's Chinagate probe to protect the White House. Congressional documents report that the Democrats went so far as to tell a White House aide to skip a deposition he had been subpoenaed for….. Congressional Democrats aren't alone in their zeal to foil probes into the campaign practices of their party and president. The Justice Department under Attorney General Janet Reno has been a graveyard for potential investigations. Despite pressure from Congress and the FBI, Reno refused to appoint an independent counsel to look into charges the Chinese military had funneled money into the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton- Gore 1996 re-election campaign. She said she saw no evidence that required an independent-counsel probe. Yet her hand-picked investigator, who called for a special prosecutor, said Reno misinterpreted the independent- counsel law in a way that protected Clinton and Vice President Al Gore…..The same mind-set was at work in the Senate, where Democrat John Glenn of Ohio blocked Republican Fred Thompson's investigation of influence-buying by China. Principle demanded that Glenn cooperate with the probe to root out corruption. But Glenn and the Democrats put party interest above national interest. …..Attaining power for the sake of power, and doing whatever's necessary to cling to it, leads to ignoring the law and, more importantly, what's right…."

http://www.mrc.org/news/cyberalert/1999/cyb19990730.html#4 7/30/99 "…Cameron honed in on Reno and how the FBI was afraid to share information because they knew the White House would get it: "Some Justice Department investigators suspect their bosses deliberately dropped the ball to protect the President, though the inspector general concluded it was poor judgment and not intentional. But congressional critics think Attorney General Janet Reno and her closest advisers were playing pure politics. And according to the report, when Reno's top troops wanted to share evidence with the White House, the FBI protested, even boycotted meetings, to prevent the handing over of such information, saying it was, quote, ‘akin to briefing the subject of an investigation about that investigation.’ Giving a clue about who is providing him with his information, Cameron observed: "Line-level investigators and prosecutors, disgruntled with the way Department of Justice management have handled, and some say botched, this entire case, almost daily now are disclosing more information. Last night Fox reported on how the initial investigation into the Buddhist temple fundraising event was thwarted by the attorney general's office. In fact, one specific individual, the head of the Office of Public Integrity, Lee Radek, has essentially been fingered as trying to close down that investigation. And as a result, Congress plans to subpoena Mr. Radek's documents to find out whether or not he tried in some way to close things down in order to protect the President." …."

NewsMax.com 8/16/99 "…Chung also revealed that the FBI and DOJ had him tape conversations with a Chinese National nicknamed "Fish Powder" who was an important contact person between the Chinese Government and Chung: O'REILLY: So what you're saying is that after you were caught and after all the heat came down on Johnny Chung, you were honest, you told the investigators -- Chuck LaBella, the FBI agents -- just as you're telling me today, what happened, here's what happened. But in Washington Janet Reno's staff sat on it and didn't do anything with it. Is that accurate? CHUNG: That's very accurate. I can say that in my part I told them everything I know in this ongoing investigation, and I didn't see any of them is really come out to the light yet. For example, I have the agreement with the Department of Justice, I'm not going to mention the name, but we gave him a nickname, we call Fish Powder. O'REILLY: Fish Powder? CHUNG: Yes. We gave a nickname. And this gentlemen of Fish Powders, he is very important witness and my prosecutors put him on watch list of the immigration office. Any time he comes to the United States, they want to question him. O'REILLY: Is he a Chinese national? CHUNG: That's correct. O'REILLY: And what happened is this guy call me out of the blue. And my prosecutor doesn't know that. The FBI who protect me doesn't know that. And then I was instructed by the FBI to record all of the conversation. I was instructed by my prosecutor to record all of the conversations. And I've been recording a lot under their instruction, the Department of Justice and FBI. And this guy comes in and out to our country freely, and nobody talked to him. And he's a very important witness. …"

Original Sources 8/18/99 Mary Mostert "…. If the Democrats on the Committee that was trying to investigate the irregularities of the 1996 Campaign finance contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign were blatantly blocking the investigation and trying to lead and/or block testimony of a key witness, that is, as O’Reilly bluntly pointed it, not merely a Campaign Finance problem - it’s major government corruption. Bill O’Reilly did an excellent job of trying to get to the bottom of this bombshell of a revelation in both his questions to Johnny Chung and in questions to Philip M. Schiliro, staff director for the Democrats on the Committee. In framing the questions to Schiliro, O’Reilly said: "The Democrats deny trying to impede Chung’s testimony and say that Chung’s attorney, Brian Sun, ASKED for the information about taking the Fifth and so it was sent. Counselor Sun’s office said that was ‘ludicrous.’" He then allowed Schiliro time to reply to "Johnny Chung’s accusation that the Democrats tried to convince him to take the 5th Amendment." …O'Reilly: To continue now with counselor Philip Schiliro, of the Democratic side- 122 people have either fled or pled (the 5th Amendment) in this Chinese Campaign Finance thing. That’s why it looks so bad, Counselor and I have to tell you as a journalist I’m trying to be fair here. I understand what you are saying and I not calling you a liar, and I’m not saying you are not telling the truth - I don’t know who is telling the truth. But, I do know that when 122 people either leave the country or refuse to testify, ANY APPEARANCE that the Democrats are helping people not testify is disturbing. Schiliro: There is absolutely no evidence at all other than Mr. Chung’s statement which is factually incorrect, that Democrats have done that. We haven’t done that. It’s been in our interest to get people to testify to resolve this matter as quickly as possible and we’ve done that. The other point that you should know is that in this investigation Democrats have virtually no influence or power. All the unilateral decisions get to be made by Chairman Burton.

Editor’s Note: No evidence? Schiliro ADMITTED they sent the materials - that makes it the testimony of TWO witnesses that the until now unknown incident of the Democrats having unilateral association with the witnesses they were voting immunity against took place. Schiliro is saying, "So what?" He is not denying it happened.

O'Reilly: Let’s go now to Chairman Dan Burton, Chairman of the House Reform and Oversight Committee. How do you react to Counselor Schiliro? You didn’t know anything about this, right? About the Chung - that the Democrats sent him the stuff about the 5th Amendment. What’s your feeling on it?

Chairman Dan Burton:My feeling is that Mr. Chung had adequate counsel. Mr. Sun is a very fine attorney out on the West Coast and he understands very clearly what Mr. Chung’s 5th Amendment rights were. And for the Minority of my Committee to be sending information, apparently unsolicited, to Mr. Chung and his attorney telling them how to take the 5th Amendment appears to me to be obstructing our investigation. I think that’s totally improper.

O'Reilly: Who do you believe in this? Do you believe the Democrats would be foolish enough to send Chung information about the 5th Amendment without telling you - unsolicited? That seems to be a bad political move.

Chairman Dan Burton:Well, Mr. Chung was doing a lot of contributing to the Democratic National Committee and the President’s Re-election Committee. And, I think they saw him as a Democrat ally, but this Justice Department and Janet Reno I believe has been working in concert with Mr. Waxman to try to keep us from getting witnesses before the Committee. We have to have a two-thirds majority vote to give immunity to a witness to be able to have them testify. We have not been able to get Henry Waxman and the Democrats to work with us except on one occasion and that was after we made some very strong concessions to them.

The fact of the matter is they have worked with the Justice Department to block us every step of the way and I think Johnny Chung is verifying that on your program.

O'Reilly:Do you believe Chung?

Chairman Dan Burton:I do believe him.

O'Reilly:Do you believe what he told us?

Chairman Dan Burton:I do believe him, because this is not the first time that we have had this kind of problem. I was having Louis Freeh, Chuck LaBella and the Chief FBI agent before my Committee. One hour before I was going to have them testify before my Committee, Janet Reno called me and said SHE wanted to testify. I said, "We’re not prepared, Madame Attorney General, to have you testify. If you’d let us know a little earlier, we might have worked that out." When the Committee Meeting started less than an hour later Henry Waxman had a letter from her that was addressed to ME! That I had not even received! And, he read it saying she was really upset because I wouldn’t let her testify. She had to have written that letter in 45 minutes and get it to him, and it was addressed to me.

So, once again, the Justice Department and the Attorney General were working in concert with Mr. Waxman to block our investigation. And that is the modus operandi that has been going on.

O'Reilly:So, basically what you are saying is: Mr. Chung’s statements are correct that federal laws were broken by the President, the Vice-President, the First Lady, and Hazel O’Leary. That there’s a massive cover-up going on and its a situation that is totally out of control right now.

Chairman Dan Burton:Oh, I think it IS out of control. I’ve said for three years now that Janet Reno has been blocking for the President. She was supposed to appoint an independent counsel to investigate Campaign Finance. Chuck LaBella said she should. Louis Freeh, the head of the FBI said she should. The head of the FBI investigative team said she should. And, she didn’t DO it! She’s been blocking for the President.

She has not allowed us to talk to witnesses because she hides behind what she says is Grand Jury or 6E material. And, Johnny Chung is right. She sits on information and keeps the cases open because once the cases are closed I can bring those people before my committee. And I know for a fact that she has kept case after case open so I can’t get to the witnesses.

O'Reilly:Unbelievable! ….Perhaps the most blatant thing that Chung told us last night was that he handed Maggie Williams, Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff $50,000 IN THE WHITE HOUSE! She took it, looked in the envelope, and called up the White House mess, made a reservation so Chung and his party could go down and eat, and then the money went to the DNC (Democratic National Committee.)

Now, that’s CLEARLY against the law! You can’t DO that! But I haven’t heard anything about that other than a cursory thing here!

Chairman Dan Burton:Bill, we’ve talked about all these things over the past three YEARS! This is not an isolated case. The President was going to fund-raisers where very few people even spoke English and he knew that they were fund-raisers. And, a lot of those people were not Chinese-Americans. They were Chinese nationals. And, he knew that. He also tried to circumvent the campaign laws by talking about how to get soft money into the campaign when the candidates are not supposed to be involved in that in any way…."

 

***Media Research Center CyberAlert*** 8/24/99 Vol Four No 147 "…3) Catching up with another item from early August which has not been picked up by other media outlets so far as I and the MRC news analysts have seen, the August 4 Investor's Business Daily explored the close ties between Vanessa Weaver, nominated by Clinton for a seat on the board of the Export-Import Bank, and John Huang. In addition to her own numerous phones calls to Huang, her father, the paper noted, heads the Stephens Company, whose offices Huang used to send faxes shortly after receiving classified briefings. (The Wall Street Journal picked up on the IBD article for an August 5 editorial.) Here's an excerpt from the illuminating piece by Paul Sperry: Ex-Im Bank Nod Tied To John Huang Weaver's Contacts With Fundraiser Questioned President Clinton's appointee to a critical seat on the board of the Export-Import Bank has close ties to a crooked fundraiser linked to China. China is Ex-Im Bank's second-largest customer. During the Clinton years, the bank has given more than $5.5 billion in loans to China to help it buy U.S. technology and equipment for power plants and other projects. The loans were OK'd despite proof that China sold nuclear-related equipment to Pakistan and other countries that worry U.S. security experts.

The White House hopes the Senate will quickly confirm D. Vanessa Weaver to fill one of three vacant seats on Ex-Im's five-member board. The lack of quorum is holding up $2.3 billion in loans. As a Clinton aide, Weaver often was in touch with Democratic Party fundraiser Jian-Nan "John" Huang when he worked at the Commerce Department……Weaver and Huang exchanged at least 26 phone calls over a 17-month period in 1994 and 1995, records show. Weaver also reached out to Huang in October 1996 when he hid from U.S. marshals for a week to avoid testifying in a lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch Inc. The public-interest law firm claims that Huang was involved in an illegal scheme at Commerce to sell seats on trade trips for Democratic donations. "She (Weaver) called my wife in California," Huang testified after authorities finally caught up with him. "As a courtesy, I returned her call to her home." Huang explained that Weaver and he are just "good friends." Asked about her again in another Judicial Watch deposition in April, Huang took the Fifth…..As often as three times a week, Huang would leave his Commerce office carrying a folder or briefcase and walk across the street to the Willard Hotel. There he'd visit the Washington office of Stephens Inc., an Arkansas-based brokerage. Weaver's father, Vernon Weaver, headed the branch. A fellow Arkansan, he and Clinton go back more than 20 years. The elder Weaver let Huang use an empty Stephens office to pick up overnight packages, make phone calls and fax documents. His secretary, Paula Greene, testified before the Senate in 1997 that Weaver gave her strict orders to hide the setup. For instance, she says Weaver told her not to leave detailed phone messages for Huang when she called to alert him to a package or fax. Phone records show Vernon Weaver made at least 27 calls to Huang from July 1994 to November 1995. Over that same period, Vanessa Weaver made at least 23 calls to Huang -- two on the same day as her father. The congressional investigator, who wished to go unnamed, suspects Vanessa Weaver was a White House "go-between" for her father and Huang. Her White House office is just across 15th St. from the Willard Hotel and the Commerce building. ….Several months before Huang joined Commerce, China Resources Holding Co., a front for Chinese military intelligence, bought a large stake in a Lippo unit called Hongkong Chinese Bank. That made Lippo equal partners with Beijing's communist regime. "Huang himself may possibly have had a direct financial relationship with the (Chinese) government," said the final report of the so-called Thompson committee, headed by Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., which probed foreign fundraising in the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign…."

WorldNetDaily.com 8/31/99 Charles Smith "…And what benefit does the Chinese Army get from doing business with Clinton? According to the Rand Corp. report, "For those who oppose any subsidization of the PLA, there is thus ample evidence that profits from PLA-affiliated enterprises directly benefit the main-line forces of the Chinese military." …..One hard-core benefit for China from U.S. technology and finance is the DF-31 missile. The new Dong Feng (EAST WIND) 31 missile performed flawlessly during its first test flight. The DF-31 can reach any city in America and is armed with three nuclear warheads. The DF-31 has Clinton-supplied guidance, nuclear warhead, nose cone and solid rocket engine technologies. The DF-31 is equipped with many technologies stolen or bought from America during Clinton's term. The DF-31 success was so spectacular that the PLA Second Artillery will deploy 20 missiles by the end of 2000. According to intelligence sources in the Pentagon, China will deploy over 1,000 nuclear-tipped missiles in the next decade. …. Of course, no one has ever fought a nuclear war, and few of the pundits have studied such weapons in combat. The pundits are playing dangerous games with our lives. The DF-31 is better than the U.S. MX and Minuteman missiles. The DF-31 represents a decade of successful espionage against America. Nuclear weapons do not require large numbers to be effective. The Chinese army recently threatened to use neutron bombs on any U.S. Navy carrier that should stray too close to Taiwan. Chinese officials have already threatened to destroy Los Angeles if we help Taiwan resist an invasion. One new DF-31 missile could flatten L.A., San Francisco and San Diego….."

Washington Post 12/20/96 Michael Weissokopf Lena Sun "…A Democratic fund-raiser with business dealings in China used his influence with party officials last February to bring the head of a weapons trading company owned by the Chinese military to a White House coffee hosted by President Clinton…… Trie's success in obtaining the White House invitation for Wang Jun, who heads not only the weapons company but a huge investment conglomerate owned by the Chinese Communist government, shows the extraordinary pull of Democratic fund-raisers at a White House eager to meet high campaign costs. There is no sign that Wang conversed with the president at the coffee klatch, but his personal contact with Clinton at a time of heightened tensions in U.S.-China relations would have been of interest to policymakers in Beijing. And Trie's ability to give Wang entree to the president would almost certainly improve his chances of doing business with Wang and other Chinese officials…..A week before the coffee, the Navy had confirmed that Beijing sold ship-to-ship cruise missiles to Iran. About the same time, U.S. intelligence officers concluded that China had sold nuclear weapons-related equipment to Pakistan….."

TEXAN 1995 Clayton Vernon "…http://net.cs.utexas.edu/users/boyer/fp/texan-970317.html ….According to The New York Times, former UT System Regents Chairman Bernard Rapoport hired Webster Hubbell for a joint venture with the Riady family in Indonesia during the brief time before Hubbell's federal imprisonment. This shocker should end naive beliefs that the cozy and profitable relationships between the individuals who ran this system and Indonesian interests was above-board. Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr is investigating these and other enormous payments, totaling $400,000, to determine if they were "hush money" related in any way to Hubbell's decision to not cooperate with federal investigators. Appearances of impropriety include frequent visits to Hubbell in prison by the Clintons' close personal friends, to remind him the Clintons still "cared." The Lippo Group, an Indonesian conglomerate run by the Riadys, helped introduce since-disgraced fund-raiser John Huang to the Clinton administration, which later endorsed Rapoport's $2 billion Chinese real-estate project. Rapoport's public service to Texas served his private interests well. Clinton has claimed ignorance of these "indefensible" payments from his good friends and his best friend. We can no longer deny the coinciding of Rapoport's sudden interest in hiring Hubbell as his lawyer, and the large consulting compensation paid to UT System Chancellor William Cunningham by Jim Bob Moffett and Freeport-McMoRan -- a large and controversial corporate presence in Indonesia….."

Human Events 9/3/99 Scott Park "…Conversations captured by FBI wiretaps suggest that forces in the Peoples' Republic of China may have attempted to direct a witness in the Justice Department's campaign finance investigation to mislead federal investigators. Transcripts of FBI wiretaps of communications between Robert Luu and Democratic fundraiser Johnny Chung raise new questions about Atty. Gen. Janet Reno's much-criticized decision not to call for an independent counsel to be named to investigate foreign influence in the 1996 presidential election. This case may also cause House Republicans to resurrect the contempt of Congress citation against Reno that the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee approved last year, but which then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R.-Ga.) never brought up for a vote on the House floor. The committee approved the citation when Reno flatly refused to comply with a subpoena demanding that she turn over to Congress a memo, written by then-campaign finance investigation tastk force director Charles LaBella, that detailed the reasons both LaBella and FBI Director Louis Freeh believed that the law required Reno to call for an independent counsel to investigate President Clinton and Vice President Gore. "There's no doubt why they didn't go forward with the investigation," Rep. Curt Weldon (R.-Pa.) told HUMAN EVENTS. "Janet Reno know it would be devestating to Clinton and she's covering for him. "She knew this could be the silver bullet," said Weldon, who was a member of the Cox committee that investigated Chinese espionage at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities. "They backed down last time, but I've spoken with Burton and the leadership, and before the end of this Congress, there will be a strong effort to release the contempt citation for a vote." …."

Human Events 9/3/99 Scott Park "…In an FBI interrogation, according to the transcript, Luu claims that he was simply fabricating the whole thing. "When Mr. Clinton came back from China," said an FBI agent, "all of a sudden you're telling Mr. Chung...Don't hold back...just protect her and the two companies, you can tell about everybody else because they're all Taizidang [princelings], blame it on them." "It's all make up story by me," said Luu. In one transcript, Luu told Chung he was leery of meeting in a hotel, and suggested they rendevouz at the Los Angeles Athletic Club-a place, he said, "even the CIA can't get in." Luu also told Chung he would get help with his finances, and that Chung should open an account with a bank in Asia, where the records would be beyond the reach of the FBI. "It would be best if it was a Bank of China account," Luu said. "But it wouldn't be good to use the one over here. It would be best to use the one in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia or Singapore." "They want to push me," Chung told Luu of the FBI's quest for information from him. "What is fact and fiction, is not the concern of anyone," said Luu. "How many people are murdered in the world is also not important. What's important is how the game is played. No matter how much pressure was put on him, Clinton still had to go to China." Luu used President Clinton to illustrate how investigators can be frustrated by suspects who doggedly stick to their stories, however improbable….."

Human Events 9/3/99 Scott Park "… In the transcripts, the FBI discusses with Luu three Chinese who allegedly tried to enter the United States on the false pretext of doing business with Home Depot but who were actually coming to "help" Chung. "You told us intitially," said one FBI agent, "that you never told Johnny that there was anybody coming over to help him...Yet, you tell Johnny that there's three people coming over, under some Home Depot theory, that are here to help him but they got intercepted. Okay, so we go over there [Los Angeles International Airport] and three people...come into the United States that prior weekend with fictitious Home Depot letters. And they were sent back."

Human Events 9/3/99 Scott Park "…Weldon said that what people don't yet know about Chinese activities is far worse than what has already become public. "As a member of the Cox Committee," he said, "I was briefed by the CIA and FBI. Louis Freeh said only 1% of the material in the LaBella memo to Janet Reno has been made public, and I really believe that. Only a small part has gotten out." "I told Reno, if the administration has nothing to hide, release the memo and dispel all the accusations, but, of course, she won't do it," Weldon said. "The American people need to know why LaBella was so emphatic."

Investors Business Daily 9/7/99 John Berlau "…A separate House task force concluded that ''Cosco is actually an arm of the Chinese military establishment. Customs officials caught a Cosco ship smuggling 2,000 automatic weapons into the ports of Oakland.'' Calpers said it is an ''important fact'' the ''gun purchase was created by an FBI sting and that those who were responsible were not from mainland China and have been prosecuted.'' But William Triplett, a former GOP chief counsel for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it was ''preposterous'' to imply that the guns would not have been shipped if there hadn't been a sting, which was organized by the Customs Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Triplett said it was also ''flat wrong'' that no one from mainland China was involved, noting that midlevel munitions officers have been jailed in China. Triplett said, ''the really hot stuff'' about Cosco is probably still classified. The Cox report stated, ''the Clinton administration has determined that additional information concerning Cosco . . . cannot be made public.''…."

Investors Business Daily 9/7/99 John Berlau "…Another claim of Calpers that doesn't square with China observers is that ''Citic Pacific is not a subsidiary of Citic'' and is a respected investment house in Hong Kong ''independent of the Beijing government.'' Citic is chaired by Wang Jun, chairman of Poly Group, a company affiliated with the Chinese military. Poly was listed as a subsidiary of Citic in the 1980s. They continue to work together on some projects. Wang, who attended a White House coffee in 1996, can't come back to the U.S., Triplett says, because of his suspected involvement in the 1996 arms-smuggling ring aboard the Cosco ship. The ''Red Chips'' book calls Citic Pacific ''Citic's publicly listed arm'' and notes that Citic and its wholly owned subsidiary Citic Hong Kong have a ''controlling interest'' in Citic Pacific. ''Red Chips'' notes that Citic Pacific has occasionally ''appeared to bow to political pressure form Beijing'' in its business practices. ''Red Chips'' also notes the Citic Ka Wah Bank, which Calpers also owns shares in, ''has remained directly in the hands of Citic in Beijing.''…"

Asia Pulse 9/15/99 "....Lippo Bank, which has acknowledged giving a substantial amount in contributions to U.S. president Bill Clinton in his last presidential election, had denied doing the same to Indonesia Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P), the front runner in the country's recent parliamentary election. House Commission VIII in charge of economy, finance and banking asked the bank in a hearing Tuesday about a report that the bank had donated Rp500 billion (US$57 million) to PDI-P which is headed by Megawati Sukarnoputri, popular as pro-democracy leader under the past regime of President Suharto. "We have heard and read in the mass media about this, but after undertaking an internal investigation it turned out to be a hoax," Lippo Bank president Eddy Sindoro said in a working session with the Commission here yesterday.....Another member stated, suspicion of Lippo contributing generously to PDI-P was quite logical, because the same case was also done by the Lippo Group to Bill Clinton. "If such is possible in the United States, why it is not possible in Indonesia," he added. ..."

Insight Magazine 5/26/97 Timothy W. Maier "....The FBI learned of a major Chinese espionage plot to influence the elections last year and launched an investigation. The ex-Russian agent says China's political leaders initiated the operation after meeting to discuss how best to penetrate the U.S. government. "It was a poligical group decision," the source observes. What's surprising, says a former NSC staffer, is the reaction in the administration when the FBI reported the Chinese plot to influence the elections. "We have the smoking guns that the Chinese are trying to direct covert actions against the U.S., and nothing is done," the former staffer says. "Any other time it would have meant the expulsion of the Chinese ambassador." The ex-Russian intelligence agent's allegation of Chinese penetration has been confirmed by Randolph Quon, a former Hong Kong investment banker for two decades. Quon is close to several of the Chinese princelings--the sons and nephews of China's ruling leaders who head the major Red Chinese trading companies. He says China had a "guan-zi," or connection to get access, for its U.S. political operation. "Li Peng was told the Lippo Group had a back channel to the White House, to Bill Clinton," Quon says, through "deal-maker" John Huang, the former Commerce official and ex-vice president of the Indonesia-based Lippo Group, which had estensive joint ventures with Chinese power companies. All utility companies in China are operated by the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, say defense-intelligence specialists. Quon claims 20 members of the Communist Party undertook a "strategic-information warfare campaign in the U.S." Part of that plan, he says, was taking control of Lippo--a company that worked to form a strong relationship with China for economic and military opportunities. Four days after Clinton's 1992 victory the Lippo Group sold 15 percent, and then later 50 percent, of its interest in the Hong Kong Chinese Bank to China Resources [Holdings] Co., a Chinese military front company for spy operations, according to U.S. defense intelligence agents. ...."

Insight Magazine 5/26/97 Timothy W. Maier "....Senior U.S. intelligence officials say the Chinese waited patiently for an opportunity to strike and found vulnerability in a White House that seemed more concerned with filling a depleted Democratic National Committee war chest than with national security. Clinton denies security has suffered under his tenure, and Vice President Al Gore says he did nothing wrong in granting access to big-buck donors, but claims he won't "do it again." Sven Kramer, who long served the NSC at the White House under Republican and Democratic presidents, says he is disgusted with the cavalier actions of an administration that critics say put a dialing-for-dollars campaign ahead of national security. Kramer asserts he finds it difficult to believe that the United States would surrender key ports in Long Beach and at either end of the Panama Canal to a PLA-led shipping company called COSCO. He cites the "foolishness of the intelligence community" for not blowing the whistle on these operations.

He is not alone. Bipartisan former intelligence officials, who asked not to be identified, trace this national-security breakdown to Clinton's out-of-control fund-raising campaign. They cite the selling of White House access to drug dealers and heads of Chinese gun-smuggling companies, as well as presidential one-on-ones with sons and daughters of the highest commanders in the PLA. They note that security clearances were overlooked and access to the president and high administration policy wonks was granted without so much as a FBI background check even for White House coffee-klatsch guests. ...."

 

Insight Magazine 5/26/97 Timothy W. Maier "....Senate investigators characterize Huang as a "human vacuum cleaner" who sifted through an enormous amount of classified information dealing with China as if he knew his opportunity to do so would be short-lived. During his 18 months at the Commerce Department, Huang was privy to at least 109 intelligence briefings--70 in 1994 and 39 in 1995, according to recently released records from Commerce. the numbers are a far cry from the 37 classified briefings initially admitted by Commerce, and this has Senate investigators extremely upset. "We could have been plugging up holes" and controlling the damage, says an angry investigator. "The FBI is now doing a damage assessment." Other former senior intelligence officers in both NSC and the National Security Agency, or NSA, say it would have been extremely unusual for Huang, who served in the Taiwan air force, to have been cleared for such access with a background check. "That's only done with congressmen," says a former senior NSA official. Senate investigators say they are concerned about Huang meeting with a Chinese Embassy official inside his Commerce office 30 minutes after being briefed by John Dickerson, head of the CIA's office of intelligence liaison at Commerce. Records also show Huang placed at least six telephone calls to Lippo shortly after intelligence briefings. Alarmed intelligence sources say Huang's top-secret clearance would have allowed him to see hundreds of classified documents in addition to attending briefings....."

Insight Magazine 5/26/97 Timothy W. Maier "...."What this says is that Huang's security clearance was waived," former NSC staffer Kramer says. "That's is rare and far too generous of the president. The president can waive security if it is considered urgent in order to go on a trip or be involved rapidly in a project."....."

Senate Governmental Affairs Committee 9/21/99 Press Release "....Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson (R-TN) today announced the witness list for the full Committee's oversight hearing on the Justice Department's handling of the Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie case on Wednesday, September 22, 1999 at 10:00am in 628 Dirksen Office Building. Witness Panel I Special Agent Roberta Parker, FBI Special Agent Kevin Sheridan, FBI Special Agent Daniel Wehr, FBI Mr. Ivian C. Smith, Former Special Agent In Charge, FBI Witness Panel II Ms. Laura Ingersoll, Department of Justice Mr. Lee Radek, Department of Justice During the 1996 presidential campaign, Charlie Trie contributed $220,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and $789,000 to the Presidential Legal Expense Trust. Most of this money was not Trie's; much of it was from sources in Macau, Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China. In March 1997, at the start of its campaign finance investigation, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee issued a subpoena to Charlie Trie for documents important to the Committee's investigation. In June, just before the Committee's hearings began, the FBI learned that Trie's assistant was destroying documents that agents believed should have been produced under that subpoena. DOJ attorneys, however, rejected the FBI's request to conduct a search of Trie's office for the purpose of stopping this destruction of evidence. The FBI was not permitted to conduct its requested search until October 23, 1997, by which point the Committee's hearings were about to end. "The Committee wants to know whether Justice officials stood by while Charlie Trie destroyed documents we subpoenaed," said Chairman Thompson. Throughout 1997, Attorney General Reno promised that her campaign finance investigation would "get to the bottom of the allegations" of campaign finance abuses. She stated publicly that she was "personally monitoring it closely and regularly." And she assured the American people "that the career professionals in the Department will investigate this matter in a fashion that will satisfy the American people that justice has been done." Wednesday's hearing will examine whether this was the case...."

Washington Times 9/24/99 Freeper SVTCobra "….The warrant said the documents included check records for Trie's company, Daihatsu International Trading Co.; a statement from the Bank of China in Macao; travel records for Chinese financier Ng Lap Seng, who had wired $1 million into Trie's bank account; bank deposit slips and wire-transfer documents; and an unexplained Federal Express package showing that 2 pounds of documents had been sent by the White House to Trie on May 5, 1997…."

Wall Street Journal/ Asiaweek 9/24/99 "….The APEC Business Advisory Council is an annual, sometimes interesting, closed-to-the-press sidebar event at APEC summits. ABAC meetings bring together three businessmen from each of the member economies and the top-level leadership of each countries' delegation -- usually the president or prime minister. The annual "dialogue" -- it is really a tightly scripted encounter -- does offer some interesting insights into what is on leaders' minds…… Canada's Jean Chretien came out strongly for the abolition of food subsidies, while U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke of the importance of keeping the information superhighway free of tariffs to allow e-commerce to flourish. Perhaps the most intriguing comment came from Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Cheehwa. His topic: the Y2K computer bug…..After the meeting, Clinton was spotted briefly with one of Indonesia's ABAC members -- James Riady, an old friend from the days when Clinton was a state governor. A former employee of the Riady Family's Lippo Group -- John Huang -- was embroiled in the illegal campaign donations scandal that tainted Clinton's 1996 reelection bid. There were allegations that money was paid to influence U.S. policy toward Indonesia and China. In the Carlton's ballroom, Riady appeared to be briefing Clinton on the situation in Indonesia. …."

The New Zealand Herald Online 9/21/99 Yoke Har Lee "….Political cronyism in Indonesia won't disappear overnight but a lot of pressure is being placed on the system to ensure Indonesia does not repeat its history of corruption, according to James Riady, one of the country's business leaders…… Indonesian investors are mainly interested in New Zealand's forestry, fisheries and agricultural sectors but Mr Riady said he had at the moment no plans for new investments here. Mr Riady's father, Mochtar Riady, an Indonesian of Chinese descent, fought alongside the nationalist guerrillas against the Dutch colonialists. The elder Riady was expelled but later returned to build Lippo into an Asian empire. Lippo's multibillion dollar assets include businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. The group also once owned a bank in Little Rock, Arkansas, from where the Riadys came to befriend President Bill Clinton and later donate funds to the Democratic party. The ensuing scandal that erupted has caught world media attention in what is now known as Donorgate. The Lippo group, according to financial analysts, escaped the worst of the Asian financial collapse thanks to raising money to repay its US dollar debts just prior to the collapse. ….."

The New Zealand Herald Online 9/21/99 Yoke Har Lee "….Mr Riady said the Lippo group went into the crisis with only US$200 million in debts which have since been reduced to zero. He also dismissed links with the Suharto era saying that the Lippo went into business with a focus on market. "We don't do government business, we have no joint ventures with the government. We are in retailing and in retailing, you don't sell to the government," he said in a wide ranging interview. ….."

Investor's Business Daily 9/28/99 Paul Sperry ".....In what's turning into an internecine feud between the White House and the FBI, President Clinton charged that the FBI is trying to turn the spotlight away from its new Waco troubles by raising doubts about the probe into White House fund-raising. Four career FBI agents told the Senate Wednesday that the Justice Department has thwarted their investigation of illegal foreign funds to the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election effort. ''The FBI wants you to write about that rather than write about Waco,'' a visibly angry Clinton told Investor's Business Daily Friday night at the White House....... The president's statement, called ''extraordinary'' by Hill leaders, marked the first time he's criticized his own bureau in public....... Some compare the discord between Clinton and his chief law enforcement agency to the one that developed between President Nixon and Justice as the Watergate probe crept closer to the Oval Office. ...... Referring to Clinton, Brookings Institution presidential scholar Stephen Hess said: ''The idea that the president is acting as if the FBI is trying to do him in is pretty fascinating.'' .....Clinton also lashed out at Republicans in responding to several IBD questions about the fund-raising probe, which has turned up at least $300,000 intended for Clinton from the Chinese military: ''The GOP wants that to be the story rather than guns'' and other issues that ''people care about,'' he said, adding that ''not one person has brought up'' the Chinagate scandal on his stops around the country. ''You want to know the only person who has been linked to money from China?'' Clinton said. ''Haley Barbour and the RNC (Republican National Committee), that's who.'' ''Bob Dole had more FEC (Federal Election Commission) fines than I did,'' he said..... ''He always likes to attack others more than defend his own positions,'' said a senior Republican White House official. ''He has trouble with the facts and the truth,'' said House Government Reform Committee spokesman Mark Corallo. ''So it wouldn't surprise me, in this case, for the president to be ignoring the facts that his party and his re-election committee and his legal defense fund were the recipients of millions of dollars in illegal money from foreign sources -much of it coming from Communist China.'' The Democratic National Committee has had to return over $3 million in illegal or improper donations from the 1996 campaign. The RNC returned $102,400 in illegal donations from the Florida unit of a Hong Kong-based real- estate company. The 1991-93 RNC donations are apparently the ones Clinton cited. Barbour was RNC chairman at the time, though Hong Kong was still part of Britain, not China, back then. Barbour, now head of a Washington lobbying firm, is a target of Reno's campaign-finance task force. IBD was unable to reach Barbour for comment......The impromptu interview with Clinton, conducted on the South Lawn not far from the Oval Office during a dinner for the press, lasted about 10 minutes and started with a single and simple question: ''When's your next formal press conference, Mr. President?'' Clinton was testy throughout. Observers say his face turned red when questioned about the Chinagate probe. The questions came only after Clinton asked why he should hold another formal news conference. ''He was pretty exercised, and I was surprised he'd get so exercised about the campaign finance stuff,'' said Washington-based Seattle Times reporter James Grimaldi, who overheard the exchange and filed a story Sunday. ''He actually blew up.'' Staffers for CNN and the Associated Press also witnessed the exchange. The president's comments came just two days after three active FBI agents -Roberta Parker, Kevin Sheridan and Daniel Wehr - and one retired - 25- year veteran Ivian Smith - told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that Laura Ingersoll, the former head of Reno's task force, blocked attempts in 1997 to question Clinton fund-raisers and seize documents....."

The Dave Bossie Investigative Report-Special Report 10/4/99 Freeper jedediah smith ".... [There was a] highly illegal effort by the Communist Government of China to swing the U.S. elections to Bill Clinton and the Democrats...not just in 1996, as most people suppose, but as early as 1992. Virtually unknown, even now, is the fact that China tried to influence the 1992 elections on behalf of Clinton. Indeed, by then, it had been "cultivating" the then unknown Arkansas Governor for years. As far back as 1985, the Asian network rescued Clinton's career when his investment of state funds suffered a disastrous loss. During the 1992 campaign, his high-rolling friends came up with the cash to keep him in the primaries, then saved the national campaign with a last minute, unsecured multimillion-dollar loan. From the Chinese view, these efforts to influence the American elections of 1992 and 1996 must be considered an astounding success......"

The Dave Bossie Investigative Report-Special Report 10/4/99 Freeper jedediah smith "....FBI agents went back over tapes of bugged conversations that took place in the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese Ambassador's residence in Washington. The result was a series of conversations between [John] Huang and Chinese Diplomats, including the Ambassador, about how China could use money and propaganda to ensure another Clinton victory in the Presidential election........ Today, China has us in the sights of a new generation of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. These missiles were developed courtesy of American businesses and the Clinton Administration. China did not have the capacity to either build or arm these missiles. Now they do, and they target at least twenty U.S. cities, perhaps twenty-six. And the threat can only grow. This is the price we paid for Bill Clinton's obsession with winning elections by raising the money at all cost.... Clinton is a master of raking in money by selling government privileges behind the scenes. That was his job for the "Dixie Mafia" in Arkansas and he knows every dirty trick in the book. In a sense, his election to the Presidency was simply a promotion to a higher level of crime. Now his clients are the "good ole boys" of the world. If the "good ole boys" of Arkansas want to be partners with the "good ole boys" of China in some questionable but lucrative scheme, Bill Clinton can arrange it... "

BQ's View...With Radio America's Blanquita Cullum 8/26/99 Freeper Stand Watch Listen "....The Clinton Administration traded highly-sensitive U.S. technology to the Communist Chinese for money, lots of it, and the U.S. public still doesn't know the whole story ... Even those aware of this dubious arrangement will be surprised by the amount of money involved ... We originally heard a figure in the vicinity of $300,000, but reporter Ken Timmerman asserts that China's illicit transfers to the U.S. during the Clinton era have topped $90 million ...... Chinese nationals have been coming to the U.S., making donations to Clinton and the Democrats, and then going back ... Dan Burton (R-Ind.) has been trying to depose the State Department's Charles Parish, a senior officer at the U.S. consulate in Beijing, who apparently has given visas to these people in exchange for cash and prostitutes ... Clinton has refused to give the names of the front companies that are operating in the U.S. on behalf of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) ... ... The influence of these front companies is spreading to Wall Street, where they're floating stock and bond issues ... They're going to get into your retirement portfolio without you knowing it ... This is an item of major concern ... The Arkansas Teachers and California Retirement System have them ... ... Some of these front companies might look good from a distance, but the problem is that all of them are controlled by Chinese Military Intelligence, which will manipulate the companies, manipulate the stock prices, clear a big profit and then let the companies fail ... We've seen this happen time and time again with so-called blue chips in Hong Kong, and that could happen in U.S. markets ... A key player in this strategy is an Internet company, China.com ... ... The $92 million was transferred between 1994 and 1996 to the Far East National Bank in Los Angeles ... "

BQ's View...With Radio America's Blanquita Cullum 8/26/99 Freeper Stand Watch Listen "....What we have here is just an awful lot more money coming into the U.S. economy and political pockets than we thought before ... The Treasury Department was blocked by Clinton, and the report has been classified ... Timmerman has not been able to gain access through the Freedom of Information Act, and the White House won't deliver it to Congress ... That's disgraceful ... It's amazing to me the total disregard for the rule of law by the Clinton Administration ..... $92 million is a lot, but we don't know how much actually made it into the coffers of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) ... And whose pockets it went into ... .. Timmerman has identified links to what is known as the China Plan, attempts to buy political influence in the U.S. ... The FBI and Justice Department knew about it, and they've advised Congress, but what has been revealed to us is only the tip of the iceberg ... ... The truth also is being uncovered and reported from within the U.S. government, despite White House bullying, by people who believe that they have sworn an oath of allegiance to the nation and not to a particular political party or administration ... They have seen things being done wrong ... They've seen lies ... They've seen investigations quashed ... And they have tried to provide information at great risk to themselves and their careers ... This is good news that these kinds of people are still in government ..."

BQ's View...With Radio America's Blanquita Cullum 8/26/99 Freeper Stand Watch Listen "....An effort of this type has led to a witch hunt orchestrated by the White House at the Defense Technology Security Administration ... Clinton has attempted to end the careers of persons who have come forth with information ... One of those under attack said his political superiors had tried to delete files that would have prohibited the approval of high technology exports to China ... The person filed reports saying the U.S. should not approve the export of a super computer that is going to damage our security ... And his superiors deleted the files ... That's terrible ... ... The web in intrigue seems endless ... Chung said he did not know where the general was getting the money ... As it turns out, Chinese Intelligence controls the largest so-called private security firm in China, JNA Securities ... It is the company that, in the end, transferred the money to Chung ... Timmerman said he investigated this web of front money set up by Chinese Military Intelligence and JNA Securities ... They used Citibank in Hong Kong and a variety of banks on the U.S. West Coast ... They funneled lots and lots of money into the U.S. ... And we've only touched the surface of this investigation ... "

Freeper excerpts of Johnny Chung transcript "....
JC: You were telling me that LIU Guniang's (Ms. LIU's) friend is here?
RL: You ... you're not to ask these things. It's sufficient that you are aware ... that you're aware that they're working on your case. They are making contacts with these two major companies. They are working, helping you. They don't want to have any conflicts with that other side. How can they expect to do business with the other side if there's conflicts between them? They are talking long-term business relations. These two companies are the 2nd ... other than MACDONALD DOUGLASS ... MACDONALD DOUGLASS handles 80% of businesses of the country.
JC: Which one does?
RL: MACDONALD DOUGLASS. The other two are INDEPENDENT (companies), not really looked after by China. They won't want to make the Communists angry, if they do, they'll ruin their changes for working with the Communist Party. Therefore, no matter what, they've got to find the way to iron out things. It's difficult to see it this time ... it's a stage of swaying back and forth. The future is not forseeable at this moment. I strongly believe that these two companies can work together hand-in-hand and I don't believe they can't accomplish great tasks.
[...]
RL: The rest is not important. (UI) The Communist Party ... Generally speaking, one hopes that technology in China gets better, with better equipment. They ... their future ... ,Well, they dislike MACDONALD DOUGLASS, that's for sure.
JC: They dislike what?
RL: The two of them, dislike MACDONALD DOUGLASS immensely.
JC: Okay.
RL: Because they ... because MACDONALD DOUGLASS received the DEAL directly....
JC: Whom did you mean when you said, "they"?
RL: That's HUGHES and LORAL.

 

Washington Times 10/19/99 Jerry Seper "...The Democratic National Committee invited a Chinese arms dealer to a White House coffee with President Clinton at the insistence of Washington investment counselor Ernest G. Green, a longtime presidential pal whom the Justice Department's campaign finance task force is now investigating. Richard Sullivan, a former DNC finance chairman, told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee at a July 1997 deposition that an invitation to arms dealer Wang Jun for the February 1996 coffee was "obviously a mistake" but it had been issued as a favor to Mr. Green. Mr. Sullivan, who coordinated DNC efforts to target big-dollar donors, including Democratic fund-raiser Charles Yah Lin Trie, told committee lawyers that DNC officials advised him the Wang invitation was "important for Ernie and Charlie" -- a reference to Mr. Green and Trie. "It was a mistake, . . . obviously a mistake," Mr. Sullivan testified. "It was something, as I understood it, that was important that Ernie had this guy in town doing business. Ernie had been a longtime supporter, and it was purely as a favor to Ernie." ...."

Associated Press 10/21/99 Pete Yost "....A Justice Department official said Thursday night that the way soon may be clear for John Huang, a central figure in the campaign fund-raising investigation, to testify before a congressional committee. The FBI has been conducting an espionage investigation of Huang. While not saying that the espionage investigation is completed, the department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Justice Department no longer will oppose granting limited immunity from prosecution to Huang....."

Washington Post 10/28/99 Lorraine Adams David Vise "….During more than 23 days of interrogation earlier this year, Huang told FBI agents that after being solicited by Ickes, he contributed $1,000 to Jackson's campaign and raised several thousand dollars more, according to sources close to the investigation. Last week, the Justice Department provided reports of Huang's debriefing to the House Government Reform Committee, which is expected to vote today on granting Huang immunity for testimony he might give to the panel. Federal law bars government officials from requesting campaign donations from subordinates…. Justice officials said yesterday that bringing a case against Ickes would be problematic because of questions about whether Huang could be considered a subordinate of Ickes under the law……"

WorldNetDaily.com 10/25/99 "….Former Democratic Party fund-raiser Johnny Chung is publicly accusing high-ranking Clinton administration and Democratic National Committee officials of accepting cash payments for political access -- including access by Chinese military and intelligence officials. Chung repeated charges he has made to the FBI, to Justice Department investigators and congressional staffers Saturday night at Judicial Watch's 5th anniversary celebration in Pasadena and expressed amazement and frustration that "nothing has been done" to punish others…… "The same day I begin to cooperate, my business dropped 90 percent,'' he said. ``All of the government offices dropped me. I had 260 accounts and I now have 24.'' He said he has no choice but to close the doors of his Automated Intelligent Systems Inc. Oct. 31. ……"

NewsMax.com 10/25/99 Carl Limbacher "….During the reception, Chung was asked by NewsMax.com if he thought Bill Clinton was an agent of the Chinese. He responded, "I believe our president is in the back pocket of the communist Chinese." …..The event, hosted by Judicial Watch chairman drew nearly 400 people. Attendees included Paul Rodriguez of Insight magazine, Reed Irvine of Accuracy in Media, LA radio legend Ray Briem (who broadcasted live during the dinner), Hollywood conservative Peter Ford, national talk host Mike Siegal, Arkansas State Trooper Larry Patterson, San Diego radio host Mark Larsen -- to name a few….."

Los Angeles Times 10/30/99 Robert Jackson "…..Former Democratic fund-raiser John Huang has told the FBI that he helped raise $700,000 for President Clinton's first campaign for the White House through an illegal conduit scheme involving foreign-tainted money, a House committee chairman disclosed Thursday. Huang told FBI agents that the illegal scheme was approved by Indonesian businessman James T. Riady, a longtime Clinton friend who heads the worldwide Lippo banking group, according to a lengthy statement read by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.)…..Burton called for the prosecution of Riady, Huang's former boss at Lippo, based on the FBI documents. Legal analysts, however, pointed out that there is a five-year statute of limitations on 1992 campaign law violations. And Huang, based on his plea agreement, cannot be further prosecuted….."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 10/29/99 Jerry Seper "….the committee's chairman, Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican, said Huang -- now a cooperating witness in the Justice Department's campaign finance task force probe -- has given new information to government prosecutors about suspected campaign irregularities. That information includes accusations that Huang: Was asked by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, now an adviser in the pending senatorial candidacy of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, to raise campaign cash for Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s re-election when Huang served as a Commerce Department official……Mr. Burton said Huang told task force investigators he and Mr. Riady arranged to have "hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions" funneled through Lippo Group employees and subsidiaries to the Clinton campaign. He said Huang "got the bank account numbers from some of these employees and passed them on to Lippo Group headquarters in Jakarta to make sure they were reimbursed." ….."

AP via Newsday.com 10/28/99 Pete Yost "….The House Government Reform Committee voted unanimously to grant Huang, a government witness, limited immunity from prosecution after the panel's chairman, Rep. Dan Burton, stated that Huang: ….. --Embarked on an illegal fund-raising scheme in 1992 after his boss, Indonesian businessman James Riady, promised presidential candidate Bill Clinton $1 million in political donations. ``Why wasn't James Riady indicted?'' asked Burton. Clinton greeted Riady while shaking hands on the president's recent trip to New Zealand. Riady has not returned to the United States since allegations of campaign fund-raising abuses erupted in 1996. Burton said Huang has told investigators that after Clinton and Riady took a car ride in 1992, Huang helped arrange the scheme in which Riady employees could be reimbursed for their political donations. Burton said Riady made the promise of $1 million during the ride. The car ride and Riady-connected donations were previously known, but Riady's alleged $1 million personal commitment to Clinton had not been known until Huang began cooperating with the Justice Department earlier this year. ….."

Committee on Goverment Reform Rep Burton 10/28/99 "….The first order of business today is to vote to confer immunity on John Huang. I believe we've reached an agreement on this issue. I thank Congressman Waxman for that, and I thank all of my colleagues. I think we're going to have a unanimous vote…..John Huang was James Riady's right-hand man in the United States. He worked for James Riady at the Lippo Bank in Los Angeles. In 1994, the President appointed him Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce. This happened after a series of meetings involving James Riady and Webster Hubbell. Mr. Hubbell got $100,000 from Mr. Riady. A few weeks later, Mr. Huang got his job at the Commerce Department. At the end of 1995, he became the Vice Chairman for Finance at the Democratic National Committee. He was forced to resign from the DNC prior to the 1996 elections when the fundraising scandal surfaced. The DNC had to return more than $3 million that he raised. Most of that came from foreign sources. We have the FBI's interviews of John Huang. We've been reviewing them, I believe we've reached an agreement to make them public. Our staffs will work together with the FBI to redact personal information and I hope they'll be ready for release early next week……"

Drudge 10/27/99 "…..John Huang, Clinton fund-raiser and former Commerce Department official, has alleged to federal investigators that White House aide Harold Ickes called him at his government office in 1995 and asked him to 'round up' money for the congressional campaign of Jesse Jackson Jr.... MORE... Haung also claims James T. Riady, an Indonesian billionaire, told President Clinton during a limousine ride that he would raise $1,000,000 for the President... "

Judicial Watch 10/27/99 "….The speech was part of Judicial Watch's 5th Anniversary Celebration in Pasadena, California on October 23, 1999. Among the highlights of Chung's speech:

- Chung detailed how an employee of Hughes Aerospace admitted to him in China that the reason Hughes had turned over sensitive missile data to the Chinese communists after a Chinese rocket had failed was that that was the only way Hughes could get insurance money for its losses.

- Chung asked why banking records he had turned over to the Clinton Justice Department showing funds transfers from the Chinese military to his bank accounts were never turned over to Congress. Chung later sent some these funds to Clinton's political campaign operation at the DNC.

- Chung recounted how he, at the urging of and in the presence of DNC official Richard Sullivan [who is now reported to be working for Al Gore] and another Democratic fundraiser wrote checks totaling $25,000 for straw donors for President Clinton's 1996 campaign.

- Chung recounted how former DNC Chairman Don Fowler was perfectly aware that his associates were related to the Chinese military. Chung also implicated Terence McAuliffe in the Chinagate scandal…..

- Chung praised Larry Klayman and Judicial Watch as being seekers of the truth and questioned why only "givers" in the campaign fundraising scandal have been prosecuted and not upper-level "givees" in the Clinton White House and DNC….."

Drudge Report 10/27/99 "…..MORE... Haung also claims that White House aide Harold Ickes called him at his government office in 1995 and asked him to 'round up' money for the congressional campaign of Jesse Jackson Jr... The DRUDGE REPORT has learned that Huang made the allegations during interviews with the FBI…… Huang charges: On August 14, 1992, between campaign stops in Los Angeles, Riady told then Gov. Clinton that he would like to raise $1,000,000 for Clinton's presidential campaign. Riady told Huang about his conversation with Clinton, according to FBI documents, and explained how he could not give the money directly to Clinton. Huang claims that Riady ordered him to organize LIPPO GROUP employees to distribute the money. In 1992, over $700,000 was given to the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE by LIPPO employees holding green cards…… In the plea agreement, Huang fingers James Riady: "[Huang's] superior made the initial determination to reimburse contributions with foreign funds. According to defendant Huang, soliciting and reimbursing campaign contributions became part of defendant Huang's job."

USA Today 11/3/99 Walter Shapiro "….As with so much else relating to the president's near-fatal addiction to Asian campaign money, it's unlikely we'll ever know what was going through Clinton's mind when Riady allegedly made his offer. Riady, whom Clinton briefly chatted with in September during a visit to New Zealand, seems determined to spend the rest of his life outside the reach of U.S. law-enforcement subpoenas. But what gives the impossible to verify story heft, is both Clinton's record when it comes to campaign cash and the lack of integrity and truthfulness in his personal and public life. That's why it is intriguing, judging from his continued relations with Riady, that Clinton apparently did not turn to his glad-handing friend and say, "Yes, you could probably raise the money, but it would be wrong." That was the moment when another would-be president might have drawn the line -- and it would have made all the difference. According to the FBI summaries, Riady told Huang "that it would not 'look good' for (him) to give so much money. J. Riady preferred that many Lippo Group related people contribute." As a result, Huang and at least 11 other Riady employees wrote checks to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and state parties. Riady-related companies then reimbursed them from overseas funds, in direct violation of the election laws….."

USA Today 11/3/99 Walter Shapiro "….Huang was little more than a fly on the wall at a Sept. 13, 1995, meeting in the Oval Office that included Riady and Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey. According to the FBI summaries, "the 'gist' of the meeting was Riady's discussion of the importance of the Asian American Community, and their role in the upcoming election." Huang was recruited to move to the DNC after Riady stated that "he wanted to bring in a person helpful to the (Asian-American) community in the area of fund-raising ." ……"

Washington Post via Drudge 11/2/99 Pete Yost "….In interviews with the FBI, fund-raiser John Huang said he was told President Clinton was surprised when Indonesian businessman James Riady told him of his plan to raise $1 million in political donations. …… Huang, who said he was told about the conversation by Riady, also recounted how Riady came to pay $100,000 in financial assistance to longtime presidential friend Webster Hubbell. The House Government Reform Committee released 300 pages of FBI interviews with Huang on Tuesday, revealing details of what Huang has been telling the FBI for the past year…."Poor Dan Burton," White House spokesman Jim Kennedy, said of the Republican committee chairman. "Like Al Capone's vault, his investigation has yielded nothing, and his conspiracy theories lie in ruins." Kennedy said Burton is "recycling old stories like a guy at a high school reunion, desperately hoping somebody will remember, or care. Nobody does." A spokesman for Burton, Mark Corallo, responded: "Apparently, the president and his mouthpiece don't find anything wrong with James Riady flying in from Jakarta, meeting with the president and promising to give him a million dollars for his campaign. ... Apparently Mr. Kennedy would prefer that the American people had never heard about any of this." ….."

Washington Post via Drudge 11/2/99 Pete Yost "….Huang said he was asked by Riady to set up a meeting with Hubbell in 1994 around the time Hubbell left the Justice Department amid questions about his personal finances. Huang said he understood that Riady and Hubbell settled the "pride" issue satisfactorily at a breakfast meeting. Riady asked Huang to obtain Hubbell's bank account number and a $100,000 payment followed. "Huang believed that there was an understanding between J. Riady and Hubbell that J. Riady would help Hubbell monetarily, and Hubbell would help J. Riady in unspecified ways in the future," an FBI interview summary stated. The payment was among $700,000 to Hubbell at a time when he was under investigation by the Whitewater prosecutor's office. Many of the payments were arranged by friends of the president and first lady….."

WASHINGTON TIMES 11/2/99 Jerry Seper "…..President Clinton never discouraged Indonesian businessman James Riady from honoring a promise to raise $1 million for his 1992 presidential campaign despite federal laws barring donations from foreign nationals, records show. ….. Huang, a former Lippo executive who later worked for the Commerce Department and the Democratic National Committee, told the FBI he obtained private bank account numbers from some employees and passed them to Lippo headquarters in Jakarta to make sure contributors were reimbursed. "Huang assumed that these people would be 'made good' or 'taken care of' for their contributions because Huang himself had been 'taken care of' for his contributions" to the Democratic Party, according to a transcript of a Jan. 19 interview of Huang by FBI agents in Los Angeles….."

WASHINGTON TIMES 11/2/99 Jerry Seper "…..The FBI transcripts said Huang was the Lippo official who decided to make corporate donations by means of Lippo subsidiaries, including Hip Hing Holdings, Toy Center Holdings of California and San Jose Holdings. Checks were written off of the subsidiaries' bank accounts and memos were sent overseas to Lippo officials requesting foreign reimbursements, the transcripts show. "Huang took full responsibility for all the contributions made by Lippo Group entities being reimbursed with foreign funds," the transcripts said….. According to the transcripts, released yesterday by the House Government Reform Committee, Lippo employees -- including Mr. Riady and Huang -- each contributed $25,000 to the Democratic Party so Mr. Riady could impress his hometown mayor in China, where Mr. Riady was born, by bringing the mayor to a December 1993 fund-raiser with Mr. Clinton in California. Huang told the FBI he was reimbursed for his donation and he believes the others were as well….."

WASHINGTON TIMES 11/2/99 Jerry Seper "…..Mr. Burton said Mr. Riady arranged more than $700,000 in contributions to Mr. Clinton's 1992 campaign, most of which he described as "illegal." Huang's public testimony will probably come in December, Mr. Burton said……"

Fox News AP 11/10/99 Pete Yost "…..A congressional committee Wednesday enabled Charlie Trie, whose donations to the Democratic Party and the Clintons' legal defense fund fueled the campaign fund-raising scandal, to testify in public for the first time. The House Government Reform Committee voted for a limited grant of immunity from prosecution so the former Little Rock, Ark., restaurant owner can tell his story, probably at a hearing early next year.. ..."

NewsMax.com 11/6/99 Carl Limbacher "…. on Friday Chung revealed that in March 1999 the U.S Attorney's office in Los Angeles overruled the FBI on the question of whether Chung's life was still in danger, even though FBI field agents had already deemed Chung's situation dire enough to put the witness and his family under armed guard…… Though Chung offered the startling account [below] of how his protection was withdrawn on a nationally syndicated radio broadcast hours before newspaper deadlines, not a single mainstream print outlet carried the news on Saturday….."

NewsMax.com 11/6/99 Carl Limbacher "….CHUNG: The third (assassination attempt) was on March 20, 1999, this year. An Italian-American man came to my office with a weapon in his back pocket. And I was lucky to have the FBI inside my office. And they got him. But I don't know what happened next......Some of the Chinese Mafia here in Los Angeles, they also come to harass me. And this is an ongoing investigation (so) I don't want to mention too much. Yes, indeed, I fear that.

GRANT: Larry, is Johnny aware of the infamous list of curious deaths that have occured to people that have had anything to do with then-Governor Bill Clinton and now President Bill Clinton?

KLAYMAN: I don't know that he is. But one of the things that's true; thank God that he's not on that list......When we were taking his deposition, and when Johnny relayed this latest incident where a person came to his office with a gun stuffed in his pants, Johnny said to me that he called the FBI over and they came over. And this guy, of course, left. I'll let Johnny explain it too. And when they left, he asked the FBI, he said, "I want some protection." And their response was, "Call 911."

GRANT: Are you serious!

KLAYMAN: I'm being serious. Johnny can confirm this.

GRANT: Oh, my God!

KLAYMAN: I then said to Johnny, "Johnny, would you like me to ask Judge Lamberth to get you some protection? Not only are we concerned about you as a human being but as a material witness in this entire case." The Reno Justice Department lawyer breaks in and says, "He doesn't need any protection." Unbelievable, isn't it?

GRANT: It certainly is.

CHUNG: Well Bob, I'd like to say that immediately after that Italian-American, the FBI take me to the hotel. And then they immediately went to my house and picked up my wife and children. And then, FBI was protecting me. But the next day, all of the FBI was retrieved from the hotel. And that was that. And then later on I called the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. They told me, "Mr. Chung, you're case is over. So if you are a normal citizen, what would you do? You just call 911." I said, "What!!!" (The U.S. Attorney repeated), "You just call 911." I told my sentencing Judge about this, and Judge (Manuel) Real. He also say, "What!!!"

Bob Grant's nationally syndicated radio show is broadcast Monday though Friday, 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM ET, on the WOR radio network. Grant's broadcasts are archived and can be heard on Real Audio. Johnny Chung was interviewed during the second hour of Grant's Nov. 5 broadcast….."

Judicial Watch 11/6/99 Joe Giganti "….On the night of October 23rd, Judicial Watch held its 5th Anniversary Black-tie Dinner in which Johnny Chung was a speaker. In his hour long speech, Mr. Chung revealed new information that ties together involvement by high ranking, Chinese military officers to the campaign finance scandals. The speech has sparked interest not only from Mr. Chung's native Taiwan, but also the communist mainland of China. Because of strict controls of the Internet in China (which even blocks CNN's website), Judicial Watch's site was accessed through a government controlled "Information Station" signaling that the access was made by a Chinese official entity….."

Times of London 11/5/99 James Bone David Lister "….A confidential witness told the New York State Banking Department last year that a company set up as part of an alleged money-laundering scheme by Russian bankers was also being used to make what were described as "contributions". He identified the company as Whalesdon Financial Company, with account 826.416.310.333.01 at the Bank of Liechtenstein. Whalesdon was "used for what was coded as contributions to American contacts - Washington and so on", the witness told investigators. "The code name was contributions. To me it's [a] bribe."….According to documents in the British Virgin Islands Whalesdon Financial Company was registered on May 25, 1992, but was struck off on November 1, 1995, after failing to pay its licence fee to the Registry of Companies. No details of shareholders or directors are given for the company, which is registered to an address in Road Town, Tortola….."

MSNBC 11/4/99 Tom Vurry "….Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Scott Fredericksen, a Seattle lawyer and former prosecutor in the Office of Independent Counsel, on Thursday to be the head of the federal campaign finance task force, the Justice Department unit looking into illegal contributions in the 1996 presidential campaign. A 1997 Senate committee investigation found that 'unprecedented amounts of illegal foreign contributions' were poured into the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election effort and the coffers of the Democratic Party……The committee said it had "uncovered strong circumstantial evidence that the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was involved in funding, directing, or encouraging some of these foreign contributions." The Democratic National Committee was forced to return $2.8 million in illegal or improper donations…….When Reno asked him to take on the mission, "I felt duty bound to respond," Fredericksen said. Scott Fredericksen Now a partner in the Seattle law firm of Stoel Rives, LLP, Fredericksen served from 1991 to 1994 in the Office of Independent Counsel's investigation of scandals at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Reagan administration. Fredericksen's job will be complicated by the parallel, on-going investigation by House Government Reform Committee, headed by Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind….."

MSNBC 11/4/99 Tom Vurry "….House Government Reform Committee chairman "Most of the [Lippo] employees didn't even live in the United States, but they had green cards," Burton said. "Mr. Huang states that he got the bank account numbers from some of these employees and passed them on to Lippo Group headquarters in Jakarta to make sure that they got reimbursed." … "Why hasn't James Riady been indicted?" wondered Burton. "It's certainly not for lack of evidence. You have clear testimony that James Riady was organizing conduit contributions. People were being reimbursed from overseas. You have documentary evidence." ….."

Worldnetdaily 11/15/99 "…. The ranking intelligence expert in the U.S. Congress says he believes that one-time Democratic National Committee fund-raiser John Huang had a "double agenda" when he was working at the U.S. Commerce Department, and that the FBI probe of the matter has been inadequate. "I think the FBI has not done an adequate job on this," said Rep. Porter Goss , R.-Fla., chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Goss also served as a member of the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China (the Cox Committee). "I'm a little disappointed that they have not been more aggressive on this case and a couple of other ones." In a wide-ranging interview with the editors of Human Events, Goss, who was a clandestine services officer in the Central Intelligence Agency for 10 years, also discussed what he sees as a potential disaster looming for the U.S. intelligence community as the result of the gutting of resources that has taken place during the Clinton presidency. …."

Newsweek 11/22/99 "….. Three years after an Asian money scandal rocked Bill Clinton's re-election campaign, the Justice Department is closing in on Indonesian tycoon James Riady as the alleged "central figure" in a wide-ranging scheme to circumvent U.S. election laws. NEWSWEEK has learned that prosecutors, armed with details provided by Riady's top U.S. lieutentant, John Huang, believe they have enough evidence to charge Riady-and possibly some subsidiaries of his Lippo Group conglomerate-with funneling illegal contributions to political candidates, starting with Clinton's '92 race….. But a deal appears unlikely because Riady seems unwilling to plead to a felony. Riady "did not commit any knowing violations of federal campaign laws," his lawyer said. A White House spokesman said, "Nobody cares anymore." …"

Washington Weekly 11/14/99 Marvin Lee "….The FBI debriefing notes of suspected Chinese Spy John Huang confirm that the ties between Chinese intelligence run deeper and go further back than the 1996 presidential election that has been the focus of campaign fundraising probes. John Huang reveals that in 1985, China Resources Corp., a front for Chinese intelligence, financed a Lippo-organized trip to Asia by then-governor Bill Clinton. Four years later, in 1989, John Huang together with Chinese agent Maria Hsia and James Riady of Lippo, formed the Pacific Leadership Council, and invited none other than then-Senator Al Gore to the Hsi Lai temple headquarters in Taiwan in 1989. On behalf of the Chinese government, Maria Hsia promised Al Gore that she would persuade all her colleagues "in the future to play a leader role in your presidential race." ….. When Al Gore entered the Hsi Lai temple of Los Angeles seven years later to facilitate the laundry of donations in a "fund-raiser," he must have known it came from the Chinese government….."

Washington Post 11/28/99 Al Kamen "…... Melinda Yee. When last we left the former Commerce aide, a federal judge was chiding her for discarding documents involving her work for then-Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown's trade missions. Congressional investigators charged that the missions were used as rewards for corporate executives who contributed to the Democratic Party. She was also linked with some of the controversy surrounding the Democratic fund-raising scandal, through her association with Commerce colleague John Huang and Indonesian banker James Riady. ……..Franklin [her new last name], who was never charged with any crime in connection with the federal investigations of Commerce trade missions or Democratic fund-raising, said she was nominated for the fellowship by the Council on Foreign Relations, of which she is a member….."

The Washington Weekly 11/22/99 Johnny Chung "…Evan Ryan left and came back about 20 minutes later and told me she had spoken with Maggie Williams. Evan told me "Maybe you can help us." Then she told me that the First Lady owed some money to the DNC because the DNC had paid about $80,000 for some White House Christmas parties. Evan told me that she was telling me this on behalf of Maggie, who hoped that I could help the First Lady with her debt. Then a light bulb went on in my head and I started to understand. I said I would help with $50,000. I left the White House feeling sure I would get what I wanted. The next morning I came back to the White House and was escorted to Evan Ryan's desk in the reception area of the First Lady's office. I gave her an unsealed envelope with the $50,000 check inside. She lifted the flap and looked at the contents. I had also put a note inside the envelope saying something like "To Maggie -- I do my best to help. Johnny Chung." A little while later, Maggie Williams joined us and Evan gave the envelope to her. Maggie immediately brought me into her private office and open and look it and called the White House mess to reserve a table for me and my group. Before we went to lunch, I was told that I would get another item on my wish list: a meeting with Hillary Clinton that afternoon. Maggie had set up everything. Before our meeting with Mrs. Clinton, our group walked by Maggie Williams in the Rose Garden. She gave me a look that confirmed that everything was set up. Later, when we were waiting for Mrs. Clinton in a White House reception room, I asked Evan Ryan if the First Lady was told about my donation and she said "Yes, she definitely knows." I wanted to make sure that Mrs. Clinton knew I had donated the money. I wanted to make sure that it counted. You don't just give away $50,000 for nothing. ….."

Wall Street Journal 11/23/99 George Melloan "….One of the mean jokes circulating at the outset of the presidential election campaign holds that Al Gore is better than George W. Bush at naming the presidents of tiny countries because he has hit up all of them for contributions to the Democratic National Committee. This little zinger makes it clear that Mr. Gore is vulnerable to charges of past campaign law abuses, but conveys something else as well: Foreign policy will be an election issue in 2000. Even the Boston reporter who asked George W. the trick question about small countries seemed aware of that….."

Washington Times 12/1/99 Jerry Seper "….When the Democratic National Committee welcomed Johnny Chung and a guest to a 1996 fund-raiser for President Clinton, the DNC knew the guest was not only a Chinese businesswoman but also a high-ranking officer in the People's Liberation Army. Federal law enforcement authorities told The Washington Times yesterday that DNC chairman and former Army 2nd lieutenant Donald L. Fowler, in a previously undisclosed conversation, even joked with Liu Chao-ying before the Los Angeles fund-raiser that as a lieutenant colonel herself and the daughter of China's top general, she outranked him. The White House, which ignored warnings from its own national security advisers that Chung was a "hustler" and should be kept away from the president, has said it was unaware of Col. Liu's background or her ties to the PLA. A Justice Department task force investigating campaign finance abuses during the 1996 election was told of Mr. Fowler's comment earlier this year. In a memo to Congress, it noted that investigations of Col. Liu and Mr. Fowler were among those not yet completed……"

Judicial Watch 12/1/99 "….Johnny Chung, the former Clinton fundraiser who has bravely admitted to funneling money from the Chinese military to Bill Clinton's political campaigns, told Judicial Watch on October 5, 1999 that Don Fowler, the then-head of the DNC knew that one of Chung's associates and DNC donor, Col. Liu Chao-ying, was in fact the daughter of the highest-ranking general of China's military. This speech, which was given at Judicial Watch's 5th Anniversary Dinner, was broadcast nationwide on C-Span last month as well. The full transcript of Mr. Chung's speech is available at the Judicial Watch Internet site at www.judicialwatch.org. The Washington Times reported today about Chung's new information. The information had been disclosed to the nation via Judicial Watch over one month ago on C-SPAN. "Through its excellent reporter, Jerry Seper, we're happy The Washington Times reported on Chung's revelations. The scandal is the lack of interest by others - whether in the Clinton Justice Department, the elite Establishment media, and the Clinton Justice Department," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. …."

The Washington Times 12/1/99 Jerry Seper "….When the Democratic National Committee welcomed Johnny Chung and a guest to a 1996 fund-raiser for President Clinton, the DNC knew the guest was not only a Chinese businesswoman but also a high-ranking officer in the People's Liberation Army. Federal law enforcement authorities told The Washington Times yesterday that DNC chairman and former Army 2nd lieutenant Donald L. Fowler, in a previously undisclosed conversation, even joked with Liu Chao-ying before the Los Angeles fund-raiser that as a lieutenant colonel herself and the daughter of China's top general, she outranked him. The White House, which ignored warnings from its own national security advisers that Chung was a "hustler" and should be kept away from the president, has said it was unaware of Col. Liu's background or her ties to the PLA. A Justice Department task force investigating campaign finance abuses during the 1996 election was told of Mr. Fowler's comment earlier this year. In a memo to Congress, it noted that investigations of Col. Liu and Mr. Fowler were among those not yet completed….."

drudgereport.com 12/14/99 "…Democratic fundraiser John Huang, who is set to go before Congress on Wednesday to answer for his role in the 1996 Democratic presidential fundraising scadal, has leaked his opening statement to the NEW YORK TIMES, according to early cycles of the daily. Huang, who was granted immunity, will appear before the House government Reform and Oversight Committee for three days of questioning. Huang comes out swinging in defense of Clinton and Gorein his opening words…."

The New York Times 12/15/99 David Johnston "…. Protected by a grant of immunity, Huang is scheduled to begin three days of testimony at the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee led by its Republican chairman, Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana -- an event that Republicans hope will prove uncomfortable for President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Republicans may be disappointed. In Huang's opening statement, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times, the former fund-raiser said he knew of no wrongdoing by either Clinton or Gore. Huang said he might have escaped "the terrible ordeal" had he implicated them, but, he said: "I never had a basis upon which to do so. In fact, I maintain very high regard for each of these dedicated men." …… Instead, in his prepared remarks, Huang, who once worked at the Commerce Department and later at the Democratic National Committee, portrayed himself as a victim of partisan politics, a rising tide of anti-Asian sentiment and grossly unfair news accounts, including reports of lawmakers who falsely accused him of economic espionage. "People seeking publicity have lied about me repeatedly in the press and even before this committee without consequence." But he admitted that he had made mistakes. "Embarrassed and saddened though I am by the unfortunate attention my conduct and notoriety brought upon my community, the dated and isolated offenses, which I have openly acknowledged, will not deter me from my careerlong efforts to promote understanding between the citizens of the United States and those of China, Taiwan and the rest of Asia." ….."

Agence France-Presse 12/12/99 "….A newly discovered letter links Vice President Al Gore to an immigration consultant accused of making illegal contributions to the Democratic National Committee, Newsweek reports in its edition out Monday. Gore made an appearance at a Buddhist temple in 1996, a visit arranged by immigration consultant Maria Hsia, who stands trial next month for allegedly making illegal contributions to the DNC. She denies these charges……. According to the weekly, four months after Gore's visit to the temple Hsia approached him at another fundraiser to help get the Buddhist temple designated as a "federally sanctioned testing center for Asian immigrants." Hsia sent a letter, citing the conversation, to Gore aide Elaine Kamarck, who later faxed the letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service requesting officials there to have the "right people get in touch" with Hsia. The INS told Newsweek that it did not respond to the request. However, the letter was never disclosed during the Senate's investigation of alleged Gore campaign finance abuses. The letter was reportedly misfiled with documents from a presidential panel on aviation security and turned up only after someone sued to have access to the aviation commission's full records. ….."

LegalTimes 12/7/99 Carrie Johnson "….Nancy Luque, lead attorney for Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia, claims that prosecutors connived to gain access to damaging information about her client and then used it to win an indictment before the grand jury. She argues that the allegedly ill-gotten facts taint the government's entire case against Hsia. At issue is whether attorneys for a California Buddhist temple shared privileged information with the Justice Department in violation of their earlier agreement to cooperate with Hsia's lawyers. Luque's claim, while difficult to prove, is raising dust. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman convened an unusual evidentiary hearing on Nov. 24, when two California defense attorneys and their former paralegal testified about conversations they'd had with Hsia and members of the prosecution team. Parts of the hearing were closed - even to the prosecutors in the case - to avoid leaks of privileged information……What's more, on Nov. 29, Friedman ordered Eric Yaffe, a member of the Justice Department's Campaign Financing Task Force and one of Hsia's prosecutors, to take the stand in an open proceeding as soon as Dec. 14 to get to the bottom of the matter. Friedman said in court last week that he wants to learn what Yaffe knew about the lawyers' joint-defense agreement…... Last year, Friedman dismissed several charges against Hsia and other key targets of the investigation, opining that prosecutors' theory of the cases resembled an "Alice in Wonderland-like maze of logical leaps and tangled inferences." But in May 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit revived five counts against Hsia for making false statements under the Federal Election Campaign Act….."

Freeper ohmlaw98 12/16/99 "...key points...Gerald Solomon confirmed that evidence exists that implicates Huang..Here is his quote from 1997 and some relevant facts from the Cox Report..."I have received reports from government sources that say there are electronic intercepts which provide evidence confirming that John Huang committed economic espionage and breached our national security by passing classified information to his former employer, the Lippo Group." House Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon, June 11, 1997 "The vast majority of Huang's briefings focused on the PRC and Taiwan, including "raw intelligence" that disclosed the sources and methods of collection used by the U.S. intelligence community...." "During the 18 months that he was at Commerce, Huang called Lippo Bank 232 times, in addition to 29 calls or faxes to Lippo Headquarters in Indonesia. Huang also contacted Lippo consultant Maeley Tom on 61 occasions during the same period. Huang's records show 72 calls to Lippo joint venture partner C. Joseph Giroir...."

Washington Post 12/16/99 Lorraine Adams David Vise "...Congressional Republicans finally got their chance to grill former Democratic fund-raiser John Huang yesterday, but his sole revelation was that he had received gifts of about $40,000 from an Indonesian businessman since a criminal investigation into both men began three years ago. Huang, a former Commerce Department official and fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee, has been a central figure in Republican investigations of the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign finance scandals, but yesterday marked the first time he testified under oath before Congress. In response to questions from House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Huang said James Riady, a wealthy Indonesian businessman and Democratic donor who is also a key figure in the fund-raising scandal, gave him two payments as "gift money." But Huang said the payments were not so that he would "keep quiet" about any illegal conduct by Riady. ...."

AP 12/15/99 Larry Margasak ".... Former Democratic fund raiser John Huang admitted Wednesday he arranged nearly $1 million in illegal contributions for the Democratic Party, but said he was not aware of any wrongdoing by the president or vice president. In his first public testimony on the scandal, Huang rebutted many of the most serious allegations raised against him by Republicans. He denied that he ever spied for China, worked as an agent of an Indonesian conglomerate while a Commerce Department official, or laundered money while a fund-raising official of the Democratic National Committee. ...."

Freeper YaYa123 12/15/99 Huang testimony ".....This article doesn't describe how Doug Buford, of Bruce Lindsey's law firm contacted Huang in a plea to "help" Web with his money troubles, suggesting a trust fund for the kiddos. Huang told Riady about it, and Huang told Hubbell that Riady would come to his rescue. Huang set up the meeting between Hubbell and Riady. Huang admitted that Riady was "helping' Hubbell out of friendship, which puts the lie to the old story that Hubbell was hired by Riady to work for Riady. Questioning even got into AlGore at the Buddist Temple, and at this point, John Huang's answers got even more unbelieveable. He thought, he really thought, oh yeah, that the nuns who vowed poverty, really were giving their own money to the DNC. "Strawman" just didn't ring a bell with him. This article doesn't mention that Waxman was the only democrat there, nor how focused each of the republican questioners are, with each taking different areas in which to question Huang. Souder, LeTourette, and even Shays are doing masterful jobs on Huang, who, when the questioning gets tough, can't really remember much at all. More hearings tomorrow at 10:00am on C-Span....."

AP 12/16/99 Larry Margasak "….Former Democratic fund-raiser John Huang says he arranged about $1 million in illegal contributions for the Democratic Party, largely fulfilling a 1992 promise by an Indonesian businessman to raise that amount for President Clinton. Huang, who was Clinton's chief money raiser for the Asian-American community, told the House Government Reform Committee on Wednesday that the contributions were made by U.S. donors who then were reimbursed by the businessman's company...."

NewsMax.com 12/16/99 Carl Limbacher "….. On Wednesday Chinagate kingpin John Huang continued stonewalling before Rep. Dan Burton's House Government and Reform Committee. To hear him tell it, Messers Clinton and Gore had no idea he was laundering millions in illegal Asian cash for their re-election campaign. Huang and Clinton go back together to the mid 1980s. And according to one key witness, ex-Ron Brown girlfriend Nolanda Hill, the First Lady herself ordered that Huang be placed in a key position at the Commerce Department. Huang also organized Gore's now notorious, not to mention illegal, 1996 Buddhist Temple fundraiser. The man who now claims his bosses knew nothing of his perfidy pled guilty in August to defrauding the Federal Election Commission. His sentence? One year's probation, a meager $10,000 fine and 10,000 hours of community service. Compare the kid glove consequences for Huang to what's happened to Johnny Chung, a witness who's been singing his heart out ever since he decided to cooperate with Chinagate probers last year. Out of the blue last week, the FEC hit Chung with a brand new $127,000 fine based on offenses that have long been a matter of public record. That debt comes on top of the $700,000 in fines and legal fees Chung already owes. Not to mention a probation sentence five times as long as Huang's, which Chung earned for telling all. …… "

The Washington Times 12/16/99 Sean Scully "…Democratic fund-raiser John Huang continued to take money from his Indonesian former employers even while investigators were looking into Huang's role in funneling illegal campaign contributions from the Indonesians to Democratic campaign coffers. Huang took $38,000 from the family of businessman James Riady in 1997 and 1998. The family also paid Huang's way to Asia earlier this year to attend a family party, Huang testified yesterday before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. "I have not been working at all this year," said Huang, a central figure in the 1996 fund-raising scandal. The money was given "as a friend to show concern for me." Huang insisted that the money was not a payoff from his former employer. ….."

The American Spectator 12/16/99 Byron York "…..Television news viewers have a right to be confused about the congressional testimony of formerly fugitive fundraiser John Huang. On Wednesday, Huang spoke extensively about his role in nearly $1 million in illegal contributions to the 1992 elect-Clinton effort, but few news organizations took the trouble to explain it. Some, like ABC and NBC, ignored it altogether. Others barely mentioned it. Here's what the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather reported: In his first ever comments on the matter, Democratic fundraiser John Huang told Congress today he regrets his own illegal fundraising activities in the Clinton presidential campaigns. Huang testified that the President and Vice President were not in any way involved and that he was never, as some have claimed, a spy for communist China. Huang took a thinly veiled swipe at Republicans in Congress who compelled him to testify and others for what he called quote "demonizing me and other Asian-Americans" unquote. …..

The American Spectator 12/16/99 Byron York "…..…..What interests investigators is the amount and the timing of the contributions. The fact that the donations of Ong, Yeh, Ma, Chiang, Sund, and daSilveira add up to precisely $200,000 suggests that the contributions might have been guided by some central supervisor. And the fact that they were all made within a very brief time period could be further evidence of an overall plan. Altogether, the apparent coordination of the contributions -- in light of the known campaign violations of Huang -- makes investigators believe that someone was orchestrating an illegal contribution scheme to benefit the '92 Clinton campaign. To the investigators, it does not make sense that this could have been a random occurrence. "It's like throwing paint at the wall and getting the Mona Lisa," says one. "It just doesn't happen that way." But such suspicion does not extend to the Democratic National Committee. According to spokesman Rick Hess, the DNC has not returned any of the contributions from the people mentioned in this article, apart from the $50,000 Hip Hing Holdings contribution. For that matter, the party has not returned any of the contributions made by John Huang himself….."

NewsMax 12/4/99 "….A lone gunman, whose apparent attempt to assassinate key Chinagate witness Johnny Chung was foiled by the FBI last March, said he wanted to "do some shipping to Beijing" in a telephone conversation with Chung just minutes before the attack. In an exclusive interview with NewsMax.com late Monday, the Taiwanese-American businessman shared a recording of the chilling March 20, 1999 phone call, including the explicit reference to the Chinese capital, from the man he suspects was out to kill him. The call was the second Chung received from the suspected assassin that day. Hours earlier, the Chinagate whistleblower told NewsMax.com his would-be killer phoned to establish contact. After the first call, Chung immediately notified the FBI, which wasted no time dispatching an agent to the office of his fax broadcasting business in Los Angeles. Shortly after the FBI arrived the suspected hit-man was on the line again: ….. Chung says that just minutes later, a man arrived at his address and began pounding his office door "like a crazy man." He refused to let him inside. The menacing stranger had a gun in his back pocket and had been canvassing the building looking for the Chinagate witness, Chung's neighbors later told him. To this day the FBI has been mum on the incident, keeping even Chung in the dark about what happened after the foiled hit. But the Taiwanese-American businessman told NewsMax.com that agents nabbed his would-be killer minutes later, after running a check on his car's license plates. …."

WorldNetDaily.com 1/2000 Charles Smith "….An Indonesian government audit report accuses former President Suharto of accepting bribes from a consortium of companies that are linked to President Clinton's campaign finance scandals. A report obtained by Dow Jones Newswires on Jan. 5 alleges that PT Paiton Energy, a consortium led by Edison Mission Energy of the United States and Mitsui & Co of Japan, inflated its costs by up to $937 million in order to sell expensive electricity to Indonesia…… Federal Election Commission records show that Mission Energy CEO John Bryson donated money to the Clinton/Gore campaign and contributed money to Clinton's legal defense fund. Mission Energy is also a partner of Indonesia's Lippo group, a consortium partly owned by Indonesian billionaire Moctar Riady and the Chinese Army CITIC (China International Trust and Investment Corporation) bank. The Lippo Group and the Riady family are also accused of providing illegal contributions to the 1996 Clinton/Gore campaign….."

WorldNetDaily.com 1/2000 Charles Smith "….Documents provided by the U.S Commerce Department indicate that Lippo business partner Edison Mission Energy received strong Clinton administration support for the multi-billion dollar Paiton project. One 1994 document notes that "with its state-of-the-art emissions-control technology and by using low-sulfur Indonesian coal, the project will be one of the cleanest, most efficient coal-fired facilities in the world." The Lippo conglomerate is currently the only global supplier of low-sulfur coal. In 1996, President Clinton created the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, placing off-limits the world's largest deposit of low-sulfur coal, giving the Lippo group a monopoly in the only other clean-burning coal deposits -- located inside Indonesia….."

WorldNetDaily.com 1/2000 Charles Smith "….The Indonesian auditor said its bribery allegation was based on the finding of $22.23 million of funds listed as "Project Development Costs" in Paiton Energy's 1994 financial report. The auditor said it couldn't find any explanation of the item, although the amount was more than 50 percent of the company's total assets. "We believe that the consortium or Paiton Energy Corp. covered information on expenditures related to speedy-money or bribery," the agency said…."

WorldNetDaily.com 1/2000 Charles Smith "….According to a 1998 article published in the Wall Street Journal, "Wasted Energy" by Peter Waldman and Jay Solomon, the international team of advisors was "shut out" by senior Indonesian officials who ordered the consultants to "stop reviewing fuel costs." "We were slapped back so fast our heads were spinning," stated a Lazard Freres advisor. The Indonesian government auditor's report was the first to review the accusations against Paiton I and the other 25 power projects. The audit recommends that the Indonesian attorney general investigate everyone involved in negotiating the contract….."

NewsMax 1/8/00 Carl Limbacher "…The FBI has confirmed that its agents arrested an unidentified suspect in connection with an attempt to kill key Chinagate witness Johnny Chung last March, Fox News Channel reported late Friday. …..At the top of her interview with Chung, Zahn reported, "Chung believes that he's been marked for death by Beijing because he cooperated with the Justice Department's investigation into the (Chinagate) scandal." Turning to Chung, Zahn added, "The FBI confirmed that it had arrested a man in March allegedly trying to kill you." To date, America's establishment press has been oblivious to the ominous implications of the now-confirmed report that a Beijing operative apparently attempted to rub out a key US government witness…."

Newsday.com 12/27/99 AP "….A North Carolina federal prosecutor was named Monday to head the Justice Department's campaign finance task force. Robert Conrad, who has been criminal chief of the U.S. Attorney's office in Charlotte, succeeds David Vicinanzo, who returned to New Hampshire to be with his family. Vicinanzo remains as a consultant to the task force, set up after the 1996 elections to investigate allegations of campaign finance abuses. Twenty-two people have been charged in the continuing investigation, the Justice Department says. The inquiry came under fire in September when FBI agents told a Senate committee that Justice Department prosecutors impeded their work in the investigation of Democratic donor Yah Lin ``Charlie'' Trie. ….."

Freeper Truthkeeper comments on 12/17/99 "…I wonder if you (or anyone) also caught possibly the most important part of the hearing. It occurred when Burton was grilling Huang about whether his Justice Dept. interrogators knew the fund-raiser seating arrangement was determined by the admission price (if you know what I mean). After some lengthy wrestling, he finally got Huang to admit the following facts:

1. People who contributed more WERE given the better seats.

2. The Justice Department WAS AWARE of this fact because the interrogators made up a seating chart and discussed fact #1 (above) at length with Huang.

After Burton pulled these admissions out of Huang, he asked or said something to the effect of "So the Justice Department knew there was seating preference to this "community event" based on the contribution amount?" Huang again confirmed that they did. (Translation: Yeah, it was a fund-raiser, all right.) Then I saw him turn to a staffer and whisper, "Did they write this information on the 302s?" It looked like he asked that person to go check this out. (Want to bet the 302s do NOT state this fact?)

This is a tremendously significant point. The Justice Department KNEW THIS WAS A FUND-RAISER. Burton now has John Huang's DIRECT TESTIMONY of such...and STILL General Reno chose not to appoint an independent counsel on the matter, despite knowing of illegal activities….."

Christian Science Monitor; Boston, Mass.; 12/17/99 Robert Kilborn and Lance Carden; "…..John Huang, who admitted raising illegal contributions for the Democratic Party, gave his first public testimony on the scandal. Under a grant of limited immunity, Huang testified that he wasn't aware of any wrongdoing by [President] Clinton or Gore in the fund-raising scandal. Although Huang expressed remorse for his illegal activities - for which he was sentenced to a year's probation and fined $10,000 - he accused some lawmakers and others of "unjustifiably demonizing me and other Asian-Americans."

New York Times; New York; 12/17/99 "….Documents made public today at a Congressional hearing about a Democratic fund-raiser at the center of the 1996 campaign finance controversy showed that in interviews with Justice Department investigators, President Clinton denied placing fund-raising calls from an official White House workspace. The documents also showed that Mr. Clinton was never asked in the interviews about the fund-raiser, John Huang, who testified for a second day today before the House Government Reform Committee under a grant of limited immunity. Representative Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who is the committee chairman, said before his panel released the interviews that he could not understand why the F.B.I.never asked the president and Vice President Al Gore about activities of Mr. Huang or other main figures in the illegal fund-raising. ….. ''How could they not ask the president about John Huang?,'' Mr. Burton asked. ''Did they forget? Did they think it wasn't important? Did someone tell them not to?'' …."

The Washington Post 12/17/99 David A. Vise; Lorraine Adams; "…. "I am at a loss," Burton wrote, "to understand why you would tolerate an investigation that failed to ask the president a single question about the following subjects: James Riady, John Huang, Charlie Trie, Mark Middleton, and the Presidential Legal Expense Trust." Burton also complained that Gore was not questioned about "the Hsi Lai Temple, Maria Hsia, John Huang and James Riady." In a statement released yesterday, the Justice Department said it "has conducted a vigorous investigation into allegations concerning campaign finance violations . . . interviews have been conducted so as to focus on the matters then under review." …."

Wall Street Journal; New York; 12/16/99 "….Abstract: "the second of three days of Congressional testimony by John Huang, the mystery man behind many of the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign's fund-raising scandals, will likely draw C-SPAN cameras and not much else" The conclusion one draws from this is fairly obvious: The people who violated existing campaign laws in 1996 have largely gotten away with it. Mr. Huang won a sweetheart plea agreement with the Justice Department that resulted in no jail time and involved him only pleading guilty to making $7,500 in illegal campaign contributions that were unrelated to the 1996 election. "As it now stands, the law has no teeth," remarked Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman. "Why else would two of the most prominent figures from the 1996 scandal -- John Huang and Charlie Trie -- be allowed to plea to charges that resulted in no jail time?" Why else? We can answer that in two words -- Janet Reno. And beyond that, her boss, Bill Clinton. ……. From Mr. Clinton's first days in office, his "strategic partnership" with China included a friendship with Asian fat cats and Clinton fund-raising operatives such as the Lippo Group's James Riady and Macau's mysterious money man Ng Lap Seng. Then-Commerce Secretary Ron Brown ferried corporate titans and Friends of Bill to Beijing and Hong Kong to cut deals, and national security aide Sandy Berger, a former China trade lobbyist, sat in on weekly White House meetings to discuss strategy and fund raising for the 1996 Presidential campaign. The lines between foreign policy, national security and Mr. Clinton's self interest blurred. And surely with this bad example before them, those lines blurred in the eyes of many officials, at many levels, throughout the government. ……. Her department lurched into a series of feckless investigations, obtained a few guilty pleas, but made no real progress toward uncovering the truth about what precisely had happened. We are not suggesting here that the fund-raising and the Lee case are linked directly, but we are suggesting that Ms. Reno's Department acted as if it didn't want to know. Now we are told that the answer to all our problems is more and tighter campaign finance laws, like the ones the incumbent Administration has ignored and the incumbent Attorney General has managed not to enforce. ….."

NewsMax 1/27/2000 Johnny Chung with Carl Limbacher "..."We like your President. We want to see him reelected." Those were the words of former Chinese intelligence chief General Ji Shengde, as he sat across a dinner table from me in 1996 and pledged $300,000 to the Democratic Party for the express purpose of reinstalling Bill Clinton in the White House. Now, in a stunning development that has shaken China's ruling class to its core, General Ji has been arrested as part of a massive crackdown on widespread government corruption. The scandal revolves around billions of dollars in smuggled merchandise and apparently touches dozens of high ranking Communist Party, police and banking officials. ..... My sources tell me that the investigation has now led to some of the same Chinese government officials who I came to know after I became famous in China for my friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Besides General Ji, Liu Chaoying, the China Aerospace executive who introduced me to the general, is now under investigation. As the Times reports, the dimensions of this scandal are something never before seen in China. Even the Vice Minister of China's Justice Department has been detained and questioned....."

NewsMax 1/27/2000 Johnny Chung with Carl Limbacher "...When I testified before Congress about General Ji's offer to help reelect Clinton, Beijing was not pleased. They sent agents to assassinate me. The FBI has confirmed the arrest of at least one of them. As for General Ji, he was demoted. He's now a teacher, which is a far cry from the status he once enjoyed as the keeper of China's intelligence secrets. For the son of one of China's most powerful military men, Ji's demotion is a personal disgrace. Just days ago, after months of refusing to talk, Vice Minister of Justice Li Ji-Zhuo implicated General Ji in the smuggling conspiracy. ....."

NewsMax 1/27/2000 Johnny Chung with Carl Limbacher "...At the center of the scandal is Xiamen businessman Lai Changxing, president of the Yuanhua Group, who investigators say bribed local customs officials to look the other way as his smuggling operation grew. Key witness Yang was the intermediary between Mr. Lai and Gen. Ji, with whom Yang worked very closely. According to The New York Times: "The authorities have closed down (Lai's) Yuanhua company, and at some point last fall Mr. Lai disappeared, presumably into a secret life abroad." Lai isn't the only one with a secret life abroad. Sources tell me that Chinese investigators have learned about US bank accounts held by Gen. Ji's wife totaling millions of dollars. And if that weren't bad enough, both Mr. and Mrs. Ji own million dollar-plus homes in a wealthy Los Angeles neighborhood, according to the latest revelations. For now Gen. Ji has thrown up a protective umbrella over his relationship with Mr. Lai, and has yet to tell probers where the mysterious businessman is hiding....."

NewsMax 1/27/2000 Johnny Chung with Carl Limbacher "...While the scandal rocks Beijing's princeling class, Gen. Ji Shengde's former boss, Gen. Xiong Guangkai is enjoying a red carpet welcome at the Clinton Pentagon as he cajoles top US military officials to trim military aide to Taiwan and abandon America's own plans for a missile defense shield. Could Gen. Xiong be involved in the smuggling conspiracy as well? There's no evidence to suggest that yet. Still, the way things work in the Chinese military, it's hard to believe Gen. Ji would do anything that Gen. Xiong hadn't already approved...... Now Beijing's ruling class waits and wonders: If General Ji Shengde begins to talk, who is he liable to bring down with him? And how will President Jiang react as the scandal spreads to China's princelings? ...."

NY Times 1/24/2000 AP "...The Supreme Court today refused to free a Democratic fund-raiser from charges that she hid illegal contributions to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. The court, without comment, rejected an appeal in which Maria Hsia argued that she was charged under the wrong law and that prosecutors must prove that she knew her actions were illegal. Hsia, an immigration consultant in the Los Angeles area, was charged in 1998 with five counts of making false statements by disguising contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign and other politicians between 1993 and 1996. Hsia, who steered thousands of dollars from a Buddhist temple to the Democratic presidential campaign, was accused of soliciting donations and then orchestrating false filings to the Federal Election Commission....... "

WorldNetDaily 1/25/2000 Charles Smith "….A convicted Chinagate figure linked to Communist Chinese intelligence obtained detailed information on the U.S. Patriot missile system, according to documents found in John Huang's Commerce Department office. The documents reveal that the Clinton Commerce Department appointee, who pled guilty to campaign finance violations in August 1999, met with American defense contractor Raytheon in an effort to sell the advanced anti-missile system to South Korea. The documents, part of a cache of over 200 boxes of material, were obtained by Judicial Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based legal watchdog group.

WorldNetDaily 1/25/2000 Charles Smith "…."Huang took the Fifth Amendment more than 2,000 times when asked by Judicial Watch if he had ties to Chinese intelligence," stated author and Asian Defense analyst William Triplett. Russian SCUD missile. According to documents found in John Huang's files, the North Korean SCUD ballistic mobile missile is a prime threat to South Korean cities. Moreover, said Triplett, co-author of "Red Dragon Rising," the Commerce Department has no authority over weapons sales. "Commerce doesn't do weapons," stated Triplett flatly. …..Investigators inside Congress requested and obtained copies of the Huang documents. According to the investigators, Huang never mentioned working on the Patriot missile sale during his congressional testimony. "We were not aware that Mr. Huang had dealings with weapons for South Korea," stated the source inside Congress who requested not to be identified. "The only known ties Huang had with South Korea was a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar donation to the DNC from Cheong Am company," stated the Capitol Hill source….."

WorldNetDaily 1/25/2000 Charles Smith "….The Huang Patriot missile documents appeared at the same time China's People's Liberation Army Lt. Gen. Xiong Guankai, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, arrived in Washington to begin three days of meetings. Xiong is scheduled to meet Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and other senior Pentagon officials. China was recently accused of passing missile technology to North Korea by the U.S. State Department. However, according to China expert Triplett, Huang is not the only person who can answer questions about possible Chinese espionage. "General Xiong can answer all of the questions," asserted Triplett. "All of the campaign finance scandal comes to him. He is the head of Chinese military intelligence. He approved the three hundred thousand dollars to be given to Johnny Chung. This guy can answer the questions about the Clinton China scandal for Judicial Watch, Congress and the American people." …."

Associated Press 2/1/2000 "....A Miami computer company already fined $1 million by the Justice Department for illegally contributing to Democratic candidates has agreed to pay another $209,000 to the Federal Election Commission. Future Tech International used corporate funds to reimburse employees who contributed to President Clinton's 1996 campaign and several House and Senate Democrats, including Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert Torricelli of New Jersey, according to documents released by the FEC. In addition, Future Tech made $110,000 in unregulated soft money contributions to the Democratic National Committee......"

New York Post 2/1/00 Dick Morris "..... COINCIDENCE? The Wall Street Journal reported last week that shortly after former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker was convicted in the Whitewater scandal, he was hired by James Riady, head of the Indonesian Lippo Group....... According to published reports, Riady's lawyers are currently negotiating with the Justice Department for a plea bargain. For years, Riady has eluded American investigators and stayed out of the United States. But that was no problem for Clinton. Clinton greeted him warmly in New Zealand, where he was invited to a private reception last September -- even though he knew that the Justice Department was after Riady. A friend is a friend. In addition to hiring Tucker in 1999 (without waiting to see if he would begin serving a long jail sentence in a few months), Riady and former Hillary Clinton law partner Joe Giroir stepped in right after Tucker was indicted by Kenneth Starr in 1996 and arranged an unusual and lucrative deal for Tucker's wife, Betty. The deal meant a minimum of $325,000 per year for the Tuckers, no doubt helping tide them over during his difficult time. According to Giroir, Tucker's hiring was "a strictly merit situation." ...."

New York Post 2/1/00 Dick Morris "..... What's the coincidence? Well, Riady and Giroir have also helped out other Clinton confidants in trouble with the law. When former Assistant Attorney General Webb Hubbell was under investigation by the independent counsel, Riady hired him and paid him $100,000. When this was revealed, Riady and Hubbell claimed that it was just a favor for a friend, although it was later disclosed that Riady barely knew Hubbell. The payment was arranged by John Huang, a longtime Riady employee and the Democratic Party fund-raiser who pleaded guilty to collecting more than $1.6 million in illegal foreign campaign contributions to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. And guess what? When Huang was under investigation, Riady provided him with $38,000 -- again, just out of friendship. He's some good friend, isn't he? By further coincidence, Giroir and Riady were in the Oval Office at the fateful meeting that led to the transfer of John Huang from the Commerce Department to the Democratic National Committee as a fund-raiser. It was only a day or two later that Riady decided he wanted to help out Webb Hubbell. Coincidence? At Commerce, Huang had access to classified documents that investigators believe may have been improperly transferred to Riady. ....."

New York Post 2/1/00 Dick Morris "..... The timing of the Tucker-Riady dealings stinks to high heaven. If, as reported, the Tuckers concealed the deal, the independent counsel should reopen the Tucker case, find out all of the details surrounding the Riady "hiring" and re-examine what Tucker has revealed about Whitewater. Why is it that every corrupt Clinton official who might implicate the president and first lady ends up on the Riady payroll? Any suspicions that the Riady-Hubbell deal (where Riady paid Hubbell large consulting fees for no work) was an effort to buy his silence should be heightened by the revelation of the subsequent Riady-Tucker partnership, and the Huang payoff.

Now we face the real issue: Is Robert Ray, Starr's successor as independent counsel, going to roll over and play dead or is he really going to prosecute? According to the Journal, Ray's office was apparently unaware of the Riady-Tucker relationship. Based on his bad health, Tucker never faced jail time, which reduced the leverage Starr presumably had over him during the plea and cooperation negotiations. But now Tucker has received a liver transplant and may be fit to go to prison..... "

 

The New York Times 2/10/00 William Safire "…..Loeb's delicatessen on 15th street serves the best hot corned beef sandwich in town. It was there I ran into Lee Radek, who for years has been successfully making certain that no investigation of illegal Asian money poured into the Clinton-Gore campaign touches any of the higher-ups. Munching a pickle, I asked how come the current trial of Maria Hsia -- the longtime Gore fund-raiser charged with using Buddhist nuns as conduits for $140,000 in illegal contributions -- was being held in Washington, rather than near the Hacienda Heights, Calif., temple, scene of the alleged crime. "We thought this would be a better venue," the chief of the cover-up replied. From his concealing standpoint, he's right -- the nation's capital is far better for acquittal or most lenient sentencing of the defendant……"

The New York Times 2/10/00 William Safire "…..Reno Justice wants none of the Clinton-Gore Asian funny-money traffickers such as John Huang, Pauline Kanchanalak and Charlie Trie to face punishment that might induce them to involve any of the famous recipients of China's largess. In moving the trial of Hsia (pronounced shaw) to Democratic D.C., Reno Justice was certain it would get a Clinton-appointed judge. That's because in all the "Asian Connection" cases here, the chief federal judge bypassed the normal random assignment procedure to direct all those cases to Judge Paul Friedman. After this liberal jurist relieved Clintonites in 1998 by dismissing as "Alice in Wonderland" five of six felony counts against Hsia, the Court of Appeals overruled him, reinstating the charges whose prosecution he so reluctantly oversees today. (Feeling the heat of criticism about being the repeatedly chosen instrument of the cover-uppers, Friedman last week got the chief judge's egregious assignments stopped.) …..Reno's Radek not only has a demonstrably anti-prosecution Democratic judge but the usual 90 percent Democratic D.C. jury. Hsia's lawyer reminded it this week that the defendant "is a minority, supports Democrats and has all her life." ….."

Jewish World Review 2/10/00 Michelle Malkin "….Live, from the sixth floor of the U.S. District Courthouse, I watched the futility of campaign finance reform unfold before my eyes. The federal criminal trial of Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia - Vice President Al Gore's infamous Buddhist temple gal pal -- opened here in the courtroom of Judge Paul Friedman on Monday. It's a case study in the senselessness of passing new laws to fix The System. …….. Three of the nuns testified to Congress in 1998 that the temple reimbursed them and others for $55,000 in Democratic National Committee donations, which were drummed up by Hsia the day after Gore's two-hour visit to Hsi Lai in April 1996. …… Besides, Luque rationalized, "Even if Maria Hsia knew that contributions came from somewhere else, how does just knowing cause a lie?" So Hsia is not responsible even if she knew laws were being broken because knowing a lie isn't telling one. The monks and nuns were not responsible because they were unwitting dupes who didn't know the laws. The Democrat campaign treasurers who accepted the checks from Hsia were not responsible because they can't check every contribution. And Al Gore is not responsible because there was no controlling legal authority. ….."

Newsmax 2/9/00 Carl Limbacher "….Johnny Chung, the former Democratic Party fund-raiser whom Hillary Clinton once greeted with the words, "Welcome to the White House my good friend," has offered to come to New York to explain to voters how she traded White House favors for illegal campaign contributions from Chinese sources four years ago. The latest polls show that Mrs. Clinton is gaining on her expected opponent, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, in her bid to be New York's next US Senator. But just days after she officially entered the race, evidence has emerged suggesting that the First Lady may be up to her old fund-raising tricks again. Reportedly Hillary's campaign war chest is now filled with contributions from some of the same suspect donors who landed the White House in legal hot water after the last election….."

News Day 2/8/00 AP "….Hillary Rodham Clinton's long list of donors includes some whose names surfaced in the fund-raising scandals of President Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, federal campaign records showed on Wednesday. Several were overnight guests in the Lincoln Bedroom and others attended White House coffees. Both practices came under criticism from Republicans, who accused the president of improperly providing White House access to those who ponied up campaign cash. Mrs. Clinton's camp stands by the contributors, saying they have done nothing wrong. Her spokesman Howard Wolfson said it makes sense that people who supported the president also support the first lady's candidacy. But Mayor Rudolph Giulaini's camp attacked the donations Wednesday. "Mrs. Clinton is importing to New York the unethical and tainted fund-raising practices that were the center of the fund-raising scandals that rocked the White House after the 1996 election," Giuliani spokeswoman Kin Serafin said Wednesday….."

World Net Daily 2/13/00 Charles Smith "…..In an apparent breach of national security, the Central Intelligence Agency provided convicted Chinagate figure John Huang with information on corrupt trade deals with Indonesia, according to documents obtained from Huang's files, which included the names and phone numbers of four CIA agents. The original documents that identified the CIA agents were heavily blacked out and marked as being withheld for "national security" reasons. However, Clinton administration officials accidentally included a second un-blacked-out copy, revealing the CIA contacts, with documents for Huang. Judicial Watch, a Washington-based legal watchdog group, obtained documentation on the CIA meetings with Huang as part of a cache of over 200 boxes of materials from the U.S. Commerce Department through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. ….."

World Net Daily 2/13/00 Charles Smith "…..During his stay at Commerce, Huang obtained a secret clearance and attended more than 37 classified briefings with the CIA. "Huang clearly had access to commercial information that would have been of keen interest to the Riadys," said Asian defense specialist, and co-author of "Year of the Rat," William Triplett. "That very night Huang called Lippo in Jakarta." "Huang took the Fifth Amendment more than two thousand times when asked by Judicial Watch if he had ties to Chinese intelligence," added Triplett. The newly-released documents from the Commerce Department show that agents from the Central Intelligence Agency met with Huang and representatives from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. ….."

World Net Daily 2/13/00 Charles Smith "…..According to the documents, four CIA agents attended an August 1994 "Trade Policy Coordinating Committee" meeting with Huang on Indonesia. (Editor's note: WorldNetDaily has the names of the CIA personnel but is not publishing them.) The subject of the meeting was U.S. government-financed trade deals that contained "first family involvement" -- a euphemism for kickbacks to relatives of then-Indonesian dictator Suharto. The Huang documents could not have come at a worse time for the newly-declared Hillary Clinton Senate campaign in New York. It was Mrs. Clinton who reportedly had insisted that Huang be given a position at the Commerce Department under Ron Brown…… In addition, Riady has been accused of having passed illegal monies to the 1992 and 1996 Clinton/Gore campaigns. Ominously, the CIA has also accused Riady of working for Chinese military intelligence. …..According to a 1998 CIA report presented to Sen. Fred Thompson, R.-Tenn., "James and Moctar Riady have had a long-term relationship with a Chinese intelligence agency. The relationship is based on mutual benefit, with the Riadys receiving assistance in finding business opportunities in exchange for large sums of money and other help." …… "The Chinese intelligence agency seeks to locate and develop relationships with information collectors, particularly with close association to the U.S. government," states the CIA report on Riady. ….."

World Net Daily 2/13/00 Charles Smith "…..The 1994 meeting between the CIA and Huang included detailed information on a $2.6 billion U.S.-sponsored electric power plant for Indonesia. A 1994 Commerce Department report found in Huang's files noted that the Indonesian "Paiton" power plant had encountered difficulties with financing because the Asian Development Bank knew it contained money for a Suharto family member……. In addition, 1994 documents provided by the Offshore Private Investment Corporation noted that Suharto's daughter Prabowo and her brother-in-law Hashim Djojohadikusumo were given a total "2.5%" ownership in the U.S.-sponsored power project, through their local company BHP……. PLN also obtained similar documents to those found in Huang's files. In 1999, PLN acquired documents that stated Clinton administration officials were aware of "corruption, collusion and nepotism" inside the electric power trade deals made with Indonesia. PLN used the documents to win a lawsuit against the Clinton administration, charging that U.S. officials knew the Paiton power plant contract was "corrupt from the beginning." In December 1999, an Indonesian court ruled that the entire $2.6 billion Paiton power plant contract was illegal. ……"

The Washington Weekly 2/14/00 Marvin Lee "….The Department of Justice has changed the venue of the trial against Maria Hsia, the Gore-fundraiser charged with laundering illegal contributions through Buddhist nuns, from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. In Washington, D.C. the federal district court is controlled by the Clinton White House. All campaign fundraising cases against Clinton associates have bypassed the random selection of judges and have been assigned to Judge Paul Friedman who has cooperated with the Justice Department in its attempt to shut up witnesses so the case is not moved closer to the top and into the White House. Appearing on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," last week, former House impeachment counsel David Schippers was asked whether the Washington D.C. court is more favorable to the Clinton-Gore team: "I think that's absolutely true. I think it's been proved already where there have been acquittals out there on cases that were very strong cases. As an old prosecutor, usually it's the defense that's screaming about the venue. In this case, Ms. Hsia's from California. The -- the co-conspirator, the temple, is in California. The money was paid in California. The reimbursement was made in California. The trial is being held in Washington, D.C." …….."

LATimes 2/5/00 William Rempel Alan Miller "…..Newly obtained FBI documents show that Democratic fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie smuggled a wealthy Taiwan businessman using a false identity into the White House to meet President Clinton. The incident is among numerous revelations in a confidential summary of Trie's statements to federal investigators that are certain to reverberate during an increasingly contentious election-year debate over campaign finance abuses. The bizarre episode, regarded as a serious breach of presidential security by federal officials, occurred at a White House holiday party Dec. 13, 1996--days before Trie fled the United States to avoid authorities investigating fund-raising improprieties……"

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 2/7/00 Jerry Seper "……Democratic fund-raiser Charles Yah Lin Trie told the FBI that an Indonesian businessman with ties to the Chinese military gave him $200,000 to contribute to the Democratic Party and to reimburse those who gave to President Clinton's legal defense fund. According to a 74-page summary of extensive FBI interviews obtained by The Washington Times, Trie also said it was he who first suggested that Mr. Clinton or Vice President Al Gore be encouraged to attend a fund-raising event at a California Buddhist temple because "alot of money" would be available for the Clinton-Gore campaign………. Mr. Gore, despite repeated efforts, has not been able to explain why he attended the temple fund-raiser. Initially, he said the event was for community outreach. Later, when confronted with new evidence, the White House said the vice president had used "a poor choice of words." Mr. Gore's office then said he knew the event was "finance-related" because top Asian-American contributors would be present but did not know campaign donations would be solicited………. Trie said he used the $200,000 for donations to the Democratic Party and to reimburse Mr. Clinton's legal defense fund. He identified his Jakarta money source as Tomy Winata, whose business concerns include extensive property holdings, a bank controlled by the Indonesian army and a massive telecommunications company. Mr. Winata, an ethnic Chinese, has been described by U.S. intelligence officials as a businessman who has profited greatly by serving as a front man for corporations controlled by Indonesian and Chinese army and intelligence officials……He has been identified as a business associate of Liu Chao-ying, a lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army and the daughter of China's top general. Col. Liu directed much of the fund raising among Asian-Americans in the United States, including $300,000 she routed from Gen. Ji Shengde, the chief military intelligence officer for the PLA, to California businessman Johnny Chung for the Democratic Party……"

The Oklahoman 2/4/00 "….On the day the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill calling for greater defense cooperation with Taiwan, Communist China demanded that President Clinton block the legislation. Well now, that's calling in an investment. Beijing's brazen demand could hardly come as a surprise at the White House, where Chinese influence -- clout may be a better word -- is taken seriously. Americans can only hope, in the wake of a Clinton- Gore campaign finance scandal covered with China's fingerprints, that our president can remember he works for us. The House bill, which drew 140 votes from Democrats, came the same day CIA Director George Tenet warned that China is building up its military forces opposite Taiwan. Tenet told the Senate Intelligence Committee the mainland continues to locate short-range ballistic missiles near the Taiwan Strait. According to a report in the Washington Times, U.S. analysts believe China will increase its missile arsenal from 150 to 650 over the next several years. …."

 

The Washington Post 2/6/00 William Rempel Alan Miller "…. Newly obtained FBI documents show that Democratic fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie smuggled a wealthy Taiwan businessman using a false identity into the White House to meet President Clinton. The episode, regarded as a serious breach of presidential security by federal officials, occurred at a White House holiday party Dec. 13, 1996, days before Trie fled the United States to avoid authorities investigating fund-raising improprieties……. Trie said Tomy Winata, a Jakarta billionaire with financial ties to the Indonesian army, sent him $200,000 in traveler's checks to "help out" with donations, a portion of which Trie used to make illegal contributions to the Democratic National Committee and reimburse donors to the Clinton legal defense fund…… "

Associated Press 2/8/00 "….The Jusice Department, kicking of trial against a former fund-raiser, says Maria Hsia concealed the source of more than $100,000 in illegal donations. Hsia's lawyer, meanwhile argues that the Los Angeles immigration consultant is the victim of ``a smear job'' by federal prosecutors. ``The system breaks down'' because of people like Hsia, who ``time and time again engaged in these schemes'' in the 1996 election campaign, prosecutor Eric Yaffe told the U.S. District Court jury in opening statements on Monday. In becoming ``a major player in the Democratic Party,'' Yaffe said, Hsia tapped well-to-do business acquaintances secretly to reimburse straw donors and conduits for cash who were falsely listed in federal election records as contributors. ……. The temple treasury was the source of many of the contributions, although election records falsely listed individual people as the donors, said Yaffe. Yaffe said the temple reimbursed Hsia for some of her own political contributions. Luque denied that, saying that Hsia was simply being paid for immigration-related work she did for the temple….."

UPI 2/7/00 "…..Controversial Democratic fund-raiser Yin Lah "Charlie" Trie told the FBI last spring that he received money from an Indonesian billionaire to "help out" with political contributions, some of which wound up with the Democratic National Committee in 1996, and also formed business relationships with other Asian contacts, including a Chinese army officer. The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that an FBI report on its wide-ranging interviews with Trie indicated the Chinese officer, a woman who was later arrested in China on corruption charges, had even been recommended by Trie for membership in the DNC's business leadership forum, although she never joined. ……. Trie said it was he who urged either Clinton or Gore to make an appearance at the Buddhist Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif., in 1996. The vice president eventually did the honors and later found himself in political quicksand after it was revealed that much of the money donated by the temple had been reimbursed by other donors. Trie said he stepped aside after the initial planning at Huang's request and turned the visit over to Gore fund-raiser Maria Hsai. Hsai was later indicted on election law violations for her role in the reimbursement of the donations. Trie also told the FBI that he had met with Gore himself on several occasions, but never talked about fund raising with him. …… "

UPI 2/7/00 "…..Trie told agents that he was able to help a businessman from Taiwan crash a White House holiday party in 1996 by using someone else's identification. Trie said he wanted to introduce Clinton to Chic Chong "Simon" Chien, chairman of TransCapital International and a potential Trie client, but "did not want people thinking he was bringing another foreigner into the White House." To solve his problem, Trie said he called his secretary in Little Rock and had her send her husband's Arkansas driver's license to him. Trie said he was able to use the license to waltz the tuxedo-clad Chien into the White House under the name of Reynaldo Mapili, a Filipino-American mail carrier who apparently bears no resemblance to Chien. ….."

UPI 2/7/00 "…..The Times said Trie received about $200,000 in travelers checks from Tomy Winata, a Jakarta billionaire, during a 1996 Democratic National Committee fund-raiser at the tony Hay-Adams Hotel across the street from the White House. Trie said he had tried to get Winata a seat at the head table, but Winata held out for a private meeting with Clinton, which never took place. Trie said Winata dispatched two aides to the hotel with a satchel containing the travelers checks. He said the checks were "to help out" with donations, and that he immediately sent at least $25,000 to the DNC. …..Winata has tight business connections to the powerful Indonesian army and with relatives of former President Suharto, but the Times said he also has ties to Liu Chao-ying, who is reportedly close to the head of China's military intelligence branch. ….."

UPI 2/7/00 "…..The Times said Trie himself had a business relationship with one Lin Ruoqing, a female Chinese military officer who was later arrested by the Chinese authorities on corruption charges. The FBI report said Trie at one point recommended that Lin join the DNC's business leadership forum, but she never did. Lin, however, provided Trie with a car registered to the Chinese army during Trie's visit to Beijing….."

Fortune Magazine 2/7/00 Jeffrey Birnbaum "….Vice President Al Gore's visit to a Buddhist temple near Los Angeles in 1996 is the very symbol of campaign-finance chicanery, particularly illegal contributions from Asia. Gore tried to distance himself from the event by claiming at first that it was "community outreach." Eventually he conceded that it was "finance related," but he's always said he didn't know it was a fundraiser. Could that be true? It stretches credulity. Over the years Gore, who rarely signed his own thank-you notes, maintained an extraordinary correspondence with Maria Hsia, a fundraiser who was one of the event's main organizers. "I cannot thank you enough," Gore wrote to Hsia and Howard Hom, then her partner, in 1990. "You two are great friends. See you soon." Six years later Hsia stood with the yellow-robed Master Hsing Yun when Gore arrived at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif...... Gore and Hsia got to know each other in the late 1980s, when Gore was worried about raising enough money for his 1990 Senate reelection. Hsia, an immigration consultant, was eager to contribute to politicians who could help her clients and associates. One associate was John Huang, who became notorious as an Asian fundraiser for the Democratic Party in 1996. Her clients would later include the Hsi Lai Temple, whose parent was the Fo Kuang Shan Buddhist order. In 1989, Gore was the sole U.S. Senator to accept Hsia's entreaty to visit the temple's Taiwan headquarters on a trip partly paid for by the order. ….."

Fortune Magazine 2/7/00 Jeffrey Birnbaum "….Prior to that journey, Hsia had donated money to Gore's campaign, and Gore had written to Hsia, "My involvement in the presidential race over the past two years has delayed my efforts to raise money for the 1990 [Senate] campaign and left our coffers empty for the upcoming race.... I appreciate your generosity and hope we can get together sometime soon." And before Gore accepted Hsia's entreaty to go to Taiwan, she wrote to him: "If you decide to join this trip, I will persuave [sic] all my colleagues in the future to play a leader [sic] role in your future presidential race." Hsia also collected donations for Gore in California, helped organize Asian-American giving in Tennessee, and directed other contributions to his campaign through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In appreciation, Gore wrote to Hsia in January 1989: "You are a wonderful friend." In December the next year, he hand-wrote "Thanks!" over his signature on a letter to Hsia that said, "You helped make this campaign season an overwhelming success." In a more personal note that same month, he wrote, "Your friendship and your personal commitment to my political endeavors mean a great deal to me." ….."

www.house.gov/reform/reports/fundraising "….On April 29, 1996, Vice President Albert Gore Jr. attended an illegal John Huang-organized fund-raiser at the Hsi Lai Buddhist monastery in California which raised $140,000. Four days before details emerged on Gore's participation in the illegal fund-raiser at the Hsi Lai Buddhist monastery, Gore claimed, "Number one, we have strictly abided by all of the campaign finance laws, strictly. There've been no violations." …..On October 18, 1996, The DNC announced that it would reimburse the Hsi Lai Buddhist monastery $15,000 collected from the illegal fund-raiser attended by Al Gore. In various statements, Clinton's reelection team brushed off inquiries about improper fund-raising activities, claiming a lack of knowledge. Al Gore pointed the finger at the DNC claiming it was a "community out-reach event" with no money offered, collected or raised. Three months would pass before Al Gore would be forced to admit in a television interview that he knew the fund-raiser at the Buddhist monastery was a "finance-related event." He also admitted that it was a mistake to attend……"

PENNY BENDER, Hsia indictment another blow to Gore's squeaky-clean image. , Gannett News Service, 02-19-1998, pp ARC. "…. * A federal indictment alleged that Hsia collected $55,000 from 11 monks and nuns who were later reimbursed with the temple's funds, violating election and immigration laws. The temple is a tax-exempt religious organization barred from making political contributions…."

Jerry Seper, Fund-raiser for Democrats is indicted by grand jury. , The Washington Times, 03-01-1998, pp 10 "… Three Buddhist nuns told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee last year that the temple reimbursed them and others for $55,000 in donations to the DNC. The donations were made after Mr. Gore's appearance at the event. They testified that the day after the event, Mrs. Hsia asked the temple to raise more cash to help Mr. Huang reach his fund-raising goals for the event. One temple official, Venerable Yi-Chu, asked several monastics to write $5,000 contributions each, for which they were later reimbursed, the nuns said. The indictment said several conduits posed as donors, including monks and nuns, temple volunteers, Mrs. Hsia's clients and Mrs. Hsia herself, although all were reimbursed with money from the temple. The February indictment also claimed that Hsia solicited the donations and then orchestrated false filings to the Federal Election Commission. Prosecutors claimed that the filings amount to false statements to the government, including the INS ….."

Richard T. Cooper, The Democrats and the money pot. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 01-02-1997 "… Albert Gore Jr. accompanied Maria Hsia and John Huang on a 1989 Trip to Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Then-Tennessee Sen. Al Gore combined elements of a policy fact-finding trip and a campaign-type foray (Gore later received contributions from seven PLC members with business interests in the region). Democratic sources say that the primary reason for the trip was to reward Hsia, Huang and other PLC activists for their financial support of the DSCC. Hsia, Huang and the others had important private interests in the region and they stood to benefit from traveling with so prominent an American as Gore….."

www.house.gov/reform/reports/fundraising "…. John Huang was at the time an employee of the Bank of Central Asia, which is owned by interests that include the Lippo Group. James Riady, among the top brass at Lippo Group, also was supposed to be on the trip, but there is no record of his attendance……"

Richard T. Cooper, The Democrats and the money pot. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 01-02-1997, pp 11A "….Maria Hsia, a Taiwan native, immigrated to the United States in her early 20s and found a niche as an "immigration counselor" at a law firm whose clients included many Chinese. She also found her way into politics. She began raising money for Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts in 1983, and she helped U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston finance his 1986 reelection campaign. Later she, together with Huang and Riady, marshaled Asian-American support for McCarthy's unsuccessful race for Senate and for other Democratic candidates….."

"Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia is indicted", Minneapolis Star Tribune, 02-19-1998, pp 04A. "….A report by Senate Republican investigators, based on classified information provided by the FBI and CIA, said that the Governmental Affairs Committee "has learned that Hsia has been an agent of the Chinese government" and "acted knowingly in support of it." ….."

Bob Woodward, Campaign finance // An FBI oversight adds fuel to the fire // Investigators – "… ....belatedly discovered files indicate that Maria Hsia, a Taiwanese-American immigrant who for a decade has raised money for Democratic causes, was "doing the bidding" of Beijing as a Chinese agent, a senior official said. Hsia, 46, set up an Asian-American fund-raising group called the Pacific Leadership Council (PLC) with Riady and John Huang, later a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The two largest recipients of PLC money in the 1990 election cycle were then-Sens. Al Gore, D-Tenn., and Paul Simon, D-Ill……"

An FBI oversight adds fuel to the fire // Investigators think newly discovered files show further Chinese efforts to influence U.S. elections.. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11-15-1997, pp 13A "….. The Hsia evidence came to light only after Freeh canvassed all FBI field offices in September and ordered a "meticulous review of all file holdings in the FBI's possession that bear on attempts by the {People's Republic of China} to influence U.S. political elections." ......the FBI issued a statement saying that the files are "voluminous," consisting of "raw, uncorroborated intelligence that requires significant analysis before the information is appropriate for dissemination." Freeh's directive also produced intelligence that the Chinese government planned to use joint business ventures with U.S. companies and others to raise money that could be funneled into U.S. campaigns. Other newly uncovered reports also suggest that the Chinese government planned to spend more than the previously reported $3 million to influence U.S. campaigns, according to U.S. officials. Fragmentary intelligence also indicated that the Chinese wanted to funnel money directly to the Clinton-Gore campaign, they said. …."

Bob Woodward, Campaign finance // An FBI oversight adds fuel to the fire // Investigators think newly discovered files show further Chinese efforts to influence U.S. elections.. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11-15-1997, pp 13A "…..But after Thompson announced two weeks ago that he was suspending his public hearings, officials said, the FBI obtained intelligence showing that the Chinese equivalent of the CIA boasted that it had been successful in "thwarting" the congressional inquiry….."

Democratic fund-raiser indicted on tax charges in U.S. , Reuters, 07-07-1998 "…. Ms. Hsia, who faces a separate income tax evasion case in California, is represented by attorney Nancy Luque, who has represented others involved in scandals connected to the White House including ............Hsia allegedly underreported her taxable income for 1995 and 1996 and filed a return for her immigration consulting business which also understated its income, according to the indictment….."

Judge Tosses 11 Campaign Charges By Bill Miller Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 1, 1999; Page A20 "…… A federal judge yesterday threw out much of the government's case against Thai businesswoman Pauline Kanchanalak, delivering the latest in a series of legal blows to Attorney General Janet Reno's campaign finance investigation. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman followed earlier decisions that gutted much of the prosecution's cases against Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie and Maria Hsia, two other key figures in the Justice Department's investigation into foreign contributions to the Clinton-Gore reelection effort. Friedman earlier dismissed similar charges concerning FEC statements in the cases against Hsia and Trie. He threw out five of six charges lodged against Hsia and three of 14 charges filed against Trie. Other rulings by the judge have created stumbling blocks for campaign finance prosecutors, including one last fall that held that citizens of foreign nations are prohibited only from making "hard money" contributions, or donations that directly support individual candidates for federal office. That ruling led prosecutors to act on their own to drop six charges against Kanchanalak and Kronenberg; only $80,000 of the money they allegedly provided was for "hard money" purposes……"

The GOP draft attacks Vice President Al Gore, but lacks information on China's alleged efforts to influence U.S. elections.. , Minneapolis Star Tribune, 02-08-1998, pp 18A "…. After the news of the dismissed charges against Hsia, Chris Lehane, a spokesman for Gore, issued a statement on behalf of Gore that said: ``Maria Hsia has been a political friend and supporter of the vice president, as well as a leader in her community,'' ``We are pleased for her.'' ….."

Two of the Three Judges who rejected Friedman's decision were Clinton appointees. (James Vicini, U.S. court reinstates charges against fund-raiser. , Reuters, 05-18-1999.) "….On May 18, 1999 a U.S. appeals court reinstated criminal charges against Hsia and said that Judge Friedman was wrong in dismissing five of the six counts against Hsia based on his citing of the First Amendment's broad protections of religious expression and free speech. Hsia's lawyer, Nancy Luque, said she was ``obviously disappointed' ' at the ruling and that she would definitely appeal to either the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. ….."

Government Reform and Oversight Committee, Dan Burton, Chairman "……Huang admitted that funds were raised before and after the event at the April 1996 Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple. He also acknowledged that donors at the event were given prominent seating, at the front, near the Vice President. Huang also admitted that when the event failed to raise the $100,000 it was expected to raise, he asked Maria Hsia to raise $55,000 on short notice. Hsia did so, and directed the illegal reimbursement of the nuns from temple funds. Huang claims to have no knowledge of Hsia's illegal activities with respect to the temple fundraiser. Chairman Burton asked Huang about the Vice President's statements about the event:

Chairman Burton: In an interview, the Vice President said 'I did not know that the money was being contributed at the time. The people with me did not know. Obviously something, someone did not handle it right.' Now, is that true? Did none of the people that were accompanying the Vice President like Don Fowler or David Strauss, did - or yourself, I mean, did any of them know that money was being collected?

Huang: To answer your question, it's not true. I believe Mr. Fowler knows about that. And also Mr. Strauss probably knew about that as well.

Chairman Burton: So they knew it was a fundraiser, you knew it was a fundraiser, Maria Hsia knew it was a fundraiser, Don Fowler knew it was a fundraiser, but the Vice President, who was with all of you did not know it was a fundraiser.

Huang: Mr. Chairman, I can only state that Mr. Fowler knows about it, knew about it, and Mr. Strauss knew about it. I really can't say anything further about what more than that……"

 

Freeper abwehr 2/7/00 observes "….Huang as a vice chair of the Democratic Finance Committee appointed at the presidents direction would certainly know to ask once he heard the above to ask if they were a tax exempt organization. His subsequent actions of insisting that the donations be credited to Hsia not Trie further indicate his direct knowledge of from who and where the funds were being raised. Thus either Huang of Trie may have committed perjury which is not subject to their immunity ….."

The Business Times/Singapore 2/14/00 Shoeb Kagda "….INDONESIA'S Lippo group is forging ahead after having formed a strategic alliance with Hongkong's Hutchison Whampoa group for its push to create the largest Internet empire in the country. It has secured an additional US$100 million (S$166 million) commitment from Taiwan's China Development and Investment Bank group (CDIB) for its drive, sources in Jakarta told BT…….. The deal was concluded by Lippo's founder and patriarch Mochtar Riady, who is also in negotiations with two other Taiwanese IT powerhouses -- the Hwashin Group and Acer. …… Separately, BT understands that US-based financial giant American Insurance Group (AIG) is looking to increase its 5 per cent stake in Lippo e-Net, formerly known as Lippo Life. …… Lippo e-Net will act as the umbrella company coordinating not only the investments and strategic alliances, but also the dovetailing of the group's existing businesses with its new empire. As part of its efforts to speed up the laying of the broad band cable infrastructure in the greater Jakarta area, for example, Lippo has tied up with Hutchison Whampoa and is in negotiations to sell as much as 20 per cent of Multipolar. The Hongkong-based telecommunications giant is also said to be helping the group develop its wireless calling card facility. The Riadys have also brought in American Jim Guy Tucker, a specialist in broadband cable TV, to spearhead the group's entry into this field. The former Arkansas governor, who used to own cable companies in the US, is a technical adviser in the group's subsidiary KableVision, which will offer Internet access through television sets. ….."

The Straits Times 2/26/00 AP "…..A Singaporean has been charged with lying about the source of US$200,000 (S$340,000) in political contributions to Democratic Party groups, court records here showed. Mr Ralph I. Lancaster Jr., an independent prosecutor investigating Labour Secretary Alexis M. Herman turned an eight-count indictment charging Singapore businessman, Abdul Rahman with making a false statement and improperly making contributions as a foreign citizen. While Abdul's name has not surfaced before, he appeared to be the businessman who was cited, but not identified, by Attorney General Janet Reno when she referred Ms Herman's case to an independent counsel in May 1998. ….."

washington post 2/27/00 Ruth Marcus "……Vice President Gore would have an easier time running for president in 2000 if he didn't have to contend with the fallout from his campaign four years ago: images of the vice president among saffron-robed monks at a Buddhist temple fund-raiser, or proclaiming that "no controlling legal authority" prevented his dialing for dollars from the West Wing. Gore's primary opponent, former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, has begun to probe those four-year-old wounds--and to warn that worse will come from the GOP if Gore wins the Democratic nomination. ……"

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "……He [Trie] also confessed to orchestrating the sale of a 500-liter (130-gallon) medical fermentation device to a pharmaceutical plant in China suspected of manufacturing chemical and biological agents for military purposes. Insight has obtained copies of the secret depositions given by Trie to the FBI's Campaign Finance Task Force that, until recently, was thought to have begun shutting down operations after skirmishes with the Reno Justice Department concerning the scope and direction of the long-running investigation. In fact, based on the FBI's 302 summaries of Trie's lengthy depositions, the task force appears significantly to have expanded its operations and is zeroing in on key targets involved in suspected illegal campaign donations from overseas, most notably China and Indonesia. ….."

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "……Trie, who pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign operations and is cooperating with federal authorities, has revealed extensive details about the machinery of campaign-finance irregularities involving the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, and Clinton's political operations. He lays bare the elaborate methods he and others used to collect and channel illegal contributions from Asian-Americans and overseas nationals. It is the revelation about the estimated $1 million sale of dual-use medical technology to China, however, and the involvement of a respected U.S. government scientist in a company Trie used to facilitate the sale, that most deeply has shocked federal investigators and national-security officials contacted by Insight. ……"

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "……Peter Leitner, a senior Defense Department licensing analyst who specializes in export controls of dual-use technology, has reviewed Insight's copies of the confidential FBI interviews with Trie. Leitner says the transfer of the highly sophisticated pharmaceutical-grade fermenting machine poses significant risks to U.S. security at home and abroad if used to make advanced germ-warfare products such as anthrax and botulism. The evidence of the fermenting machine's sale and transfer sometime in 1993 to the Changchun Biological Products Institute is alarming, according to Leitner, given that the Chinese facility has been flagged by some experts as a biological-weapons laboratory run by the People's Liberation Army. Leitner tells Insight: "This whole affair has the classic earmarks of a Chinese military-intelligence operation." What the FBI has done with the information newly obtained from Trie is not clear. However, Insight has learned that Rep. Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who is chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, is aware of the new development and has scheduled hearings on this and other revelations made to the FBI by Trie. ......"

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "….Wheeler and Leitner, who appears in the documentary, were asked to comment on the FBI summary materials. Leitner tells Insight that Trie's export of biotech materials to China illustrates "a major diversion of U.S. military and technological assets to biowarfare plants in China." According to Wheeler: "This is a new basis for the congressional oversight committees to revisit the federal task-force investigation of campaign-finance violations in light of compelling evidence that the Reno Justice Department has failed to conduct a thorough investigation."

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "…..Trie told the FBI he formed an international-trading business in 1991 that "brokered the export of biotech machinery and elevator equipment to China." It was this company, Daihatsu International Trading Inc., that arranged the sale in mid-1992 of the 500-liter fermenting machine from Sulzer Biotech Systems in Woodbury, N.Y., which, only after Clinton took office in January 1993, shipped the equipment from its Swiss manufacturing plant to the Chinese facility…….. Trie told the FBI that he didn't see the fermenter sale as a big deal. What appears to have impressed him is that on trips to China he met with high-level intelligence, military and business officials, some of whom gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars that he used to make illegal donations. ….."

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "…….According to Wheeler, Rene Losher, former executive director of Sulzer Biotech Systems, has advised government investigators that a Swiss engineer was sent to Changchun to help install the tank. The buyer was Zhang Jiaming, director of the Changchun Biological Products Institute. Leitner says the FBI also should have been concerned with the likely participation in the deal of Peter Fu, a toxicology expert at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's research facility on the grounds of the Pine Bluff military arsenal in Arkansas. The arsenal originally was established to produce and store biological weapons, Leitner says. According to the FBI summaries, Trie said Fu and his wife, Violetta, were "silent partners" in the formation of Trie's Daihatsu International Trading Inc. and invested thousands of dollars in start-up capital. According to government sources who have seen Trie's full FBI interviews, the Fu's gave Trie $40,000 in "start-up capital" for this joint venture……."

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton In fact, Fu tells Insight in an exclusive interview that he was not a "partner" with Trie and did not invest money in Daihatsu, per se. But he admits that he and his wife lent the Tries $40,000 as a favor and that the loan was repaid. At the same time, Fu acknowledges that the registered mailing address for Daihatsu was Fu's home in Little Rock, Ark.. …..A summary of Trie's depositions to the FBI reads, in part: "Trie acknowledged being a close friend of Dr. Peter Fu, a research biochemist who was chief of the toxicology branch of an FDA facility near Little Rock," adding that "the Fus withdrew from the partnership in 1992 or 1993." Trie also told the FBI that Zhang was present when Trie formed United Biotech and that Trie had introduced Fu to Zhang in Little Rock……. The 500-liter fermentation tank transferred to the Changchun facility would be prohibited for sale by the Department of Defense's Militarily Critical Technologies List because it allows the manufacture of large quantities of biological agents, such as botulism or anthrax bacteria, for military purposes, Leitner says. Several 500-liter tanks of this type were discovered in Iraq and seized as contraband by U.N. Special Commission inspectors in 1991. According to government sources, China has listed the Changchun facility on the international registry of facilities producing biological or chemical agents but claims its only use at this time is for the production of pharmaceuticals such as hepatitis vaccines. ….."

Insight 2/2000 Douglas Burton "…….Leitner calls Trie's deposition regarding the fermentation tank and the involvement of Fu "a revelation" that should have been followed up but apparently wasn't. "Here we have an FDA guy who is head of the toxicology branch of his lab, who gives Trie $40,000 and gets introduced to the manager of a bioweapons program in China. They gave direct assistance to a biological-weapons program, and the FBI did not follow up. It's right there on page four of the FBI summary. You can't get more blatant than that." ………. "

The Wall Street Journal 2/18/00 "……Senator Bill Bradley has demanded that Al Gore explain his appearance at the now legendary 1996 fund-raiser staged at a Buddhist temple in Hacienda Heights, California. Needless to say, the Vice President of the United States will shrug off Mr. Bradley's pertinent question, secure in the knowledge that no one else is likely to bother him with it again anytime soon. But those curious for a clue should get themselves down to the D.C. courtroom of federal district Judge Paul Friedman, who is presiding over the trial of Democratic Party fund-raiser and Gore crony Maria Hsia. The question of the moment is whether the entire federal legal establishment is going to manage to shrug off the Clinton-Gore fund-raising violations. Consider the Hsia trial testimony this week of Clinton co-fund-raiser John Huang, who cut a deal with prosecutors for his own role in the scandal--one year of probation, a fine and community service. Get a load of what Justice got in return. Mr. Huang testified that the Buddhist Temple event "was never a fund raising matter."…... Maria Hsia has been raising money for Al Gore as far back as 1989, long before he teamed up with Bill Clinton's own fund-raising operation….. Jeffrey Birnbaum detailed the Gore-Hsia financial relationship in the February 7 issue of Fortune. "You are a wonderful friend," Mr. Gore wrote Ms. Hsia in 1989....... In a copy of a notice filed by prosecutors and released by Rep. Coble, the Justice Department requested the Hsia case be sent to U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman "at the request of the Chief Judge." The department said the case was "related" to an earlier indictment of Clinton fund-raiser Charlie Trie and that both cases should be handled by the same judge. Rep. Coble said the Hsia case was not "related" as defined by court rules and called the handling of the Hsia case "disturbing." ...,,:

2/7 Fortune Magazine article "……Vice President Al Gore's visit to a Buddhist temple near Los Angeles in 1996 is the very symbol of campaign-finance chicanery, particularly illegal contributions from Asia. Gore tried to distance himself from the event by claiming at first that it was "community outreach." Eventually he conceded that it was "finance related," but he's always said he didn't know it was a fundraiser. Could that be true? It stretches credulity. Over the years Gore, who rarely signed his own thank-you notes, maintained an extraordinary correspondence with Maria Hsia, a fundraiser who was one of the event's main organizers. "I cannot thank you enough," Gore wrote to Hsia and Howard Hom, then her partner, in 1990. "You two are great friends. See you soon." Six years later Hsia stood with the yellow-robed Master Hsing Yun when Gore arrived at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif. ……"

2/7 Fortune Magazine article "……A little-noticed set of documents collected by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee leaves scant doubt that the event at the Buddhist temple was a Democratic Party fundraiser--and that Gore knew it. These electoral mash notes between Gore and Hsia make clear that Gore saw green whenever he saw Hsia….."

2/7 Fortune Magazine article "…… Gore and Hsia got to know each other in the late 1980s, when Gore was worried about raising enough money for his 1990 Senate reelection. Hsia, an immigration consultant, was eager to contribute to politicians who could help her clients and associates. One associate was John Huang, who became notorious as an Asian fundraiser for the Democratic Party in 1996. Her clients would later include the Hsi Lai Temple, whose parent was the Fo Kuang Shan Buddhist order. In 1989, Gore was the sole U.S. Senator to accept Hsia's entreaty to visit the temple's Taiwan headquarters on a trip partly paid for by the order. Prior to that journey, Hsia had donated money to Gore's campaign, and Gore had written to Hsia, "My involvement in the presidential race over the past two years has delayed my efforts to raise money for the 1990 [Senate] campaign and left our coffers empty for the upcoming race.... I appreciate your generosity and hope we can get together sometime soon." And before Gore accepted Hsia's entreaty to go to Taiwan, she wrote to him: "If you decide to join this trip, I will persuave [sic] all my colleagues in the future to play a leader [sic] role in your future presidential race." ..."

2/7 Fortune Magazine article "……Hsia also collected donations for Gore in California, helped organize Asian-American giving in Tennessee, and directed other contributions to his campaign through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee......., Gore and Hsia stayed in touch through the years. He co-sponsored part of an immigration bill she favored. She and her partner gave his son an electronic submarine game. She sent material for Gore's book, Earth in the Balance. ("Perfect," Gore aide Peter Knight wrote back.) And, as ever, she raised money.......:

 

Freeper snopercod 2/18/00 Senate Gov. Affairs report (1997) "……Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Special Investigation of Illegal or Improper Activities in Connection With 1996 Federal Election Campaigns, HSI LAI TEMPLE portion in .pdf format. Pages one and two (of 83) - the executive summary, follow (publishing date unknown, but probably Dec. 1997):

THE HSI LAI TEMPLE FUNDRAISER AND MARIA HSIA

The fundraiser attended by Vice President Gore on April 29, 1996 at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California, has been the focus of considerable attention and controversy ever since reports first surfaced in the national press revealing that some of the donations given to the DNC in connection with this event were unlawfully reimbursed1. Over the course of its investigation, the Committee has examined the various allegations of illegality and impropriety that have surfaced in connection with this event. Furthermore, the Committee has conducted a broader inquiry into the unlawful involvement of the Hsi Lai Temple in the 1995-96 election cycle and the complex chain of events that produced this involvement.

As a result of these inquiries, it has become apparent that the DNC's Hsi Lai Temple fundraiser on April 29, 1996 was merely one instance - albeit the most significant one - in an ongoing campaign of illegal Temple donation-laundering arranged by a woman named Maria L. Hsia in support of Democratic candidates. Nor was this campaign merely an aberration confined to the 1995-96 election cycle. Rather, it had roots stretching back to 1988, with the decision of James Riady, John Huang, Maria Hsia, and others to organize themselves into a political fundraising and lobbying organization in order to advance their interests through U.S. politics.

The Temple-related issue that has hitherto received the most attention in the press - Vice President Gore's knowledge (or alleged lack thereof) with regard to the status of his April 29 luncheon as a DNC fundraiser - is addressed in this section. It will be obvious from the evidence recounted herein that despite his various denials, the Vice President was well aware that the event was one designed to raise money for his party. Preoccupied by a narrow debate over the inconsequential terminology of "community outreach," "finance-related events," "donor maintenance," and "fundraisers," many observers have missed the forest for the trees. The real significance of the Temple incident lies not in the Vice President's lack of candor, but in the ongoing relationship this affair illustrates between him - and the Democratic Party - and a small but influential political clique headed by Riady, Huang, and Hsia. As will become clear, despite the participation of Temple monastics in criminal wrongdoing in connection with the April 1996 event and in Hsia's broader campaign of Democratic Party donation-laundering, the Temple itself seems to have been only a secondary actor in this drama. Indeed, Temple officials seem to have known little - if anything - about the political campaigns they illegally supported at Hsia's direction2. The real significance of the Temple incident may therefore be found in what it reveals about the activities and agenda of its key decision-makers - Maria Hsia and John Huang.

Hsia and Huang have both asserted their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and have refused to cooperate with the Committee. Nevertheless, from documentary evidence produced pursuant to subpoena and from interviews and depositions of persons involved, the Committee has been able to develop a detailed understanding both of the events at issue and of the role of Hsia and Huang therein.

1. See, e.g., Phil Kuntz, Instant Karma: Cash Gets to Democrats Via Buddhist Temple," Wall 1 Street Journal, Oct. 17, 1996 (recounting allegations by Buddhist nun that DNC donation for Gore event was reimbursed). This early coverage prompted the Christian Coalition to file a complaint against the DNC with the Federal Election Commission in connection with the Hsi Lai Temple fundraiser. See generally Colleen Sealander, letter to Master Shing Yun, Oct. 29, 1996 (Ex. 1) (forwarding complaint to Temple, with attachments).

2.Since the Hsi Lai Temple received electronic alarm services from a corporation called "DNC," 2 many of the monastics solicited to give money to the Democratic National Committee may have mistaken the party for the company. Cf., e.g., IBPS check #1278, Jan. 5, 1996 (Ex. 2) ($50 payment to "DNC," apparently for alarm services). ......"

Freeper Severnside 2/18/00 Ed and Bill "….. We think our picture in "Year of the Rat" tells it all. From left to right: Maria Hsia [identified by the CIA as a Chinese agent], the Buddhist Master, No-controlling-legal-authority, Ted Sioeng [identifed by the CIA as a Chinese agent] and hovering in the background is John Huang who took the Fifth a godzillion times before Larry Klayman. We stand by our comment on Gore at the Temple: Either he's lying when he says he didn't know or he's too dumb to be President. ......"

Chattanooga Free Press 2/18/00 "….. Gen. Chi Haotian is Communist China's defense minister. He was quoted recently by the Hong Kong newspaper called Cheng Ming as saying: "Seen from the changes in the world situation and the United States' hegemonic strategy for creating monopolarity, war is inevitable. "We cannot avoid it. The issue is that the Chinese armed forces must control the initiative in this war. ... We must be prepared to fight for one year, two years, three years or even longer." Does that sound to you like a declaration of future war? Americans didn't believe the Japanese warlords' threats before they attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The United States, Britain and France apparently did not believe Adolf Hitler's bombastic threats before he marched into Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. But the current policies of the Clinton administration are ignoring the reality of the Chinese Communist threats. While the Communists have been stealing U.S. nuclear secrets at Los Alamos, N.M., and have been threatening to make war, President Clinton has been collecting political campaign funds from Chinese Communist-connected visitors at the White House, and bestowing trade concessions upon the Communists...."

NewsMax.com 2/18/00 Carl Limbacher "…. FBI Director Louis Freeh failed to intercede with The New York Times as the paper prepared a bombshell report that blew the lid off a crucial Chinagate sting operation planned by the bureau's Los Angeles Counterintelligence Group, key cooperating witness Johnny Chung says in a new videotape account of his story. The failure of the FBI's brass to seek a delay from Times editors caused Los Angeles investigators to shortcircuit their probe into a suspected Chinese military connection between the campaign cash Chung was raising for the White House and the Clinton administration itself. Once the Times report hit the streets, the FBI's Los Angeles Counterintelligence Group immediately became concerned for Chung's safety, rushing the key witness and his family to a secure location for their protection. As Times editors informed Chung's lawyer of their impending blockbuster, Chung himself was preparing to wear a bodywire into a high stakes meeting with Robert Luu, a man investigators believed had been sent to quiet Chung by top officials in Beijing……… "

The Associated Press 2/18/00 "….A videotape of Vice President Al Gore's controversial visit to a fund-raiser at a Buddhist temple won't be available for his political opponents' campaign commercials for another week or so. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled Friday that the Gore video will be off limits to the public until a jury reaches a verdict in the criminal trial of former Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia. Justice Department prosecutors plan to wrap up their case Tuesday, followed by a defense from Hsia's lawyers and jury deliberations. Hsia lawyer Nancy Luque played the video for the jury, making it vulnerable to public dissemination. In a three-page ruling, Friedman made all trial exhibits available immediately, except for the tape, saying he wanted ``to avoid the possibility that the jury will be influenced by the coverage of the videotape by the media.'' However, the media already has videotape of Gore at the Buddhist temple, with CNN airing segments on Jan. 31. Congressional investigators looking into Gore's role in the fund-raising scandal of 1996 never were able to find video of him at the temple. Luque did not give the source of the tape, which carried a commentary in Chinese. Thursday in court, Luque referred to the Republican National Committee in saying she'd like the judge to keep the Gore tape under wraps until the case ends so it doesn't prejudice the jury. The judge said he'd gotten a few inquiries about the video from congressional offices……"

Freeper abwehr 2/18/00 "…..Unable to find a copy??? I hate it when the media lie like this. Do they do it on purpose, or is it just stupidity or laziness on their part? The real story:
Hsia barred reporters from viewing the videotape taken by King & I Productions, videographers hired for the Vice President's Temple luncheon, including that taken of the speeches made by Vice President Gore and others to the assembled guests229. Within two days of the luncheon, all copies of the videotape footage were gathered up from the film company and quickly shipped to Taiwan230. Moreover, the monastic who took the tape from the production company on May 3, 1996- a monk by the name of Man-Chin231 - left the Fo Kuang Shan order shortly after the Committee served Temple officials with a subpoena for the videotape; he has since disappeared232. Despite the repeated assurances of Temple officials that they are looking for this missing tape - and despite the fact that Temple officials have used short excerpts from this tape in making a brief publicity video that appeared on the Cable News Network - the full videotape record of the event with Vice President Gore on April 29, 1996 remains hidden to this day.
229. See Memorandum of Interview of Anonymous Chinese newspaper reporter, May 16, 1997, pp. 1-2.
230.Hank Tseng, letter to Christopher Ford, Aug. 27, 1997 (Ex. 153); Hearing testimony, Sept. 4, 230 1997, pp. 167-69 & 173-81.
231.See Ex. 153.
232.Hearing testimony, Sept. 4, 1997, pp. 174-75 & 179 (remarks of Man Ho, Senator Fred Thompson, and Brian Sun).
Source: The "Thompson Committee" hearings, 1997. .pdf transcript…….. Gotta love Nancy Luques request to the judge that she didn't want to release the tape because it might prejudice the jury when she had just showed it to that same jury... and the judge? AGREED! ….."

World Net Daily 2/17/00 Charles Smith "….Why is Miami businessman Mark B. Jimenez, charged with 17 counts of making illegal contributions to President Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, living free in the Philippines despite apparent efforts by the Justice Department to extradite him? "We are not letting up," Attorney General Janet Reno said in announcing the indictment filed against Jimenez last year in U.S. District Court in Washington, charging him with using straw donors to make contributions to the candidates. (See sidebar.)…… Despite quiet pressure from the U.S. Justice Department, the Philippine government refused to return Jimenez, and Reno has remained silent on the Jimenez case. She did not answer an interview request. Why would the Philippines refuse to return an indicted criminal? It seems Jimenez is accused of making illegal political donations not only to President Clinton, but also to other world leaders as well. In particular, Jimenez is reported to be a close friend and campaign contributor to Philippine President Estrada……… In response to the weak pressure from Reno to extradite Jimenez, Estrada fired his justice secretary, Cuevas, last Sunday and has thereby buried the issue for good……… The cooperation between U.S. and Philippine law enforcement has broken down over the Jimenez case. Philippine sources indicate that Estrada has no interest in honoring the legal requirements to return Jimenez, while Estrada denies the Jimenez case was his reason for firing Cuevas…….. Cuevas, however, claimed he was never informed that he was being fired by the president, adding that he learned about his termination only through the media. "I was really beleaguered. It's like punching somebody who was asleep. I was expecting a reward, but the opposite happened," the 70-year-old Cuevas said in a radio interview……"

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 2/17/00 Jerry Seper "…..The chief judge of the federal court here told Justice Department prosecutors to ask that a criminal case against a Democratic fund-raiser be assigned to a judge appointed by President Clinton, records show. Chief District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, already under investigation for bypassing the court's random computer assignment system, made the request in the prosecution of Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia. Judge Johnson has suggested she assigned the Hsia case to Judge Paul L. Friedman, a Clinton appointee, because it was related to a case he already had been assigned - the prosecution of Arkansas businessman Charles Yah Lin Trie. She used the department's statement that the cases were related as justification for her decision to bypass the random assignment system…….In a Feb. 14 letter to the House Judiciary subcommittee on the courts and intellectual property, the Justice Department acknowleged that it had filed "a related case notice stating that at the suggestion of the chief judge" the Hsia case was related to the Trie prosecution……."As far as I am concerned, this procedure is unusual, unorthodox and may be improper," said Mr. Coble. "The subcommittee is concerned that the chief judge may have improperly influenced the department's decision to file a related case notice. "Did Chief Judge Johnson abuse her position by requesting that the department file a notice of a related case, particularly when the department apparently did not believe the cases were related?" Mr. Coble asked in requesting that the ongoing investigation be expanded. "Was this an attempt to disguise a special assignment? . . . An investigation in this matter should immediately be commenced."……"

Associated Press 2/16/00 Pete Yost "…..A former Democratic money-raiser insisted in court today that an appearance by Vice President Al Gore at a Buddhist temple in 1996 ``was never a fund-raising matter.'' John Huang, testifying at the trial of fellow fund-raiser Maria Hsia, said Gore was to attend a fund-raising event on the same Los Angeles trip but that appearance was canceled because of the vice president's ``tight schedule.''……. The Gore tape was played by lawyers for Hsia, who is on trial for what prosecutors describe as a scheme to illegally reimburse contributors for more than $100,000 in donations they made to the Clinton-Gore '96 campaign and the Democratic Party…… Huang described how he, Hsia and the head of the Buddhist sect from Taiwan visited the vice president at the White House in the spring of 1996, laying the groundwork for what became the temple fund-raiser…….. Huang said the temple fund-raiser had been planned as a community outreach event, the same term Gore initially used to describe it. But Huang said the temple event turned into a fund-raiser when two planned stops by Gore were combined into one because of constraints on the vice president's time…… Huang said that on the day after the fund-raiser he ``mentioned'' to Hsia that ``I hoped I could bring back $100,000.'' He said Hsia subsequently told him to meet her at the temple at 10 at night before Huang flew back to Washington. Huang said that at the meeting in a temple reception room, Hsia ``handed me an envelope; she mentioned 'this is $100,000,' I just took it with me and went with my wife to the airport.''….."

Associated Press via ABC NEWS 2/16/00 Pete Yost "……The videotape of the vice president is the latest reminder of a controversy that has followed Gore since the campaign fund-raising scandal erupted in 1996. Some of the donors at the temple fund-raiser were illegally reimbursed for their contributions out of temple funds and when questions first arose about it, Gore said he thought he was attending a community outreach event, not a fund-raiser. …….. Huang said he began realizing with some concern that the temple fund-raiser was in danger of producing only meager rewards, $30,000 to $40,000, far less of the $200,000 to $250,000 that usually flowed into Democratic coffers whenever Gore showed up at an event……"

Associated Press 2/16/00 Pete Yost "…..The chief judge of the federal court here suggested that Justice Department prosecutors ask that a criminal case against a Democratic fund-raiser be sent to a judge appointed by President Clinton, documents state. Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson has already drawn judicial and congressional scrutiny for bypassing the normal random assignment system and sending the cases against six Clinton supporters to judges appointed by the president. But Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C, whose judiciary subcommittee is looking into the assignments, disclosed a new document on Wednesday which states that Johnson suggested to prosecutors that they ask for the case of fund-raiser Maria Hsia be sent to a judge appointed by Clinton. "This procedure is unusual, unorthodox and may be improper," Coble wrote in a letter to the federal appeals court in Washington. Coble, a House Judiciary subcommittee chairman, enclosed a copy of a notice that the Justice Department filed in the Hsia case in 1998 in which prosecutors requested the case be sent to U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman "at the suggestion of the Chief Judge." …."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. But it was something else Trie admitted that most caught my eye. The onetime Little Rock restaurateur also acknowledged that he had a business relationship with an officer in China's Army, Col. Lin Ruoquing. The Times reported that Col. Lin supplied Trie with license plates registered to the People's Liberation Logistics Department when he was in Beijing. In turn, Trie invited her to become a member of the Democratic National Committee's Business Leadership Forum. I, too, knew Lin Ruoquing. But in all our dealings she kept her position in the Chinese military completely secret from me. To me she was Chairwoman Lin, a simple businesswoman, who headed up China's Three Best Pharmaceutical company. Only later would I learn of Lin's true importance. It turns out Chairwoman Lin was no mere Chinese army colonel who controlled a drug company. In reality, as I would later find out, she was one of the most powerful military officers in all of the People's Liberation Army….."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. Lin Ruoquing was the person in charge of China's one-child policy for the entire millions-strong People's Liberation Army. As such, it was she who determined how big the families of China's military class could be. Anyone in the armed forces who wanted a second child had to secure permission from her office. That meant she and her underlings had the power to enforce the one-child rule with forced abortions when necessary. But now, five years after I terminated my relationship with Chairwoman Lin, she sits in a Beijing jail - sentenced to death, according to reports from Hong Kong, after being found guilty on charges of massive corruption……. As fate would have it, I was scheduled to travel to China just weeks later. It was on this trip to Beijing that Chen introduced me to Chairwoman Lin, whom he identified as chief of Three Best Pharmaceutical. His own company was a subsidiary of Chairwoman Lin's operation. Having no idea that Lin was a colonel in the People's Liberation Army, I thought I was just dealing with Chinese business people. Just like in Washington, I was the new kid in town in Beijing, too. This was only my second or third visit to the People's Republic. ….."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. Looking back on this episode, I see now there were clues that Yi-Qiou Chen and Chairwoman Lin were no mere Chinese business executives. For instance, my hosts were able to put me up in Beijing's state house, the Diaoyutai - in building number two, which offered some very prestigious accommodations. ……. Mr. Chen suggested I invite Chairwoman Lin to the U.S. to tour the White House and the Democratic National Committee. Again, at this time, I had no idea she was a colonel in the Chinese Army. Since I had already invited the businessmen from Haomen Beer Company to the White House, this would be no different, I figured. To me it was just another business opportunity. ….."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. In order for her to get a passport from the Chinese government, I had to personally write her an invitation to tour the White House and the DNC. That's how it's done in China. You have to obtain a formal invitation first or they won't let you out of the country. I invited only three people for White House and DNC tours: Chairwoman Lin, her assistant and her son. When Chairwoman Lin's party arrived in America, I was stunned to see that my three-person guest list had suddenly expanded to seven people. It was during her visit to America that Chairwoman Lin told me about Charlie Trie, and how he had tried to strike up a business arrangement with her. She said that Trie had invited the general manager of her company to come to the U.S. Trie was very anxious to do business with her but I don't know what kind of deal he proposed......."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. I decided I would introduce Chairwoman Lin to then-DNC Chairman Don Fowler and DNC finance chairman Richard Sullivan. At the time, I thought that deals such as Lin's Tylenol proposal would be good for my business and enable me to contribute even more money to the DNC. I told Sullivan and Fowler that Chairwoman Lin was the wife of a retired Red Army General, which was true. The Red Army has been defunct since Mao Zedong's 1949 revolution. I still had no idea that Lin herself had ties to its modern-day successor, the People's Liberation Army. But during Chairwoman Lin's stay in the U.S., I began to grow more and more uneasy about my relationship with her. I had several concerns. First, the fact that she showed up with a party of seven when I had invited only three weighed heavily on my mind. Where did she get the other four invitations, I wondered. When it came time to take Chairwoman Lin on her visit to the White House and DNC, she did not dress appropriately…... Under the circumstances, I decided I would take her only to the Old Executive Office Building next door, then straight back to her hotel…."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. By then, I had pretty much decided not to do business with Chairwoman Lin and her associates. They talked big about huge business deals, but nothing they said ever seemed to pan out. My decision to end this relationship turned out to be extremely fortunate for me. When we got back to her hotel, a message awaited saying that she was to return to Beijing immediately. I saw a look of panic in her face, but I did not know what it meant. Later, I would learn that Chinese authorities arrested Chairwoman Lin the minute she stepped off the plane. During this same period, President Clinton himself asked me to make a special return trip to China. This had nothing to do with business deals or campaign contributions. My mission would be to use whatever influence I had with the Chinese government to secure the release of Harry Wu, the human rights activist then imprisoned by Beijing as a dissident…… Just hours after I arrived in China, I was surprised by Chairwoman Lin's assistant, who suddenly appeared at my hotel. She even knew my hotel room number, which I thought was quite amazing. She had come to beg me to help rescue another important Chinese figure - her own boss, Col. Lin Ruoqing, the person I knew only as Chairwoman Lin. It was then that I learned she had been arrested. I told her I was busy on another project, the Harry Wu mission, but the chairwoman's aide persisted. For the first time, she admitted to me that Lin was a colonel in the People's Liberation Army. But there was more. ….."

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. Because she was desperate for my help, Lin's assistant also came clean about her boss' real job, running the one-child policy for China's entire armed forces. I was shocked to discover that the woman whom I had kept out of the White House weeks before had actually wielded so much power. The assistant also told me that Col. Lin had stashed away millions of dollars in cash at her Beijing house. Right away I wondered if this money came from high-ranking military officers who paid her to obtain waivers of China's one-child policy. There is no way, under normal circumstances, that a Chinese colonel could be a millionaire. I had to turn Lin's assistant down. My mission was to free Harry Wu. I couldn't get distracted by Col. Lin's problems, no matter how important a person she was. ……"

NewsMax 2/14/00 Johnny Chung "….. Something else about Lin bothered me too. During my last trip to Beijing, when I was honored with accommodations in the Diaoyutai, I discovered that her offices were right there in the same building number two complex. I decided that somebody who might know what Lin had been up to was Charles Parish, who was the chief of the visa section at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In the past Parish had helped me get visas for dozens of Chinese businessmen I had invited to the U.S. Parish told me that Chairwoman Lin had presented him with seven invitations for White House/DNC tours, each supposedly signed by me. This made me suspicious of Parish. There had been rumors that Parish had been selling visas out of the embassy himself. And I knew that he, Lin and Yi Qiou Chen, the Chinese businessman who first introduced me to this web of intrigue, had long known each other. I had also heard reports that Parish had obtained an office in the Diaoyutai himself, right there in prestigious building number two. There were rumors that his Diaoyutai office was a package deal that included a Chinese girlfriend, who later ran around Beijing bragging that her boyfriend could get a visa for anybody she wanted. I severed my ties with Chen, Lin and Parish because I smelled trouble. I learned that Chen and Parish later took up with Charlie Trie. I don't know what kind of deal Trie made or how much money is involved. But I told the Justice Department everything I've reported here - and more. ……"

AP 2/2/00 Pete Yost "……A federal jury today found former Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia guilty of arranging more than $100,000 in illegal contributions during the 1996 presidential campaign……. Hsia, who began raising money for Vice President Al Gore more than a decade ago, showed no emotion as the U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman read the verdict. ……. At the trial, former Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang, the central figure in the campaign fund-raising scandal, testified that Hsia handed him an envelope containing $100,000 the day after Gore attended the temple event. Most of the donations in the envelope were reimbursed by the temple. ……"

Florida Times-Union 3/4/00 Knight-Tribune News Service "…..For several years, Vice President Al Gore has maintained he knew little about the purpose of a 1996 luncheon in his honor at the Hsi Lai Buddhist temple that turned into an illegal money laundering operation. But a growing body of documents, including new records obtained by Knight Ridder, show that Gore would have had a reason to believe the luncheon at a tax-exempt religious institution, which was attended by some of the Democratic Party's top fund-raisers, was for the purpose of raising political money…….. One previously unreleased Secret Service memo prepared about the time that Gore flew to Los Angeles for the luncheon describes it as a political fund-raiser. Other Gore staff memos refer to a fund-raising luncheon; one lists a ticket price of $1,000 to $5,000 per person. Luncheon participants told Senate investigators that at least two of the podium speakers referred to the event as a fund-raiser in Gore's presence. ……The question of whether Gore knew he was attending a fund-raiser is important because raising political money on the site of a tax-exempt religious institution could constitute a violation of the federal tax code….."

Washington Times 2/6/00 "……According to Attorney General Janet Reno's Justice Department, which prosecuted the case, the nation's campaign-finance laws weren't the only things violated. The Clinton Justice Department has repeatedly portrayed the president, the vice president, their re-election committee and the Democratic Party as mere victims - unknowing dupes - of unscrupulous fund-raisers and contributors, including not only Hsia but also Charlie Trie, John Huang, Johnny Chung, Yogesh Gandhi, the Wiriadinata family, etc. Meanwhile, Miss Reno has steadfastly rejected recommendations from the likes of New York Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Clinton-appointed FBI Director Louis Freeh and Charles La Bella, the respected prosecutor she appointed to head her department's campaign-finance task force, to seek the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate the roles of President Clinton and Vice President Gore in the scandal……."

Associated Press 2/29/00 Pete Yost "….Focusing on a Buddhist temple that illegally bankrolled fund-raising events attended by Vice President Al Gore and other politicians, prosecutors are portraying an ex-Democratic fund-raiser as the overseer of a scheme to hide the true sources of more than $100,000 in campaign donations. But a lawyer for the defendant, Maria Hsia, says the Justice Department's case is so flawed that it suggests the prosecutors' motive in bringing the charges was simply to raise Gore's name once again in the 1996 fund-raising scandal. ``Why is Maria Hsia here?'' defense attorney Nancy Luque asked a federal court jury Monday in closing arguments at the trial, now in its fourth week. Prosecutors brought the case because of Hsia's ``relationship with the vice president'' which ``goes back to 1989. ... That is the only thing I can think of,'' Luque continued. Hsia, an immigration consultant, used 40 or 50 people as illegal conduits, most of whom were ``dupes'' who didn't even speak English, said prosecutor Eric Yaffe. ``She used ... her own clients and she used the temple to suit her own purposes,'' repeatedly arranging for the Buddhist temple to finance campaign donations……."

LA Times 3/1/00 Robert Jackson "……"....The criminal trial of Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia rushed toward a speedy conclusion Monday after Hsia's attorney decided against putting on a defense after three weeks of prosecution testimony. ... Hsia, a Los Angeles immigration consultant, did not take the witness stand to defend herself against five charges of causing false reports to be filed with federal election officials. Her attorney, Nancy Luque, told jurors in her closing argument that the government had failed to prove Hsia did anything to cause inaccurate reports to be submitted by others. "No witness told you that Maria Hsia caused them to tell a lie," Luque said to the jury. "She never told anybody to break the law." ..."

Associated Press 2/29/00 "…..Former Democratic fund-raiser Charlie Trie apologized "for any harm I caused President Clinton" and says he never tried to obtain "anything improper in return" for hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, many of them illegal…….. Alternately defiant and contrite, Trie outlined his involvement in White House coffees with Clinton that resulted in millions of dollars flowing to the Democratic Party. The White House has always maintained the events weren't fund-raisers, but Trie said, "It was ... well known that it cost $50,000 to attend a coffee." Trie said he paid $50,000 to get businessman Winston Wang into a coffee, with Trie asserting he was reimbursed later by three wire transfers from associates of Wang. Trie described his role in bringing a Chinese arms dealer to another White House coffee, saying that Trie's business partner at the time, Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng "was ... excited about the prospect of doing business" in areas other than arms. …."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 3/3/00 Jerry Seper "….. A longtime fund-raiser for Vice President Al Gore was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., of concealing the source of $109,000 donated after a 1996 fund-raiser attended by Mr. Gore at a California Buddhist temple. Maria Hsia, a Taiwan-born U.S. citizen, had been accused of hiding "the true sources of thousands of dollars of illegal contributions she solicited" from the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif., for the Democratic Party and the 1996 Clinton-Gore Re-election Committee. Prosecutors said the California immigration consultant "made a conscious decision to undermine" federal electoral laws "to advance her own business and political interests" in an effort to gain access to Democratic politicians. Hsia, who first began raising campaign cash for Mr. Gore more than 10 years ago, showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman here. The verdict came after three weeks of testimony and 10 hours of jury deliberation over three days....... Sen. Fred Thompson, Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which investigated campaign finances abuses, issued a one-sentence statement after the verdict: "I don't know who is more surprised, me or the Justice Department."......"

CNSNews.com 3/3/00 Jim Burns "…..Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) predicted that Maria Hsia, who was convicted Thursday on charges she hid $109,000 in illegal campaign contributions during the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign, will receive probation instead of jail time and that she had most likely compromised American national security. During a question and answer session at the Heritage Foundation in Washington Friday Thompson, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee which investigated the campaign finance scandal, said the Hsia conviction is but one example of how far down in stature the Justice Department has sunk during the Clinton Administration. "The greatest tragedy of the Clinton administration is the Department of Justice," Thompson said. He cited as the reasons, "no leadership, gross incompetence [and] not having an outside prosecutor look into the campaign fundraising case."…… When asked by CNSNews.com if Hsia was connected to the communist Chinese government and if this may have compromised American security Thompson said yes. "We pointed out that there were a half a dozen individuals who were raising large sums of money for the Democratic National Committee who had very close ties with the Chinese government," Thompson said. "We also said in our report that Miss Hsia was an agent of the Chinese government. We did this after consultation with the FBI. With regard to the rest of your question, I'll just leave it there. I don't want to draw any broad conclusions until I at least have the chance to go back in and review our report," Thompson said. ….."

INSIGHT Magazine 3/3/00 Scott Wheeler "……The summary reveals that Trie explained "he would have contributed money to Clinton's campaign back in 1992, but he was aware at the time that either the FBI or the CIA was interested in talking to him." According to the summary, when then-governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton told Trie that he would run for president, Trie telephoned the Chinese Embassy, apparently to apprise Beijing of the development. It is this slip, according to the summary, that was the cause of Trie's anxiety about openly donating to Clinton in 1992 despite his "pro-Clinton enthusiasm." ……. In May 1998, an Associated Press, or AP, report indicated that the Justice Department and the FBI had "gathered evidence as early as 1992 that two fund-raisers who organized Clinton's initial efforts among Asian-Americans were engaged in wrongdoing."... According to the AP account, "The Lums also told prosecutors that [Ron] Brown, then the Democratic Party chairman, tipped them off in 1992 that a businessman they were working with was in fact an undercover FBI agent." The same press account says the Lums were told of the attempted FBI sting only days before they were to meet with Clinton in Arkansas. How the FBI got on to these operations is not discussed. ……. The retired official, who worked on counterintelligence and technology-transfer cases related to China, states that the testimony "suggests Trie was already in communication with sources of tainted money" in 1992. A U.S. citizen since 1984, Trie legally was free to make any legal donation he wished, so the retired special agent is suspicious of what may be a Trie cover story or spy legend. . ….. "

INSIGHT Magazine 3/3/00 Scott Wheeler "……According to the FBI documents, Trie explained to investigators that he phoned the PRC's consulate in Houston to ask officials to "gather Asian immigrants and community leaders [and] organize a party to raise money for Clinton." The summary of sworn Trie depositions went on to say, "The consular official told Trie that the PRC could not become involved in a U.S. election campaign and warned him that the phone line was tapped." In short, Trie was told to "shut up and duck." The retired special agent says the money that the PRC poured into Clinton's campaign coffers through Trie after Clinton was elected president, coupled with the dramatic testimony, suggests that the investigation is far from over….."

Freeper The Bolt 3/3/00 "…. How do we know Charlie Trie did not support Clinton's fundraising? Because when it came time for the democraps to quiz him in the house hearings they left the hearings entirely. Any major media coverage of the hearings? No. Former CIA says the Russians are using stolen IMF loans to fund Bill and Hill, who in turn are funding Gore's campaign. Book release scheduled for May, 2000….."

Philadelphia Inquirer 3/4/00 Chris Mondics "…...... The vice president said shortly after the fund-raiser that he understood it to be a "community outreach" event. In 1997, a Gore spokeswoman, Lorraine Voles, said that Gore "knew it was a finance-related event" with donors present, but that he was not aware money was being raised at the event. Another aide called it a "donor maintenance" event. Gore has said he had no information at the time suggesting it was a fund-raiser. …….. When Gore arrived the afternoon of April 29, 1996, at the Hsi Lai temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the Western Hemisphere, he was greeted by dozens of saffron-robed temple monastics who waved Buddhist flags, chanted and bowed toward him in a traditional Buddhist greeting. Gore was accompanied by Don Fowler, who was then the Democratic national chairman; Hsia; and Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang, who later pleaded guilty to unrelated campaign finance law violations. Gore exchanged gifts with Yun and made a traditional offering of flowers to the Buddha. A flurry of memos by Gore's staff members in the weeks just before the event shows his staffers were aware that the Southern California stop was a party fund-raiser....A March 15, 1996, memo from Gore scheduler Kimberley Tilley to the vice president, contained in a Senate report on the incident, reported he had been invited to an event in Lawrence, N.Y., on April 29. That was the same day he had been booked for two Democratic National Committee fund-raisers, one in San Jose, Calif., and the other in Los Angeles. Gore responded with his own e-mail saying he would have to decline if the fund-raisers already had been scheduled. Since the Hsi Lai event turned out to be his only Southern California stop on April 29, he could have had reason to believe he was attending a fund-raiser...... .An exchange of e-mails in mid-April 1996 between two White House staffers, concerned that a visit with Yun by the vice president might upset U.S.-China relations, also describes the event as a fund-raiser. "Hsing Yun has invited the vp to visit the Hsi Lai temple in LA," John J. Norris wrote to colleague Robert Suettinger. "Hsing Yun would host a fund-raising luncheon for about 150 people in the vps honor."......In addition, John Huang told a House committee last year that both DNC Chairman Fowler and Gore's deputy chief of staff at the time, David Strauss, knew the luncheon's purpose was to help replenish Democratic Party coffers. "Mr. Fowler knows about this, knew about it, and Mr. Strauss knew about it," Huang told the committee, adding that the luncheon seating was determined in part by how much guests had donated......."

"…… Testimony of John Huang (Day 1) Before House Government Reform Committee…..
BEGINNING OF TRANSCRIPT EXCERT: REP. BURTON: If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to, while I've still got this fresh in my mind. If you received checks in advance -- and I believe you did -- and this was the only event, how could it not be called a fundraiser? Didn't you get checks in advance?
MR. HUANG: I did receive the checks in advance.
REP. BURTON: So, so, you knew that it was a fundraiser because you already had checks in your hand.
MR. HUANG: As I reported to you, Mr. Chairman, I had the plan as a fundraiser in the restaurant earlier, that motion was going. So, any checks I had received, I didn't remember how many of them, very, probably a few, but I did receive the checks --
REP. BURTON: I know. But you knew the two were going to be consolidated into one event because of the time frame. So, you knew there was going to be a fundraiser at the temple, is that not correct? And you've already said you knew they were going to be combined into one event.
MR. HUANG: Mr. Chairman, as I stated, the original planned fundraising event was canceled. And I didn't recall anybody at that luncheon was raising money or collecting money. I do know with such an opportunity later on, I would be able to inspire more people giving more money.
REP. BURTON: Did any of the people that gave you money get special seating at the event? Did they sit up front?
MR. HUANG: Some of the people willing to make more commitment, yes, they were.
REP. BURTON: So, this definitely was known as a fundraiser because you were giving them preferential seating. You did not give the checks back, so you knew this is what was going on. Now, the -- after the meal in the temple dining hall, I'm going back to that, there were some statements made by some people that there was actual discussion by some of the speakers about raising money. And we've got people who said, testified to that effect, that, you know, that were there that said, "Yeah, we heard people say, yeah we want to raise some money for the vice president." You don't recall that…..
MR. HUANG: To answer your question, it's not true. I believe Mr. Fowler knows about that, and also Mr. Strauss probably knew about that as well.
REP. BURTON: So, they knew it was a fundraiser. You knew it was a fund raiser. Maria Hsia knew it was a fundraiser. Don Fowler knew it was a fundraiser. But the vice president, who was with all of you, did not know it was a fundraiser?
MR. HUANG: Mr. Chairman, I can only state that Mr. Fowler knows about it, knew about it, and Mr. Strauss knew about it. I really can't say anything further about, what, more than that……..

REP. SHAYS:….there was an article in the New York Times of June 12th, and the article, what I want to read to you it says, "And White House aides" -- speaking of this event -- "are now upset that the reimbursement scheme will be a central point in the prolonged criminal investigation and prevent Mr. Gore from putting the episode behind him. Officials at the Democrat National Committee said this week that they also felt betrayed by Mr. Huang's varying accounts of the event, especially after questions were first raised about its propriety last fall. He kept insisting it was just community outreach and that he had never ever billed it as a fundraiser, said one Democrat official who insisted on anonymity, and of course, that is far from the truth. We just feel completely misled by him." Evidently, Republicans aren't allowed to criticize you, but Democrats are. Was this a fair criticism of you?
MR. HUANG: The answer is no.
REP. SHAYS: Right. Because if in fact you had misled them, you would have been breaking the law, and you would have been disagreeing with the very thing that you told us you had, you hadn't stopped breaking the law after 94. So, I'm going to, as, you know, my distinguished ranking member is willing to give you the credibility to say you're under oath and you're telling us the truth. And you've told us the truth. They were informed. They knew it. So, the only thing we have going now is you didn't directly tell the president, vice president, directly, is that true? You didn't speak to the vice president?
MR. HUANG: Absolutely not.
REP. SHAYS: So, you didn't tell the vice president, but you told his people? Is that true?
MR. HUANG: All his people knew about it, yes, the same. Yeah. ......"

Associated Press 3/1/00 Pete Yost "…..Charlie Trie, the ex-Little Rock restaurant owner turned illegal fund-raiser, told disbelieving congressional Republicans Wednesday he thought he was only making ''a U-turn'' when he moved hundreds of thousands of dollars from overseas businessmen to the Democratic Party. …… Trie moved what Republican committee staffers say was over $700,000 to the Democratic Party, Clinton-Gore '96 and various Democratic politicians from foreign nationals including Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng and Jakarta telecommunications magnate Tomy Winata. Trie disputed the amount, saying that less than half the amount was illegal. Trie said Ng wanted his picture taken with President Clinton and that Winata wanted a private meeting with Clinton but that Winata never got it. Trie said he did arrange a White House tour for Winata. They were interested only in impressing their clients with the prestige that being introduced to Clinton would bring, said Trie. ……. Disputing Trie's assertions that the Democratic Party didn't know what he was up to, Burton produced a letter that Trie instigated from the DNC's Business Leadership Forum to a woman at a government-owned company in Beijing who also was a colonel in the Chinese army. Lin Ruo Qing expressed an interest in joining the forum and Trie's assistant in Little Rock told the Democratic Party in a note that ''Miss Lin is currently working for a Chinese government-owned organization, therefore, it is difficult for her to apply for a business visa.'' ……… Trie tried to blame the FBI's seizure of his records to explain why he hadn't filed his income tax return for 1996, but backtracked because the seizure didn't occur until well after tax time. ''When you start lying things get messy,'' chided Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn. ……Trie's benefactors periodically gave him chunks of money, $10,000 to $20,000 at a time on which he didn't pay taxes, including when he was in Asia amid the uproar of the campaign fund-raising scandal back in the United States......."

 

Reuters 3/1/00 Christopher Wilson "….. Former Democratic fund raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, an Arkansas restaurateur and acquaintance of President Bill Clinton, on Wednesday apologized for his role in funneling illegal contributions to Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign, saying he had got in over his head……. "I never tried to influence any policy decision or lobby for the interests of others. My business associates and I just wanted to go to events with important people and to get the opportunity to have our pictures taken with the President of the United States," he said. "I would also like to apologize for any harm I have caused President Clinton." ……… Burton and other Republicans pressed Trie on his contacts with several Asian business figures who had links with the Chinese government and grilled him bluntly on whether or not he had knowingly acted as a Chinese agent. "I have never committed any form of espionage," responded Trie, describing the allegations as "a joke." Nonetheless, he acknowledged that he had received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Macau-based businessman Ng Lap Seng, known as Woo, and from Tomy Winato, a wealthy Jakarta business figure and friend of former Indonesian President Suharto. Much of this money was channeled to the Democratic National Committee in illegal donations....He also admitted he had arranged for guests to attend coffee receptions with Clinton at the White House, saying he once paid $50,000 to get businessman Winston Wang invited and was later reimbursed by Wang's associates. The White House has denied that the coffee receptions were fund raising events, but Trie said it was "well known that it cost $50,000 to attend a coffee." …….. On another occasion, Trie said he brought a Chinese arms dealer, Wang Jun, to coffee at the White House but believed that the man was simply the head of a large legitimate Chinese company, CITIC, described as "the General Electric of China." ……"

worldnetdaily.com 3/1/00 Paul Sperry "….."Hordes" of Chinese officials marched into the Arkansas state capitol demanding favors soon after Bill Clinton was elected president, a former Arkansas state auditor told WorldNetDaily. "We never had a single Chinese visitor come until Clinton became president," said Julia Hughes Jones, who served as then-Gov. Clinton's state auditor. Starting in November 1992, high-ranking officials from the Chinese consulate in Houston beat a path to her door. "They were in my office at least once a week from then on," said Jones, whose office was next door to Clinton's. And they meant business. "I had this one Chinese guy from the embassy come in my office -- tall, heavy-set, mean-looking, but very well-dressed, wearing an expensive black overcoat," Jones recalled. "My secretary told me there was this man out front to see me and he was scary-looking, and didn't speak very good English." But he knew enough to get across what he wanted, she says. In a meeting, he demanded that Jones broker deals for China with Wal-Mart Stores and Tyson Foods, both based in Arkansas. "I thought it was really strange," she said. …… Jones now figures long-time Clinton fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie had made promises to Chinese officials on behalf of Clinton on his many trips to China before the election. And the officials were following up. …."

USA Today 2/28/00 Edward Pound "….. A federal grand jury investigating whether Labor Secretary Alexis Herman was involved in a campaign fundraising scheme has accused a Singapore executive of making $150,000 in illegal donations to the Democratic Party. The businessman, Abdul Rahman, once a social acquaintance of Herman's, was accused of a felony and seven misdemeanors. The grand jury said Rahman, in making contributions in the names of two other people, had caused the Democratic National Committee to file a false campaign report with the Federal Election Commission. In addition, he was accused of violating an election law prohibiting donations by foreign citizens. The gifts were made to the DNC and four state party organizations during the 1996 campaign. …..Herman is not named in the indictment, but the inquiry is continuing. The Labor secretary's lawyer, Neil Eggleston, could not be reached for comment but has said his client had not acted improperly. ...... Reno said the Justice Department had developed no evidence clearly demonstrating that Herman had acted illegally, but the attorney general said her investigators had corroborated parts of the allegations against the Labor secretary. Those allegations were made by Laurent Yene, a native of Cameroon and former partner of a Washington consultant named Vanessa Weaver. She and Herman are close friends. Yene has alleged that Herman, while a top White House official, had encouraged Weaver to solicit campaign gifts from Rahman and that the funds were funneled to the Democratic Party through a company owned by Weaver. ….."

AP 2/28/00 Pete Yost "…..The independent counsel investigating Labor Secretary Alexis Herman has charged a Singapore businessman with making $200,000 in illegal contributions to the Democratic Party through two U.S. businesswomen with ties to the labor secretary. Herman is not mentioned in the Feb. 16 indictment against Abdul Rahman, but the two U.S. businesswomen, sisters Vanessa and Caryliss Weaver, are named 11 times as the contributors of record for donations which the indictment says actually came from Rahman. ……. Vanessa Weaver and Herman are close friends and Herman, who ran the White House Office of Public Liaison before becoming labor secretary, took Caryliss Weaver on a trade mission. Herman had been introduced to Rahman by Vanessa Weaver on one or two occasions. Rahman was introduced to President Clinton during the 1996 presidential campaign. ……"

WorlNetDaily 2/26/00 Paul Sperry "….. In 1991, when Bill Clinton let on he was running for the White House, Arkansas fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie tried to develop a sister city relationship between Little Rock and Changchun, China -- a key biowarfare research hub, sources say. While visiting the Chinese city, where he eventually bought a home, Trie brokered deals to export biotech equipment to a Changchun lab suspected of being a Chinese army front for the manufacture of agents used in biological weapons. Changchun is in Jilin province, which borders North Korea. It's also near Harbin, China's new propaganda center for biowarfare. "During one of his early visits to Changchun, Trie met with Zhang Jianming, director of the Changchun Biological Products Institute," according to a copy of FBI summaries of interviews with Trie obtained by WorldNetDaily. The lab, a unit of the Public Health Ministry, is run by the Chinese communist government……"

WorlNetDaily 2/26/00 Paul Sperry "….. Trie formed a close bond with the bio lab chief while in Changchun, where Trie and his late wife bought a home for $20,000. "Trie provided a letter of invitation for Zhang to use in obtaining a visa to the United States," the 150-page FBI reports says. "Once in the United States, Trie accompanied Zhang on his travels." Zhang visited Little Rock and, in November 1992 -- after Clinton was elected president -- he and Trie set up what appears to be a shell company called United Biotech. The company had a bank account and a Little Rock address, but no business plan or real income. The firm was dissolved a year later. But in that time, Trie helped Zhang procure a 132-gallon "medical fermentation tank" from a New York-based manufacturer, according to the FBI. …."

WorlNetDaily 2/26/00 Paul Sperry "….. "He got them the fermenting equipment to grow the bugs" used in germ warfare, a senior Pentagon official told WorldNetDaily. Special agents worry that the Chinese government may have used the apparent shell company to acquire other biotech equipment……. A search of Arkansas secretary of state records for DBAs, sole proprietorships and incorporations registered under Trie's name turns up no less than six import-export or international consulting businesses. They include Jesco International Inc., Asian Pacific International Inc., Daihatsu International Trading Inc., Premier International Investment Inc. and T&L International Inc. At least one, Jesco International, traded with China before going out of business. …."

WorlNetDaily 2/26/00 Paul Sperry "….. According to the FBI report, the 50-year-old Trie had an ethnic-Chinese "silent partner" -- Dr. Peter P. Fu -- who invested in Daihatsu International. An FDA toxicologist, Fu met Chinese scientist Zhang in Little Rock after Clinton was elected. Fu works for the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Ark., which is about halfway between Little Rock and Pine Bluff, Ark. The federal lab, on a 496-acre campus, conducts experiments in biochemical toxicology, genetic toxicology, neurotoxicology, microbiology and molecular epidemiology, its website says. Some pathology labs do studies of "microorganisms multiplying and producing infections." The center has an active lab-to-lab scientific exchange program with a medical institution in China. And in 1993, it hosted an "international group of inspectors interested in Biological Weapons Treaty issues." Trie told FBI agents he didn't think Fu, 58, had any ties to Beijing. At that, agents produced one of Fu's business cards "indicating that Dr. Fu has ties with two institutions managed by the PRC government." ……"

WorlNetDaily 2/26/00 Paul Sperry "….. He [former Brookings Institution defense analyst] added that the PLA, through its front companies, is interested in acquiring U.S. biotech equipment for use in "precisely this area.[biotech military]" ….. Even though China joined the Biological Weapons Convention in 1984, it has violated the pact and maintained an offensive germ-warfare program, according to a 1997 report by the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. That year, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had to concede to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that classified reports show Chinese firms have shipped biowarfare equipment to Iran. ……"

NewsMax.com 3/11/00 Carl Limbacher "…..In excerpts of the 1998 memo leaked to The Los Angeles Times this week, LaBella described the evidence against Hillary as "not overwhelming at this time," (Though he did say it was enough "to warrant further inquiry"). Not overwhelming? The relevant Times excerpts of LaBella's memo focus on whether Hillary knew Chinagate fund-raiser Charlie Trie's contributions to the Clinton Legal Defense Fund weren't kosher. But in fact, Mrs. Clinton had ample reason to know that the White House was awash in Chinese campaign cash -- not only because of her association with Trie, but through her relationship with other key Chinagate moneymen, John Huang and Johnny Chung. It's long been known that Trie was a old friend of the president's going back to his Arkansas days. But previously, Mrs. Clinton was not thought to have had any personal dealings with the illegal donor. Yet only last month, newly released transcripts of Trie's FBI interrogation revealed that the onetime Little Rock Chinese restaurateur was much closer to the first lady than generally had been known. Yes, Trie had, on at least one occasion, given the first lady a pearl necklace; which may or may not be important. What's surely significant, though, is the level of familarity between Hillary and Trie's wife as indicated by his testimony. "(Trie) said that Mrs. Clinton personally led an impromptu tour of the White House living quarters after recognizing Trie's wife among a group of Chinese visitors in 1995." (The Los Angeles Times -- Feb. 6, 2000) ….."

New York Post 3/11/00 "……Just as Al Gore was being listed as the morning-line favorite for the presidency, he finds himself cast in a Charles Dickens story -- haunted by the ghost of fund-raising scandals past. First there was the conviction of Maria Hsia, a longtime Gore fund-raiser, on five felony counts for funneling more than $100,000 in illegal contributions to the White House-controlled Democratic National Committee in 1996. Now, the Los Angeles Times has published a large part of the 1998 confidential memo filed by Charles LaBella, the Justice Department's chief campaign-finance investigator, urging Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint a special prosecutor to probe the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. Reno has kept this explosive memo tightly under wraps for two years -- even under threat of a contempt of Congress citation -- and no wonder. According to LaBella, Reno and her "see-no-evil" Justice Department gave special treatment to President Clinton, Vice President Gore, First Lady Hillary Clinton and former White House aide Harold Ickes -- now Mrs. Clinton's top campaign strategist. …..The blistering memo was backed by FBI Director Louis Freeh -- but despite this dramatic endorsement, Reno said she saw no reason to appoint an independent counsel. ….."

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..Not only did the F.B.I. director, Louis J. Freeh, and Ms. Reno's chief campaign finance prosecutor, Charles G. La Bella, conclude that Ms. Reno was obligated to seek an independent counsel, but so did aides like Robert S. Litt, a highly influential political deputy at the Justice Department who was often said to have opposed such appointments. But Ms. Reno decided against them and ordered the investigation of Mr. Gore closed in December, 1998. That decision lifted an enormous political weight off Mr. Gore as he prepared to seek the presidency and became one of the attorney general's most controversial and criticized moves. …… "

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..But in an early, pivotal decision, senior Justice Department officials in Washington ordered the prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney Stephen A. Mansfield, to cease his investigation and turn over any information he had gathered to prosecutors in Washington because Mr. Gore was covered by the independent counsel statute. "As would be necessary in any matter with potential independent counsel ramifications, your office should take no steps to investigate these matters at this time," Lee J. Radek, the chief of the public integrity section, wrote in a Nov. 1, 1996 letter to a top Federal prosecutor in Los Angeles. The letter was recently obtained by The New York Times. The department's temple inquiry exonerated Mr. Gore by 1997, and when he was later interviewed by the F.B.I. in 1997 and 1998, he was never even questioned about the temple. The investigation led to an indictment of Maria Hsia, a California immigration consultant and longtime fund-raiser for the vice president, who was convicted by a Federal jury here last week. ……"

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..A review of the Justice Department's inquiry of Mr. Gore's role in the 1996 campaign finance investigation shows that the vice president only narrowly avoided the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate charges of illegal fund-raising, not for any actions related to the temple for but for fund-raising phone calls that the vice president placed from his White House office. The closeness of the call on Mr. Gore's case was not known previously. The debates kept the decision open until the final day of the 90-day deadline imposed by the independent counsel law, when Mr. Radek and other lawyers from the public integrity section persuaded Ms. Reno that the facts would never warrant prosecution, the officials said. ………."

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..In a confidential memorandum to Ms. Reno in 1998, Charles G. La Bella, her hand-picked chief of the department's campaign finance task force, argued strenuously that an independent counsel should be appointed to investigate the fund-raising roles of President Clinton and Mr. Gore. Mr. La Bella's memorandum has never been made public. But verbatim notes by someone who reviewed the document demonstrate Mr. La Bella's frustrations. Mr. La Bella said that the Justice Department had begun aggressive investigations of lower-level people "based only on a wisp of information," while he believed that top White House officials had the benefit of a much higher legal threshold. Mr. La Bella pointed out in his memo, some details of which were first reported in The Los Angeles Times, that the independent counsel law had an assurance that senior officials would be "treated neither more harshly nor more leniently than others in less powerful positions." ….."

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..Mr. Mansfield, the Los Angeles prosecutor who originally investigated the temple fund-raiser, said in a recent interview that he had prepared to investigate aggressively. "I wanted to move very quickly, to gather evidence by issuing subpoenas, interviewing witnesses and considering the execution of search warrants," said Mr. Mansfield, who had extensive experience prosecuting campaign finance fraud cases and who is now a partner at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. "But it got yanked off my desk and as far as I know, nothing happened for many, many months. The consequence of a strategy of sitting back and doing nothing means you effectively make the matter go away. It is so much harder to develop. Speed is everything in a highly publicized case." …..In the months that elapsed, several figures involved in the temple fund-raising fled the country. ……"

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..In a letter in October, 1997, after her task force had been investigating for about a year, the attorney general had already decided that the practices that had first raised the biggest questions about the Democrats, among them the use of the White House as a fund-raising tool, did not merit an independent counsel. But one fund-raising statute, a 1883 civil service law that barred elected officials from using government offices to raise money, was clear and troublesome for Mr. Gore, who had made 45 fund-raising calls from his vice-presidential office. Mr. Gore's supporters have said that the accusations were baseless, and that the applicable law was created to correct political abuses before the invention of the telephone. In December 1997, Ms. Reno absolved him of any wrongdoing by saying that his calls were intended to raise unrestricted soft money only for general party purposes, not for potentially illegal hard-money donations for the use of the re-election campaign effort. ..."

NEW YORK TIMES 3/11/00 David Johnston Don Van Natta Jr "…..Gore II, as it became known within some Justice Department circles, focused on whether Mr. Gore lied to investigators during the initial inquiry into his fund-raising phone calls. But this time, Ms. Reno's advisers were sharply divided and there was much deliberation. Mr. La Bella and Director Freeh, this time joined by Mr. Litt and other Justice Department officials, redoubled their efforts to get the attorney general to appoint an independent counsel. Again, this time more narrowly, Mr. Gore escaped the appointment of an independent counsel when Ms. Reno overruled her advisers. The Justice Department's second investigation of Mr. Gore began in September 1998 when the White House belatedly disclosed a fund-raising memo by David M. Strauss, a deputy chief of staff to the vice president. Mr. Strauss's notes were taken at a White House meeting on Nov. 21, 1995 and suggested Mr. Gore might not have been truthful in the 1997 inquiry. Mr. Gore had told investigators that he thought his White House telephone calls were only to raise soft-money donations. But the Strauss memorandum indicated that Mr. Gore might have known when he was questioned by Justice Department investigators that money was being split into both unrestricted soft-money accounts and restricted hard-money accounts. According to new documents, the former White House chief of staff, Leon A. Panetta, recalled that the vice president was present and seemed attentive when there was a White House discussion of how money would be split among party accounts. But Mr. Gore said he was sometimes inattentive and missed parts of fund-raising meetings. Additionally, he told the F.B.I., according to notes of a 1998 interview, that "he drank a lot of iced tea during meetings, which could have necessitated a restroom break." Ms. Reno concluded the evidence against Mr. Gore was too slight to support a prosecution. ….."

Rep. Curt Weldon's Website 3/10/00 "…..Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) charged Attorney General Janet Reno with attempting to cover-up a myriad of campaign fundraising illegalities in the wake of the public disclosure of the LaBella memo in today's L.A. Times. As a member of the Cox Committee investigating Chinese espionage and the transfer of sophisticated military technologies from the U.S. to the People's Republic of China, Weldon has repeatedly called upon the Justice Department to release the memo. ……."This shows the Clinton-Gore-Reno stonewalling for what it was - a nakedly political attempt by the Clinton-Gore Administration to squelch all evidence of its illegal activity," said Weldon. "The months-long spin-doctoring of the Reno whitewashers was nothing more than a lame attempt to explain away a cover-up." ……

……"I have long-believed that the LaBella memorandum contained damning information on the illegal campaign fundraising efforts by the Clinton-Gore Administration," stated Weldon, who says there is a link between illegal campaign contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign and the DNC and the transfer of sensitive technologies to China. "During our investigation, the Cox Committee - which was afforded unprecedented access to a wide range of classified intelligence documents - requested a copy of the LaBella memo but was refused by Janet Reno and the Justice Department. Now we know why."

…….Today's L.A. Times revealed that the internal Justice Department Campaign Finance Task Force - set up to investigate illegal campaign financing activities during the 1996 election - was stifled, in the words of one task force prosecutor, by "behind-the-scenes maneuvering, personal animosity, distortions of fact and contortions of law" by high-level Justice officials. Another task force attorney stated "They didn't want us to succeed. It made them look bad."

.........Ultimately, Janet Reno rejected recommendations by both Charles Labella, the head of the task force, and FBI Director Louis Freeh to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the illegal campaign fundraising. According to the task force, issues that warranted the appointment of a special counsel included:
* evidence that Vice President Gore may have provided false testimony to investigators;
* the likely knowledge within the White House of efforts to inject foreign funds into the reelection effort;
* and a potential quid pro quo with Charlie Trie in exchange for obtaining more than $460,000 in illegal campaign donations
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," predicted Weldon. "There are countless pages that were redacted from the memo that I believe will offer even more damaging evidence of wrong-doing by the Clinton-Gore Administration."

…….."Charles LaBella wasn't some politically motivated investigator," stated Weldon. "He was handpicked by Janet Reno to head this task force in an effort restore integrity to this investigation. Apparently, LaBella restored more integrity to the task force than either Janet Reno or the White House could handle." ……"

Committee on Goverment Reform 3/10/00 "……Chairman Dan Burton (R-IN) today issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for the 1997 memos by FBI Director Louis Freeh and former head of the Campaign Fundraising Task Force Chuck La Bella. Burton said:

……."The leak of the La Bella memo comes on the heels of new information about the White House not producing hundreds of thousands of e-mails to Congress, the Justice Department and the several independent counsels who have investigated the Clinton Administration.

…….."I'd like to know why to this day, Janet Reno hasn't asked the White House for these documents? She says she's been conducting an aggressive investigation of the campaign finance scandal. The evidence would suggest the opposite. "It's not surprising that Janet Reno has taken no steps to get this information. She didn't even let her investigators ask Al Gore or President Clinton about John Huang, James Riady, Maria Hsia, Charlie Trie or the Buddhist Temple fundraiser.

………"The leak of the La Bella memo speaks volumes about Janet Reno's mishandling of the campaign fundraising investigation, and her disregard for Congressional oversight of the Justice Department. "I expect immediate compliance with the Committee's subpoena. There is no reason why Congress should not get substantially unredacted versions of those documents."

Committee on Government Reform 3/10/00 letter to Janet Reno "…..The Justice Department has apparently disclosed to the Los Angeles Times the memorandum by Charles La Bella regarding the appointment of an Independent Counsel for the campaign fundraising investigation. As you know, I subpoenaed this memorandum, as well as the similar memorandum by FBI Director Louis Freeh, in July 1998. You refused to comply with my subpoena, and the Committee voted to hold you in contempt. However, you have still refused to provide the memorandum to the Committee, despite that contempt vote and several requests since that time. While you failed to comply with a lawful Congressional subpoena, either you or someone in the Justice Department has seen fit to provide the La Bella memorandum to the media. The leak of the La Bella memorandum speaks volumes about your mismanagement of the Justice Department, your mishandling of the campaign fundraising investigation, and your disregard for Congressional oversight of the Justice Department. I am sending with this letter a subpoena for the Freeh and La Bella memoranda, and I expect that the Department will now comply with the subpoena.

The Committee initially subpoenaed the Freeh memorandum in December 1997, and then it subpoenaed both the Freeh and La Bella memoranda in July 1998. You refused to comply with the subpoenas, claiming that disclosure of the memoranda to the Committee would harm the Justice Department's campaign fundraising investigation, as well as the internal deliberation process at the Justice Department. In a letter dated July 28, 1998, you stated:

The disclosure of these memoranda could provide a "road map" of the Department's investigation. The documents, or information that they contain, could come into the possession of the targets of the investigation through inadvertence or deliberate act on the part of someone having access to them. The investigation could be seriously prejudiced by the revelation of the direction of the investigation, information about the evidence that the prosecutors have obtained, and assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of various aspects of the investigation. Indeed, disclosure of information such as is contained in this report could significantly impede the Task Force's criminal investigation, and could conceivably preclude prosecution of some individuals.

In another letter dated August 4, 1998, you stated that:

[S]uch documents lay out the thinking, theories and strategies of our prosecutors and investigators, and the strengths and weaknesses of our cases. They talk about leads that need further investigation, and places where we've reached dead ends. Criminals, targets and defense lawyers alike can all agree on one thing - they would love to have a prosecutor's plans.

Leaving aside the fact that your senior staff have leaked a list of the status of every campaign fundraising case and other information that has had a negative impact on your cases, providing the La Bella memo to the press is an extraordinary turn of events.

In the same August 4 letter quoted above, you also claimed that disclosure of the memos would create a "chilling effect" on Department employees' ability to render advice to you:

If future Attorneys General know that the innermost thinking behind their toughest law enforcement decisions will become fodder for partisan debate, then we risk creating a Justice Department and an FBI that tacks to political winds instead of following the facts and the law wherever they lead. If future law enforcement professionals cannot provide advice that is candid and confidential, we will have a government of "yes" men who advocate what is popular instead of what is right.

You used these arguments against the Committee forcefully and repeatedly during the contempt debate. I was told countless times that compliance with my subpoenas would harm your investigation. I was told that all of the Members of the Committee could not even review the memos in private, because they might leak the contents of the memos. But, the Justice Department's current release of the La Bella memo leads me to reach one of four possible conclusions:

* The arguments that you made in July 1998 were false and misleading.
* The arguments that you made in July 1998 were true, but you no longer are concerned about protecting the Department's investigation, or the frank and candid advice of your subordinates.
* All of the investigations discussed in the La Bella memo are closed, and the memo can be released publicly, but rather than comply with the Committee's lawful subpoena, you decided to release the memo to the press.
* You still believe that disclosure of the memo would cause significant harm to the campaign fundraising investigation, but you do not have enough control over your senior political advisers to prevent them from leaking the memo to the press.

The release of the La Bella memo shows that something is seriously wrong at the Justice Department; whether it is incompetence, politicization, or a serious disregard for the rule of law has yet to be determined. Since the Department has released the La Bella memo to the press, I expect that you will now comply with this Committee's subpoena for the Freeh and La Bella memos, and provide them to the Committee by Tuesday, March 14. I also expect that the memos will be redacted only to remove information covered by Rule 6(e).

It is clear, based on the brief portions of the La Bella memo that I have reviewed or that have been reported by the Los Angeles Times, why you did not want to release the memo to the Committee. First, the La Bella memo condemned you for misleading the American people by providing an erroneous explanation of when an Independent Counsel could be appointed. It also claimed that you had erected a higher legal threshold for investigating White House officials and others covered by the Independent Counsel Act than other individuals. Mr. La Bella concluded that the "contortions that the Department has gone through to avoid investigating these allegations are apparent." As an example of these contortions, Mr. La Bella referred to one senior official, whose name was redacted from the report: "[i]f these allegations involved anyone other than [redacted], an appropriate investigation would have commenced months ago without hesitation."

As described by Mr. La Bella in his memo, the Task Force's investigation was created to fail. Since he wrote his memo, this Committee has discovered countless examples of how that investigation has failed. While many of these cases will be detailed in a report that this Committee will issue later this year, I can briefly recount some of them here:

* Your investigators failed to ask President Clinton a single question about James Riady, Charlie Trie, John Huang, or any other aspect of his involvement in raising foreign money for the 1996 election. As a close friend of Riady, Trie, and Huang, if Bill Clinton were an ordinary citizen, rather than President of the United States, he would have been questioned extensively by the FBI, and likely called before the grand jury. Instead, your Task Force gave him a free pass.a

* Your investigators failed to ask Vice President Gore a single question about his relationship with Maria Hsia, or his role in the infamous Buddhist Temple fundraiser. Likewise, if Al Gore were not Vice President, and were some other private citizen with a ten-year fundraising relationship with Maria Hsia, your investigators would have questioned him extensively.

* You have failed to pursue documents held by the White House and other agencies. For example, it has been widely reported in the press that the White House has failed to produce to Congress or several Independent Counsels thousands of e-mails covered by subpoenas. While there are almost certainly Justice Department subpoenas outstanding for those e-mails, as of March 8, the Justice Department had not contacted any of the Northrop Grumman employees responsible for the White House e-mail system. In contrast, when you were confronted with embarrassing new information in the Waco tragedy, you immediately dispatched United States Marshals to seize evidence from the FBI. When you learned of significant new evidence being held by the White House in the campaign fundraising matter, you did nothing. While this disparate treatment could simply be attributed to incompetence, the La Bella memo suggests that there might be more serious reasons for the Department's failure. You seem to be proceeding on the premise of what you don't know won't hurt your political colleagues and your political party.

* The La Bella memo apparently points out that the First Lady has potential criminal involvement in the campaign fundraising scandal, based on her failure to warn the DNC about the illegal campaign fundraising activities of Charlie Trie. In April 1996, Mrs. Clinton was warned that Trie was raising huge amounts of money for the Presidential Legal Expense Trust. By May 1996, her closest advisers were told that the money raised by Trie was foreign money, and had been given through straw donors. However, Mrs. Clinton did nothing to warn the DNC about Trie's illegal fundraising. In the time period between April and November 1996, while Mrs. Clinton sat on this information, Trie raised hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal contributions for the DNC. Your task force has apparently failed to follow up on these serious allegations.

The La Bella memo's conclusions about your handling of the campaign fundraising investigation are alarming. Moreover, Mr. La Bella's predictions about the failure of the investigation have come true. Many low-level figures, like John Huang and Charlie Trie, have pled guilty, and gotten light sentences without giving up any serious evidence. In the process, they have maintained implausible stories that exculpate them and their superiors. For example, John Huang sat before this Committee and testified that the Buddhist Temple event with the Vice President was not a fundraiser, even though it raised funds, and even though individuals who contributed to attend were seated at the front. I fail to understand how you can hear testimony like that, and then tell a sentencing judge that Mr. Huang is cooperating with your investigation. Similarly, Charlie Trie appeared before this Committee and claimed that the money given to him by Ng Lap Seng to contribute to the DNC was actually Trie's own money, even though he did not pay taxes on it, or list it on his financial disclosure forms. Yet again, Mr. Trie received credit for cooperating with the Justice Department. Failure to obtain true cooperation from these witnesses has meant that the Department has not been able to pursue White House and DNC officials who may have had a role in the fundraising scandal. The La Bella memo raises a serious question as to whether this failure is intentional.

By ignoring the advice given to you by Director Freeh and Mr. La Bella, you crippled the campaign fundraising investigation. By withholding the memos from this Committee, you tried to keep the Committee from learning how you had mishandled the investigation. At this point, it is unlikely the harm can be undone, and that a real campaign fundraising investigation will ever be conducted by the Department. However, the Congress has a right to know what has happened, and therefore, I expect that you will immediately comply with the Committee's subpoena……"

Committee on Government Reform 3/2/00 "…..Congressman Dan Burton, Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, issued the following statement regarding the conviction of Democratic fundraiser Maria Hsia for her involvement in the Hsi Lai Temple fundraiser:

"I was disturbed that Attorney General Reno's Justice Department sought to portray the Vice President and the Democratic National Committee as victims in the Hsi Lai Temple fiasco. The Justice Department is being a little disingenuous about this.
"Yesterday, Charlie Trie testified before my Committee that he spent the night at the Hsi Lai Temple and that members of the Temple 'asked Mr. [Antonio] Pan and I if we were interested in helping the Temple organize a fundraiser for President Clinton or Vice President Gore.' Trie then called John Huang and suggested the Hsi Lai Temple as a fundraising venue.
"When John Huang testified before our Committee, he said that numerous people at the DNC and in the Vice President's office knew it was a fundraiser: 'Mr. (Don) Fowler . . . knew about it and Mr. (David) Strauss knew about it.' There is no doubt that the Vice President and the DNC were not victims. The Vice President just hasn't leveled with the American people.
"I will be watching the sentencing in this case very carefully. Janet Reno's Justice Department has sought very light sentences for Democrats and severe sentences for Republicans who have committed similar crimes.
"Simon Fireman, a Republican fundraiser, admitted to funneling $120,000 through straw donors. He got a $6 million fine. John Huang admitted to working with James Riady to funnel more than $700,000 in illegal money to the Democratic Party. He got a $10,000 fine.
"Empire Sanitary Landfill pled guilty to arranging $129,000 in conduit contributions. They were fined $8 million. The Justice Department wanted to give Charlie Trie probation. They didn't even want to fine him. The judge insisted on a $5,000 fine and four months of home confinement.
"Two years ago, when Judge Friedman, a Clinton-appointee, threw this case out, he called it an 'Alice in Wonderland-like maze of logical leaps and tangled inferences.' The appellate court and the jury did not agree. I'll be watching to see if Judge Friedman hands down an Alice in Wonderland sentence."…."

Washington Weekly 3/6/00 Marvin Lee "….. The Chinagate scandal as it has been known so far has included the relaxation of export controls, the circumvention of export control laws, and the relaxation of national security background checks and control measures with the result that the People's Republic of China has been able to dramatically enhance its nuclear strategic arsenal, its military communications infrastructure and its weapons design. All of this has either been related to or unrelated to the fact that the People's Republic of China has supported financially Bill Clinton and Al Gore for more than a decade. They might not have won the 1992 election had it not been for the crucial financial support they received from Chinese agents. The scope of the quid pro quo between China and the Clinton administration widened last week with the public admission before Congress by Clinton friend and campaign contributor Charlie Trie that he had shipped equipment for the production of biological warfare agents to a facility in the PRC suspected of biowarfare production. The shipment took place only months after Clinton took office in 1993. The equipment is of the same type that the UN inspection team sought and destroyed in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The FBI has known about this since last year when it conducted secret interviews with Charlie Trie. The FBI has not pursued this breach of national security because it is under strict orders from the top of the Campaign Finance Task Force not to go anywhere that leads into the White House……"

Medium Rare articles 3/12/00 Jim Rarey "…..Unless current activities are stopped and reversed, Americans face an imminent drastic reduction in their standard of living, mobility and liberties concurrent with a decline in the national economy. In almost every area of social activity; government, education, religion, cultural arts, and news dissemination, Americans are being led into a one world police state dictatorship in the guise of saving the environment, economic justice and myriad other collectivist shibboleths. One of the prongs of this multi-faceted attack most visible today is the price and availability of energy fuels (gasoline being preeminent to a majority of the population). But gasoline is only one of the aspects of the New World Order (NWO) elite's campaign to control the world's energy resources. Consider the following apparently unrelated actions supported by a barrage of disingenuous propaganda…….. With hydroelectric and nuclear power on the wane, that leaves coal-generated electricity to fill the increasing demand for electricity. But the EPA has mandated that only low sulfur content coal can be used and where will that come from? The world's largest supply is in the Escalante Grand Staircase region in Utah. President Clinton put that off limits by declaring it a "national monument" leaving his campaign financiers in Indonesia's Lippo Group with the next largest supply…. . "

World Net Daily 3/11/00 Johnny Chung "…..With the release of a two-year-old confidential report to Attorney General Janet Reno exposing the agency's protective cover of President and Mrs. Clinton in the 1996 campaign finance scandal, I believe it is high time the report's author, Chuck LaBella, be given public praise. You see, I met with LaBella during my involvement in the scandal and gave him information critical to his report. …….What Luu didn't know, however, was that I had already agreed to cooperate fully with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Congress. I was wearing a body wire, and the entire conversation had been audio- and video-recorded. But at 4:00 p.m., before the meeting with Luu took place, my attorney's office received a phone call from the New York Times. Clearly, a high-ranking official had leaked the fact that I was cooperating with the FBI in order to burn the sting operation. ……….. My attorney tried to kill the story for the sake of the operation, but the Times said it would only hold back if FBI Director Louis J. Freeh personally called the paper. Obviously that call never happened. Concerned for my safety, the FBI told me I did not have to go through with the meeting, but I said I would cooperate no matter how dangerous it may be. The sting was a success. The next day, the Times broke the story. That morning I received a call from an FBI agent who said, "Mr. Chung, it's time to go. We need to take you and your family to a safe place." ………..

World Net Daily 3/11/00 Johnny Chung "…..In early June of 1998, while still under guard, former Justice Department task force supervisor Charles LaBella requested a meeting with me. He was writing the now-famous "LaBella report" and needed more information……… At this point, I had already been hunted by not one, but two different Chinese crime teams, and my future was unclear. In light of the circumstances, I felt compelled to tell LaBella, "I am under heavy FBI protection, but in case anything happens to me, please write down everything I have to say to you because I know you are writing your report." …….. At that time, FBI agents were kept at a distance from me so they did not hear our conversation. LaBella pointed to a piece of paper, which he used to take notes of our conversation. By the time we were finished, both sides of the paper were filled with the following information.

First, I told LaBella of the snag the FBI and I had hit with the New York Times, and that the only way reporters could have heard anything about the operation was if a government official who knew about the sting leaked the information.
Second, I made sure he knew the head of the civil division in the Justice Department was involved in "taking care of my case."

Then I told Labella the money I contributed was for political access, and that the Clintons knew it. "This is the White House," I told him, "not my house or your house. If the residents of the White House do not want you in, you cannot set foot in there. If they don't know who you are, you don't get in." I often told administration officials, "The more access I am given, the more business I can generate, which means I can afford to give more donations." ……… Before we went our separate ways, I shook LaBella's hand and looked him in the eye when I said, "I'm going to count on you to report this. You have all the information, no matter what happens to me now." We said goodbye to each other, I was taken back to my secret location by the FBI agents, and LaBella went on to complete his report. On Feb. 3, 1999, after filing the 94-page report with Janet Reno, Chuck LaBella resigned as interim U.S. Attorney, saying he felt he had lost the confidence of the attorney general and her top deputies. Mr. LaBella, I want to publicly praise you for a job well done. You are a man with personal and professional integrity. You dared to stand up to do what is good for the American people despite the cost of losing your public career. My hat's off to you. ……The American people should be very proud to have had someone like you working for them. I salute you….."

San Diego Union Tribune 3/16/00 "…… Al Gore, no doubt, would like to limit any discussion of campaign finance reform to why George W. Bush opposes the McCain-Feingold legislation. Unfortunately for the vice president, there is no chance of that tunnel vision prevailing with so much unfinished business from 1996. Despite what appears to be a cover-up at the White House, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and perhaps even at the Justice Department, the scandal over the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign's anything-goes fund raising just won't go away. Nor should it. Nothing close to adequate justice has been done in this matter. Everyone knows there were systematic violations and massive contraventions of the campaign finance laws. These produced a flood of illegal contributions totaling millions of dollars, much of it from foreign sources not yet fully identified. To date, the Justice Department's scandalously lethargic investigation has focused on the functionaries. Anyone higher than the actual bag men, or women, got a pass. ….."

The Wall Street Journal 3/16/00 David Cloud "…..The Justice Department, facing renewed criticism from Republicans for its handling of the 1996 campaign fund-raising scandal, is trying tougher tactics against remaining defendants and others implicated in the probe. The department is threatening, among other things, to bring money-laundering charges, a move that could add more fuel to Republicans' criticism of the fund-raising activities of Vice President Al Gore, who just cinched the Democratic presidential nomination, and first lady Hillary Clinton, who is running for the Senate from New York. The money-laundering charges would be lodged against Thai-born businesswoman Pauline Kanchanalak and her sister-in-law Duangnet "Georgie" Kronenberg, who were indicted in 1998 on charges of funneling more than $600,000 to the Democratic Party from foreign sources. "The task force is considering international money-laundering charges in this case and in its other pending investigations," prosecutors disclosed in court documents this week......., Campaign finance task-force chief Robert Conrad is trying to put more legal pressure on James Riady, the Indonesian businessman who is under investigation for allegedly reimbursing employees who contributed to President Clinton's election effort. Mr. Conrad traveled to Jakarta this month to arrange for evidence gathering and questioning of Mr. Riady………. None of the more than a dozen people who have pleaded guilty or been convicted have been indicted under money-laundering statutes, which make it a crime to bring money into the country for illegal purposes. Lawyers for Ms. Kanchanalak and Ms. Kronenberg argued in court that no new evidence has emerged that would justify expanding the charges against their clients. In January, the department received more than 1,300 pages of bank records and other documents from Thailand, which are being translated, prosecutors said…….."

Salon.com 3/14/00 David Horowitz "…… Much of the news about Vice President Al Gore these days has the pungent odor of chickens coming home to roost: [Hsia, Trie, emails, Labella memo] …. And, most chilling of all, China threatens war over Taiwan, and threatens Taiwan's protector, the United States. Here is the way the Chinese Liberation Army Daily described its government's threat: "China ... is a country that has certain abilities of launching strategic counter-attack and the capacity of launching a long-distance strike." That's just the front-page news of the past two weeks. Is there a connection between these stories? You bet. The biggest cover-up in American political history is, in fact, designed to conceal the connection between the biggest fund-raising scandal and the biggest national security disaster in American political history. Without the active help of the Clinton-Gore administration, and its reversal of established security policies protecting nuclear secrets and sensitive military technologies, the Chinese today would not be able to issue a credible threat against Taiwan and the United States. …….. That's because without the catastrophic transfer of nuclear, missile, satellite and computer technologies that has occurred during the Clinton-Gore administration, the United States would have been able to forestall any Chinese attack on Taiwan by threatening China with large-scale destruction. American military officials previously were secure in the knowledge that China could not retaliate in kind. But now, thanks to the activities of Clinton, Gore and probably Hsia, Huang and Trie, China can retaliate…….."

American Spectator 3/13/00 Byron York "……Now, several sources tell TAS that in the past few months the Justice Department and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde have been engaged in behind-the-scenes maneuvering over the [Labella] memo. After initially refusing to permit anyone from the committee to see the memo, the Department relented last month and allowed a top Judiciary staffer to read the entire, uncensored document. ……….. "People had forgotten about this," says a committee source. "We hadn't." But several sources familiar with at least parts of the memo say that no one should expect it to contain explosive new evidence about the campaign fundraising scandal. . ……..In addition, the committee is awaiting the results of what is, in effect, an investigation of the investigation. Last year, Hyde asked the General Accounting Office to probe management decision-making inside the Justice Department. The GAO report is almost finished and is expected to deal with deficiencies in the department's campaign finance probe………… A lower court initially ruled in favor of the White House, but an appeals court later sided with Starr and ruled that the lower courts had interpreted Rule 6(e) too broadly. The decision clarified -- and, to some degree, narrowed -- the scope of Rule 6(e). That was important to Hyde because the Justice Department had used the rule as one of its main reasons for not turning over the entire La Bella memo. Department lawyers said the La Bella memo was filled with secret 6(e) material gathered during prosecutors' questioning of witnesses before a federal grand jury. Even when they allowed some members of Congress to see the memo in 1998, Justice lawyers blacked out about 60 of the memo's 94 pages on the grounds of grand jury secrecy. But the Lewinsky rulings changed things. "The stated reason that Justice gave to the Hill about not seeing the other parts of the memo was that it was laden with 6(e) material," says a knowledgeable source. "It turns out that was not the case.".........Also in the House, Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton has subpoenaed the uncut La Bella memo. Burton issued his subpoena on Friday after the publication of the Los Angeles Times story. The Justice Department has until the close of business on Tuesday to respond……."

INSIGHT Magazine 3/24/00 J Michael Waller "…….Canadian police have identified Clinton donor and Macao gambling tycoon Stanley Ho as the leader of a triad gang of organized criminals with strong ties to Communist China. President Clinton personally accepted $250,000 from a Macao gambling tycoon whom Canadian police identify as a "leader" of a Chinese triad, or organized-crime syndicate. Insight has obtained a copy of the Asian Organized Crime Roster of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, listing Stanley Ho - who handed the check to Clinton at a 1997 White House reception to fund the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial - as a suspected "member/leader" of the notorious Kung Lok triad. …….."

INSIGHT Magazine 3/24/00 J Michael Waller "…….This is the first concrete indication that a major Western law-enforcement agency considers Ho an organized-crime figure. Earlier reports characterized Ho as "associated" with the triads, but not a "leader" or "member." According to a separate Canadian Security Intelligence Service report, the triads are involved in "drug trafficking; money laundering; corruption; computer-software piracy; credit-card forgery and fraud; counterfeit currency and identification operations; and migrant smuggling…….."

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE (RIVERSIDE, CA.) 2/29/00 Mark Henry "…….A federal judge Monday sentenced top Cabazon Indian official Mark Nichols to five years of probation for funneling thousands of dollars in illegal contributions to President Clinton's re-election campaign. Prosecutors originally alleged illegal donations were made to the campaigns of five other politicians, including Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. But a plea agreement in October resulted in misdemeanor convictions involving donations to the 1996 Clinton/ Gore campaign. Nichols, 41, chief executive officer of the tribe, also must avoid all fund raising for the tribe during his probation and wear an electronic ankle bracelet during a month of home detention, authorities said. The longtime tribal administrator already had agreed to pay $ 256,000 in criminal and civil fines. U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins chastised Nichols for failing the tribe legally and morally after the Cabazons put their faith in him, authorities said. The approximately 40-member Cabazon Band of Mission Indians owns Fantasy Springs Casino and several other businesses on its reservation near Indio. ……"

2/21/93 Los Angeles Times Henry Weinstein Paul Feldman "…….A tale of international intrigue is unfolding in a tiny Burbank courtroom where a San Fernando Valley man is seeking damages from the Los Angeles Police Department for allegedly ruining a multimillion-dollar deal to sell a high-tech, hand-held machine gun to foreign governments. Nichols became the subject of public scrutiny in the wake of the mysterious August, 1991, death of Washington investigative reporter Danny Casolaro. …….While most police abuse cases center on beatings or bullets, the Burbank trial focuses on the credibility of Robert Booth Nichols, a mysterious figure whose name first surfaced in a late 1980s FBI investigation of alleged mob penetration into the entertainment industry. Again, last year, his name surfaced in a House Judiciary Committee report on possible malfeasance in the Justice Department during the Reagan era. The report also linked Nichols to an aborted business venture at the Cabazon Indian Reservation in Indio which, he said on the witness stand, dealt with the manufacture of machine guns to sell to the Nicaraguan Contras. ….."

2/21/93 Los Angeles Times Henry Weinstein Paul Feldman "…….More recently, Nichols became the subject of public scrutiny in the wake of the mysterious August, 1991, death of Washington investigative reporter Danny Casolaro. A House Judiciary Committee report released in September said Nichols had frequent contact with Casolaro just before the journalist, who was probing a web of conspiracies ranging from the Iran-Contra affair to alleged Justice Department skulduggery, was found with his wrists slashed in a West Virginia motel room. The report, titled "The INSLAW Affair," said the Justice Department had failed to adequately investigate charges that high-level officials had stolen and misused a private firm's sophisticated computer software designed to help track criminals. The report also called for further investigation into Casolaro's death, which was declared a suicide by West Virginia officials. Nichols acknowledged to committee investigators that he had spoken to Casolaro often and served as a sounding board for him, but would not provide a sworn statement to the House committee. ……"

NewsMax.com 3/21/00 Carl Libmacher "…….Former DNC fund-raiser Johnny Chung, the only witness to fully cooperate with the Justice Department's campaign finance probe, said late Monday that Vice President Al Gore solicited him and other key Asian-American businessmen inside the White House in 1995, confirming information first reported by NewsMax.com Monday morning. Chung made the startling admission to a national television audience on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" less than twelve hours after the NewsMax.com report first appeared. The Vice President's solicitation included requests for both hard and soft money, said Chung, making Gore's White House fund-raising potentially illegal -- even under the strict interpretation of campaign finance law offered by Attorney General Janet Reno. ......:

NeresMax.com 3/14/00 Carl Limbacher "…… A woman identified by the FBI as a Communist Chinese agent has been shaking down members of a controversial Buddhist temple on Vice President Al Gore's behalf for far longer than recent mainstream press reports indicate, NewsMax.com has learned. Maria Hsia, who was convicted ten days ago on five felony counts for her involvement in an illegal 1996 Buddhist temple fund-raiser, "acted to conceal temple political donations as early as 1993, according to records and testimony that reveal a more extensive history of temple money laundering than was previously known," according to the Los Angeles Times. Under a 1997 immunity agreement with Senate investigators, nuns at California's Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple testified that Hsia had been shaking down the temple for donations "since at least 1993." ......But despite the immunity grant, Yi Chu, Hsi Lai treasuer at the time of Gore's 1996 fundraiser, fled the country and was not available to testify at Hsia's trial -- making the Gore fund-raiser's conviction all the more remarkable. In fact, Hsia singled out Gore as a primary beneficiary of her illegal fund-raising even before 1993, according to what Ed Timperlake and William Triplett report in their 1998 book on the Asian money connection, Year of the Rat. They say Hsia started shaking down Buddhists for Gore more than ten years ago: "Right after the 1988 election, Al Gore, Maria Hsia, John Huang, James Riady, and the Hsi Lai Temple organization began what was to be an eight-year relationship. Riady began by providing $10,000 in seed money, and the temple picked up the rest for a January 1989 visit to Asia by Gore and others..." …."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 3/15/00 Donald Lambro "…… The campaign of Texas Gov. George W. Bush accused Al Gore yesterday of hiding behind "truth-twisting evasions" in the campaign fund-raising scandal as calls mounted for him to answer charges that he gave false statements to the FBI. While Mr. Gore was avoiding media inquiries about a Justice Department report that raised questions about his role in the 1996 fund-raising scandals, he was coming under increasing attack from Bush officials and campaign reformers about his continued silence on the report's conclusions. "Governor Bush's biggest concern is that the vice president may have given false statements to FBI investigators," said Bush campaign spokesman Ari Fleischer in a telephone interview with The Washington Times. "His concern is that after all we've been through the last eight years, do we really want to subject the American people to four more years of the same truth-telling evasions?" Mr. Fleischer said. "His recent remarks about supporting campaign reform are laughable. If Al Gore is for campaign finance reform, then Bonnie and Clyde are for better bank security," he said of Mr. Gore's latest efforts to identify himself as a leader who will change the system……"

PBS interview 3/15/00 "…… JIM LEHRER: But what they're going to get, according to what is already on the table, is attacks back and forth. The one against you is -- you say you made mistakes in '96; Governor Bush and others say wait a minute, those were violations of the law. What do you see -- for instance, in the Buddhist temple situation, and the phone calls that you made from your office, those are the mistakes that you've acknowledged you've made. What were the mistakes? What did you do wrong?
AL GORE: In pressing the limits, of course, all of that's been investigated thoroughly three years ago, millions of dollars spent investigating it in congressional hearings, and all the rest. But that doesn't make it right. The fact that they found no -- that the law was not violated on my part doesn't make it right. And it was a mistake for me to go to that Buddhist temple. It was a mistake for me to make those telephone calls, but the damage from what both parties did in that campaign was not to the people running so much as to the system.
And the question is how we change it; the question is not how we go back and pick over mistakes from years ago, but how we change it now. For example, Governor Bush is one of only a handful of candidates in history to evade the normal campaign finance limits and break out of the system. And just in the last few days John McCain has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about the last-minute, secretly financed special interest attack ads where a couple of people came in with two and a half million dollars and dumped it into New York and California and Ohio in the last few days after the Bush campaign spent all of their money and couldn't fight John McCain within the limits.
And I -- you know -- we can -- we can make this campaign a point of departure to renew our democracy. I'm serious about this. And I'm going to take unilateral steps, whether he will join me or not. I'm going to have open meetings with undecided voters all over the country, and I'll stay there as long as anybody has a question. I've refused to accept PAC (political action committee) contributions, even though that's allowed under the current law. And I'm going to be making some other changes too……."

newsmax.com 3/20/00 Carl Limbacher "…..Chinagate whistleblower Johnny Chung is ready to go public with what he told Justice Department campaign finance task force chief Charles LaBella: Vice President Al Gore discussed campaign contributions with him and several other potential donors inside the White House. NewsMax.com has learned exclusively that Chung revealed he attended a luncheon fund raiser at Washington's Hayes-Adams Hotel in 1995 where Vice President Gore met with Chung and twenty to thirty members of the Democratic National Committee's Business Leadership Forum. After the fund-raising event Gore invited Chung and his group to the White House and where Gore openly sought campaign contributions. Though excerpts of the LaBella Report were leaked to the Los Angeles Times ten days ago, it is believed the most damaging information remains under seal in the still top-secret document. ......"

Reuters 3/20/00 "……Texas Gov. George W. Bush is not the only one laughing at Vice President Al Gore's vow to make campaign finance reform a cornerstone of his Democratic White House bid. So are members of public interest groups who scoff at Gore's past money problems -- from dialing for dollars at the White House to attending a fund-raiser at a Buddhist temple. "I find this whole thing amusing," said Charles Lewis of the Center for Public Integrity. "You have to be skeptical given his record," said Public Citizen lobbyist Steve Weissman. Yet Lewis, Weissman and others say the joke may ultimately be on Bush, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, if Gore can carry this mantle of reform. ……"

The Weekly Standard 3/27/00 "......At some point in this year's presidential campaign, American voters may well be invited to consider a curious, four-minute snippet of videotape, narrated in Chinese and recorded April 29, 1996, in Los Angeles's Hacienda Heights. It opens with a high school marching band straight out of The Music Man, that Broadway classic about a fictional small-town scam artist. Then, seconds later, as the tape rolls and the band's welcome serenade continues, a real-life, big-town flim-flammer appears, waving and smiling. You can read his lips while the trombones blare. Hello, says this man. Thank you. Yes, indeed: Thank you very much. The man in the video is Vice President Al Gore, a garland of flowers around his neck, acknowledging applause from a yellow-clad crowd of Buddhist nuns and monks. Who, by the end of the following day, though many of them are foreign nationals with hardly a penny to their names, will have written checks for nearly $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee. ........"

The Weekly Standard 3/27/00 "......Anyhow, back to the video, subsequently released as promotional material by the temple's parent organization in Taiwan. Up the Hsi Lai steps walks Al Gore. Into a lunch eon meeting hall he proceeds, where he takes a seat at the head table while the temple's "venerable master," Hsing Yun, addresses the faithful. Hsing Yun oversees a nearly half-billion-dollar global Buddhist empire. And Hsing Yun, he has elsewhere explained, likes to "spread the dharma" of Buddhist good cheer by giving lots of cash to American politicians. One of whom is next up on the tape. We see Al Gore speaking to the room. We see Gore exchanging gifts with the venerable master. We see Gore making his way out of the temple, bowing to his hosts, upright palms mashed together in Buddhist prayer the whole way. And then the tape is done, and..........."

The Weekly Standard 3/27/00 ".......Hold on a second. Hit the rewind button. Who's that sitting next to the vice president at lunch-there, immediately to Gore's left, the fellow with the mutton-chop sideburns? Why, it's Ted Sioeng, that's who. Sioeng is a citizen of Belize. He is also super rich, controlling a multinational stew of family-owned businesses, including several U.S. shell corporations and at least one "legitimate" enterprise: manufacture and distribution, under rights granted by Communist party officials in Beijing, of Red Pagoda Mountain cigarettes, China's state-owned brand. Here at the Hsi Lai Temple event, Sioeng is just an honored guest. He's gotten in free. But there's a reason for that. Sioeng is a friend of the vice president, you see. They met at a White House breakfast back in February 1996, the morning after Sioeng bought his way into a DNC presidential dinner for $100,000. That contribution check was written by Sioeng's daughter, Jessica, a legal resident of California. But Jessica's bank account had less than $10,000 in it at the time. So the check had to be covered, a few days later, by a giant wire transfer from Hong Kong. The contribution from "Jessica" was illegal, in other words. As was most of the total $400,000 Sioeng and his family would give to the Democratic party for that year's election. And yet the DNC has never returned the money. And the Clinton Justice Department has never shown much interest in investigating it. ......"

The Weekly Standard 3/27/00 "......For more than three years now, the White House and its fund-raisers have steadfastly denied knowing, in 1996, that they were harvesting millions of dirty dollars like this. In particular, Vice President Gore has steadfastly denied contemporaneous knowledge that there was anything fishy about his Hsi Lai Temple fund-raiser. Or even that it was a fund-raiser. Gore was first introduced to Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1989, during a trip he made to Taiwan in exchange for an explicit promise, from the now-notorious John Huang and Maria Hsia, that they would generate campaign contributions for his 1990 Senate race. Already by April 1996, donations laundered by Hsia through Hsing Yun's Los Angeles monks and nuns had several times been funneled to the DNC-and had once helped grease a White House meeting between Gore's staff and an intelligence operative from the People's Republic of China....."

Washington Post 4/5/00 Pete Yost "……Labor Secretary Alexis Herman was cleared today in a criminal investigation of whether she solicited $250,000 in illegal campaign contributions. In a one-sentence statement, Independent Counsel Ralph I. Lancaster announced that "he will not seek an indictment of Secretary Herman" and that he has completed his investigation of allegations concerning her……."

World Net Daily 4/4/00 Johnny Chung "……..In a WorldNetDaily exclusive interview, Chinagate figure Johnny Chung revealed for the first time that the Chinese army sought his help to obtain parts for Blackhawk helicopters. "It is like throwing a stone to open the gate," commented Chung during an interview in Los Angeles. "The Chinese army knew I had access. They wanted me to throw the stone." "At one point in 1995, one of the (Chinese) businessmen approached me and asked, 'Would you ask your government to allow us to buy helicopter parts?'" said Chung. ………. "Now, I am a facsimile broadcasting service businessman. I told him that I was not in the helicopter business. I told him that I was not interested in helicopters. Why should I help?" …….. "He said, 'It's important,'" noted Chung. "'We bought these helicopters from your country years ago. Blackhawk helicopters. The helicopters are not military. They are used as rescue equipment. Now out of the 20 or 30 helicopters, we can only use two or three because of a lack of spare parts.'" "I told him I am not an arms dealer, but he persisted. He asked again, 'Can you ask your government to do that?' I told him again, no. That is not my specialty. I know nothing about military equipment. I am in the fax business." "That was 1995 or early 1996," said Chung. ……"

World Net Daily 4/4/00 Johnny Chung "……..Chung's personal account is not the only data available on the China/Blackhawk dealings. After being turned down by Chung, the Chinese military succeeded in obtaining the Blackhawk parts through other means. Allegedly, former Reagan official Alexander Haig lobbied the White House on China's behalf to acquire the Blackhawk parts. In 1997, the Clinton administration granted the Chinese army permission to buy the spare helicopter parts. ………. The Chinese army reportedly uses the Blackhawk helicopters for search and rescue operations. However, the UH-60 helicopter also has a long history of military service and could play a critical role in any People's Liberation Army effort to invade Taiwan. ……….. U.S. intelligence sources also confirmed that Russia has offered to lease helicopters to China for the invasion of Taiwan. ......... The Chinese military actions appear to be a major long-term effort to acquire U.S. helicopter technology. According to a 1997 Rand report, Chinese arms manufacturer Poly Technologies illegally sought U.S. exports of Blackhawk parts. The Rand report noted that one such subsidiary of Poly Tech, a firm called "PTK International," was also involved in espionage. ……. Federal Judge Robert Payne forced the Commerce Department to release the Rand Corporation report in 1998. The report also contains detailed information about Poly Technologies and its origin. "Poly Technologies, Ltd., was founded in 1984, ostensibly as a subsidiary of CITIC (China International Trust and Investment Corporation), although it was later exposed to be the primary commercial arm of the PLA General Staff Department's Equipment Sub-Department. Throughout the 1980s, Poly sold hundreds of millions of dollars of largely surplus arms around the world, exporting to customers in Thailand, Burma, Iran, Pakistan, and the United States," states the Rand report. The connections to Poly Technologies also lead directly to President Clinton. In 1996, Poly Technologies Chairman, Wang Jun, met with then-Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. Wang is described as an international arms dealer and, according to intelligence sources, travels on an official "diplomatic" passport issued by the People's Republic of China. ……"

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 3/30/00 Andrew cain "…… President Clinton yesterday called Vice President Al Gore "a good messenger" on campaign finance reform and said he was "as appalled as the next person" to learn his campaign accepted illegal foreign donations in 1996. _... was outraged when I found out that the system for checking the backgrounds of contributors and things like that had been dismantled without my knowledge or approval," Mr. Clinton said at his second news conference of the year. _... didn't need it to win. It was wrong," Mr. Clinton said. _......"

Associated Press 4/2/00 William Mann "…….The prosecutor who once led the Democratic fund-raising investigation said Sunday he did not think politics motivated Attorney General Janet Reno to reject his recommendation for an independent counsel. Charles LaBella, who lost his Washington assignment after recommending an outside investigation of President Clinton and other top White House figures, also said such an investigation might well have failed to produce criminal charges. ``The standard was information, sufficient information from credible sources. ... I believe we had substantial information from credible sources to warrant a full-scale investigation of many of these allegations,'' LaBella said on NBC's ``Meet the Press.'' Once an experienced prosecutor reviewed the allegations, LaBella said, ``I think most of these, if not all of them, would have washed out.'' …………``It was never politics. It was bureaucratic agendas, I think. Protecting turf internally at the Department of Justice,'' LaBella said. ``I don't think anybody was protecting anybody. I really don't believe that the attorney general, in any way, shape or form, was protecting anybody, or anybody else at the Justice Department was politically protecting anybody.'' ……"

NewsMax.Com 4/10/00 Carl Limbacher "….Seldom has an American president behaved as solicitously toward Cuban dictator Fidel Castro as Bill Clinton has during the Elian Gonzalez fiasco. But for Castro, it's not the first time this particular American president has bent over backwards. "A US drug investigation targeting Fidel Castro's regime was dropped because two sources told prosecutors the key informant orchestrated lies about Cuban government involvement," reported the Miami Herald in November 1996. The informant? None other than Cuban drug smuggler Jorge Cabrera, who a year before had written a $20,000 check to the Democratic National Committee days after he was tapped for a contribution in Havana. Within a month of his donation Cabrera was dining with Vice President Al Gore in Miami and being feted by Bill and Hillary at the White House. News of Cabrera's donation came out only after he was put on trial for his coke smuggling. In January 1996, the Clinton supporter was caught in Miami by the DEA, which nabbed him with three tons (yes, tons) of cocaine and 30 boxes of Cuban cigars. …….. According to what Cabrera later told investigators, Castro not only knew about his operation to smuggle coke into Florida, he was complicit in it. "Castro pulled me aside," Cabrera's lawyer Steve Bronis says the smuggler told him. "He knew everything about me." Then Castro allegedly told him, "I know your friends from Cali. I've met them. I know they're here (in Cuba). I like doing business with them." Cabrera told his story to Justice Department prosecutors, thinking that fingering longtime enemy of America Fidel Castro would go a long way toward whittling down his sentence. ……. Though other sources corroborated key parts of Cabrera's story, in the end the case came unraveled because Miami's US Attorney Patty Diaz decided Cabrera was an unreliable witness. ….."

New York Times 4/16/00 John Broder "…….When Vice President Al Gore declared late last month that he would devote himself to remaking the system of political finance, he conceded that he was an "imperfect messenger" for campaign finance reform. Mr. Gore knows that his 1996 fund-raising exploits, including cadging cash at a Buddhist temple and dunning contributors from his White House office, make his new campaign finance reform mantra subject to skepticism and a few snickers. Also, all the while he is proclaiming the need for a campaign finance overhaul, including a ban on soft money, the vice president is busily raising these unrestricted donations to keep up with George W. Bush and the Republicans. This very weekend he is helping the Democratic National Committee sweep up more than $4 million from rich donors in Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Since his March 27 speech proposing radical changes in the way politicians finance their campaigns, Mr. Gore's aides have taken pains to show that he is not a late and cynical convert to a crusade popularized in the presidential primaries by Senator John McCain of Arizona. ……"

World Net Daily 4/7/00 Johnny Chung "……. One morning toward the end of October 1996, I woke up to see my picture on the front page of the Los Angeles Times in a news story describing the erupting campaign finance scandal. Reporters were chasing after me to the point that I felt like a hunted animal. I immediately called Mr. Sullivan, the finance director of the DNC, who was my contact there, and asked what was going on. "Was it wrong for me to give you the money?" I asked. Mr. Sullivan said, "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny -- I can't talk," and he hung up. I tried to call back, but suddenly no one at the DNC would return my calls. …….. When the FBI questioned me, I handed over all of my banking records so they could see all of the financial transactions that occurred. Those records told the story of what happened. My banking record speaks for itself. I cooperated fully and voluntarily and enabled the FBI to have access to those records in the summer of 1997, which was near the beginning of the campaign finance investigation. I did not know what I had done was against the law, but when I found out, I fully cooperated and told the truth at all times. My faith demanded that I tell the truth. As a Christian, I simply cannot lie. …….. I had become a poster-boy for the campaign finance scandal. My Chinese-American church turned away from me. All my friends suddenly made themselves scarce. I isolated myself, and figuratively speaking, built a wall around myself and my family. ……"

NewsMax.com 4/10/00 Carl Limbacher "……. Seldom has an American president behaved as solicitously toward Cuban dictator Fidel Castro as Bill Clinton has during the Elian Gonzalez fiasco. But for Castro, it's not the first time this particular American president has bent over backwards. "A US drug investigation targeting Fidel Castro's regime was dropped because two sources told prosecutors the key informant orchestrated lies about Cuban government involvement," reported The Miami Herald in November 1996. The informant? None other than Cuban drug smuggler Jorge Cabrera, who a year before had written a $20,000 check to the Democratic National Committee days after he was tapped for a contribution in Havana. Within a month of his donation Cabrera was dining with Vice President Al Gore in Miami and being feted by Bill and Hillary at the White House. …….. News of Cabrera's donation came out only after he was put on trial for his coke smuggling. In January 1996, the Clinton supporter was caught in Miami by the DEA, which nabbed him with three tons (yes, tons) of cocaine and 30 boxes of Cuban cigars. ……News accounts painted the Clinton drug-lord-donor as a minor figure, leaving the impression he was a small time dealer. But when the DEA confiscated his Volkswagon Jetta, agents found pictures of Cabrera posing with Castro and other top Cuban officials. ……In reality, the White House friend had been dealing with the top eschelons of the notorious Cali cartel. ……."

LA Times 4/19/00 Robert Jackson "....... As the presidential election approaches, the Justice Department's campaign finance task force is toughening its approach to political donation abuses that occurred during the campaign four years ago. With 17 convictions already under their belts, prosecutors are pursuing several remaining defendants with such grave charges as international money-laundering, obstruction of justice and willful false statements--far more serious crimes than the misdemeanors provided for in campaign finance statutes. Defense attorney Reid Weingarten says in court papers filed recently that the technique of threatening larger crimes is only a ploy to get his client, Thai businesswoman Pauline Kanchanalak, to enter into a plea agreement. .......... Asked about the task force's progress, Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), who conducted hearings three years ago into political fund-raising abuses, said he doubted the vigor of prosecutors. "At every turn, the Justice Department has gone out of its way to confine the inquiry to illegal donors, rather than recipients, and has consistently resisted lines of inquiry that might point to high-level political figures," Thompson said. ......"

CNN 4/19/00 "...... In a letter to Chief Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, panel Chairman Dan Burton (R-Indiana), asked for an explanation as to why the normal, random assignment process was not used in cases involving former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell, Democratic fund-raisers Charlie Trie and Maria Hsia, and other defendants. ........ "There have been several questions raised in the news media about the manner in which cases involving (the 1996) Clinton-Gore campaign fund-raisers were assigned," Burton said in a statement. "We would like to give Judge Johnson an opportunity to clear the record once and for all." ....... Among the fund-raising questions considered by the committee were whether agents of foreign governments -- specifically the People's Republic of China -- were able to exert undue influence on the 1996 presidential campaign by finding a myriad of ways to funnel contribution monies to the Democratic Party.

WorldNetDaily 5/5/00 Johnny Chung "……After I learned last week that Carlos Ghigliotti, the expert hired by a congressional committee who claimed shots had been fired during the FBI's operation at Waco, had been killed, I received many e-mails from friends basically saying, "Watch your back, Johnny." ….Yes, God will watch my back. All I want to do is continue to expose what I know about the Chinagate investigation. After all, this is important to the American people and American history. To people who like to compare Watergate and Chinagate, I say the comparison is that Watergate looks like a tea party for little boys and girls. And Chinagate? God help us! ………

WorldNetDaily 5/5/00 Johnny Chung "……I've spoken many times about Robert Luu, the Chinese messenger sent to keep me quiet during the Chinagate investigation, but there was also a second messenger from China. The Justice Department, FBI and I gave him a nickname, Fish Powder, because he was in the fish powder business. During the investigation, the Justice Department requested that I not reveal his real name. Even today, I still honor that request. But I have to ask myself why, because after three years, the DOJ has done nothing with the information I gave them. …….. Fish Powder is a very important witness. He knows exactly what happened at the meeting between Liu Chao-Ying -- daughter of the highest-ranking Chinese general -- Gen. Gi Sheng-de -- China's military intelligence director -- and myself. Fish Powder is also the trusted friend with whom I left two American teen-age girls -- one of which was my own daughter -- while I went to the meeting with Liu and Gen. Gi in Hong Kong. Being an associate of mine, I took Fish Powder to meet President Clinton and the first lady at several different political events. One of those events was the 1996 Democrat Convention in Chicago. ……… At the last minute, I decided to take Fish Powder to the meeting, so I had to come up with another $5,000. I wrote a check, which Fish Powder handed over to DNC finance director Richard Sullivan. Of course, Sullivan knew Fish Powder was Chinese, but he took that check with a smile. ….."

WorldNetDaily 5/5/00 Johnny Chung "……After my meeting with Liu and Gen. Gi, who I only knew at the time by a fake name, Liu told me the mystery man was actually Gen. Gi Sheng-de. I went back to China to pick up my daughter and her friend and asked Fish Powder if Gen. Gi was really China's military intelligence director. He confirmed it. ………. My prosecutor, Michael McCaul, put Fish Powder on a government "watch list," which meant the minute he set foot on U.S. territory, McCaul would be notified. But, apparently, his name did not appear on the list because Fish Powder came in and out of the U.S. freely, without any notification. ……..At one point, Fish Powder called me at my office out of the blue. Immediately, I began recording the conversation, as I had been told to do by the Justice Department and FBI. After the conversation, I notified McCaul. He was shocked and angry. ……"

WorldNetDaily 5/5/00 Johnny Chung "……Last week, I went to my bank -- the same one used by Fish Powder. A bank employee told me that Fish Powder was there just a few days before. ……. ……"

Newsday.com 5/2/00 Pete Yost AP "…… Sen. Arlen Specter described portions of ex-prosecutor Charles LaBella's unreleased 1998 memo, which urges appointment of an independent counsel to investigate Gore, Clinton and former deputy White House chief of staff Harold Ickes, the president's fund-raising coordinator for the 1996 election. The White House complained about Specter's tactics in disclosing the memo's contents at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee's panel on administrative oversight and the courts. ''To read a memo and then to ask questions using lines from the memo when it's supposed to be confidential isn't the way I think the United States Senate is supposed to work,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said. …….. According to Specter, LaBella's memo also suggested Clinton should be investigated because the president's campaign fund failed to alert the Democratic Party that money-raiser Charlie Trie had brought hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal donations to the Clintons' legal defense fund. For months after the president and first lady were told of Trie's questionable contributions to the defense fund, the DNC continued to collect money raised by Trie. LaBella said that Justice Department official Lee Radek called LaBella's theory for investigating Clinton on the Trie matter ''ridiculous. He said it was silly.'' Radek is head of the Office of Public Integrity, which handles corruption cases. ……. LaBella said his memo identified Ickes as warranting investigation by an independent counsel on a number of fronts as the ''coordinator of the Democratic National Committee'' in terms of fund raising. ……"

Boston.com 5/2/00 Pete Yost AP "……. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and former federal prosecutor Charles Labella today outlined parts of LaBella's still-confidential memo from 1998 that urges appointment of an independent counsel to investigate President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore for possibly illegal campaign fund-raising practices in the 1996 election. …….. Specter, R-Pa., who read the LaBella memo Monday night after the Justice Department gave him access to it, disclosed that the document seeks an investigation of the president and the head of Loral Corp. because of $1.5 million in donations by the business executive to the Democratic National Committee. Loral obtained a waiver from the Clinton administration allowing the company to do satellite business with China. ……… Quoting from the memo, Specter also said LaBella wrote that ''the vice president may have given false statements'' to Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents when he denied knowing that some of the money he was raising was put in ''hard money'' accounts. …….."

WorldNetDaily 4/26/00 Charles Smith "…..On Jan. 7, 1993, John Huang, then Vice Chairman of the Lippo Bank, wrote to Ron Brown, then chairman of the Democrat National Committee, in stilted English: "Congratulations on great performance during yesterday Senate hearing." …… The Huang letter was obtained from the U.S. Commerce Department using the Freedom of Information Act. The letter was written to Ron Brown before President Clinton took office. "I was watching it in the Senate Russell Building and came away with the strong feeling that you will do an outstanding job as the Secretary of Department of Commerce in the coming years," noted Huang in poor English. ...... "What I really want to do is to identify a convenient time in the coming week to arrange a meeting between you and Dr. Moctar Riady, our Group Chairman. Dr. Riady will be coming to the States. ... Dealing with Japan and other Asian matters will be all of our important agenda," wrote Huang......."

WorldNetDaily 4/26/00 Charles Smith "…..John Huang was born in China. He is a U.S. citizen, raised in Taiwan, and a former executive of the Lippo Group in Indonesia. He started out with the Worthen Bank in Little Rock, Arkansas…….. Many meetings followed Huang's early correspondence in 1993 with Brown, along with the prime members of the Clinton White House team. Huang met with the President at the White House 10 times between June 21 and June 27, 1994. Right after that Webster Hubbell, who was about to be indicted by a Federal grand jury, received $100,000 from the Lippo Group. …… Shortly after the money was given to Mr. Hubbell, Huang obtained a secret clearance and an executive position as Assistant Secretary of the Commerce Department. While at the Commerce Department, Huang obtained secret materials on trade deals with Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea and the Middle East. Huang also obtained information on U.S. Patriot missile deals with South Korea and mobile artillery for Kuwait. ……..Huang has taken the Fifth Amendment. His wife, Jane Huang, has taken the Fifth Amendment. According to Larry Klayman at Judicial Watch, John Huang cited his Fifth Amendment rights nearly two thousand times when asked if he were a spy for Beijing. ......"

WorldNetDaily 4/26/00 Charles Smith "…..Riady is close to Beijing. Testimony before Senator Thompson's committee in 1998 revealed Moctar Riady's involvement in Chinese espionage. Testimony revealed the Lippo Group is in fact a joint venture of China Resources, a trading and holding company "wholly owned" by the Chinese communist government and used as a front for Chinese espionage operations. ……. In 1996, China obtained the most advanced Russian air-to-air missile NATO code-named the AA-11 ARCHER. According to the Cox Report, in 1996, Hong Kong Customs officials removed a fully operational AA-11 missile from the cargo hold of a Chinese Dragonair L-1011 airliner filled with paying passengers. …… It was Aviation Week and Space Technology that carried the full story. Aviation Week reported that the missile was in a box mis-labeled as "Machine Parts" and that Dragonair was then partly owned jointly by the Chinese government and Clinton buddy-billionaire, Moctar Riady. According to intelligence sources, the Chinese missile was bound for Israel for an upgrade with stolen U.S. Sidewinder technology. ……"

AP 4/26/00 "….. A Republican congressman is subpoenaing FBI summaries of the latest interviews with President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore about campaign fund raising. ''We want to see these new interviews to help us understand why it took three years for the Justice Department to do its job'' investigating fund-raising abuses in the 1996 campaign, said Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. Burton complained that the Justice Department has not specified who is under investigation. The Justice Department rejected a request for the FBI summaries, known as ''302s,'' that Burton made earlier this week, saying last week's interviews ''relate to an open investigation.'' ''We cannot accommodate your request ... at this time because it would compromise federal law enforcement,'' Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben said Tuesday in a letter to Burton. …… ….."

THE WASHINGTON TIMES 4/27/00 Jerry Seper "…..…….. On Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben declined a request by the committee to turn over the documents, saying disclosing the interviews "would hurt" the investigation and "seriously interfere with the efforts of career prosecutors and career FBI agents to enforce federal law." Mr. Raben said in a letter the department could not "accommodate" the request……… Last month, the panel subpoenaed the department for memos by FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and task force chief Charles G. LaBella concerning the probe, but has not yet received the documents……Mr. Burton said the Justice Department was "embarrassed" in December when the committee heard during hearings that in two interviews of Mr. Clinton, prosecutors did not ask a single question about Democratic fund-raisers John Huang and Charles Yah Lin Trie. Both have pleaded guilty in the task force probe………. Documents released at the hearing also showed that during three interviews of Mr. Gore, the Justice Department did not ask him about a 1996 fund-raiser he attended at a Buddhist temple in California………."

CNSNews.com 4/26/00 Jim Burns "…… The Committee received a letter this week from the Justice Department stating that it would not turn over the interview summaries of the President and Vice President because they are part of an ongoing investigation. But the Department failed to specify who is under investigation, according to Committee officials. Burton will call a Justice Department official( the committee isn't saying who it will be) to testify next week about what the committee is calling the Justice Department's "failure to produce the interviews and other documents." ……… Committee spokesman Mark Corallo told CNSNews.com, "We have been very sensitive and very respectful of the Justice Department's need to keep information from Congress when there are ongoing investigations. We bent over backwards for them every time we have had a hearing about this. "Whether it was John Huang, Johnny Chung, Charlie Trie... In all those cases, when we were going to present public information, the Justice Department had asked us to basically lay off certain subjects because they were under investigation and we agreed," Corallo said. "We need to know", Corallo told CNSNews.com, "specifically why they won't give us the information. They're just not being specific. Just saying there's an ongoing investigation isn't good enough. They need to tell us either who is being investigated or give us some idea of why it's so important that they not give us these interviews."……."

UPI 4/27/00 Paul Singer "…. The Senate Judiciary Committee today ordered the former head of the Justice Department task force that investigated alleged fundraising violations by Democrats in the 1996 presidential election campaign to testify before the committee next week. On a mostly party line vote - Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., voted with the Republican majority - the committee approved a subpoena for Charles LaBella to testify before the committee May 2. The committee earlier this month subpoened the report of LaBella's campaign finance task force, and a memo written to Attorney General Janet Reno by FBI Director Louis Freeh about the campaign finance investigation. …..House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders several weeks ago issued a letter to Reno demanding that the Justice Department turn over a spate of documents relating to the campaign finance investigation. The group is concerned that Reno may have ignored recommendations by staff attorneys that the department appoint an independent counsel to investigate the Clinton -Gore fundraising operation. ….."

NY Post Brian Blomquist 4/27/00 "….Vice President Al Gore blew his top when he was grilled last week by funny-money investigators - because they asked about his illegal Buddhist temple fund-raiser for the first time, sources say. Gore seemed stunned that investigators were asking about his controversial 1996 fund-raiser now and fumed that the questions were "outrageous," said a source familiar with the probe. The "contentious" session ended in a yelling match between Gore and federal investigators, the source added. New attention to the Democratic fund-raiser at His Lai temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif., couldn't come at a worse time for Gore, who is in a fierce battle against Republican George W. Bush in the presidential campaign. ……..Republicans have been threatening to use the embarrassing video of Gore at the temple with flowers draped around his neck, surrounded by nuns and monks in saffron robes. ……Until last Tuesday, Gore had never been grilled about the $140,000 Democratic fund-raiser - and it is unclear why investigators from Attorney General Janet Reno's funny-money task force are focusing on it now. …."

ABCNEWS.com 4/21/00 "…….Brian Hartman and Josh Gerstein "…….The White House revealed tonight that Justice Department investigators have interviewed President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore about their involvement in Democratic Party fund-raising irregularities during the 1996 presidential campaign. A team of five investigators, four FBI agents and one prosecutor, grilled Clinton today for four hours at the White House. Gore was interviewed separately on Tuesday as part of the investigation. ……. A White House spokesman did say that neither Clinton nor Gore are targets of the investigation. (Target is a term criminal investigators use for someone who is actively being considered for indictment.) The spokesman also added that both Clinton and Gore answered everything they were asked and did not claim any legal privileges to dodge questions. ……"

Insight on the News 4/17/00 J Michael Waller "…… Canadian police have identified Clinton donor and Macao gambling tycoon Stanley Ho as the leader of a triad gang of organized criminals with strong ties to Communist China. …….. President Clinton personally accepted $250,000 from a Macao gambling tycoon whom Canadian police identify as a "leader" of a Chinese triad, or organized-crime syndicate. Insight has obtained a copy of the Asian Organized Crime Roster of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, listing Stanley Ho - who handed the check to Clinton at a 1997 White House reception to fund the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial - as a suspected "leader/member" of the notorious Kung Lok triad. This is the first concrete indication that a major Western law-enforcement agency considers Ho an organized-crime figure. Earlier reports characterized Ho as "associated" with the triads, but not a "leader" or "member." According to a separate Canadian Security Intelligence Service report, the triads are involved in "drug trafficking; money laundering; corruption; computer-software piracy; credit-card forgery and fraud; counterfeit currency and identification operations; and migrant smuggling. They will often provide direction to Chinese gangs in exchange for the 'muscle' needed in some triad operations." ……."

Insight on the News 4/17/00 J Michael Waller "……Insight's copy of the RCMP roster identifies Ho Hung Sun, alias Stanley Ho, as born in Hong Kong on Nov. 25, 1921, and provides addresses in Toronto and Macao. After classifying Ho as a "member/leader" of the Kung Lok triad organized-crime syndicate, it assigns him the "gang file number" 89-1170. A 1988 Justice Department list authored by then assistant attorney general William Weld identified Ho as "associated" with the triads, former congressional investigator Edward Timperlake tells Insight. Timperlake is coauthor of Year of the Rat, a book documenting ties between Clinton-Gore administration political fund-raising from Chinese interests and their effects on U.S. national-security decision-making. The book reported that "Ho's triad connections are really quite extensive" in his gambling partnerships. Has the Justice Department "cleared" Ho since Clinton and Gore were elected in 1992? A Justice Department spokeswoman would not comment, citing privacy concerns. Certainly, the Mounties have not cleared Ho: An RCMP Asian Organized Crime detective familiar with the roster labeling Ho as a triad figure told the Vancouver Province, "Nobody gets off it unless they die." ……."

Insight on the News 4/17/00 J Michael Waller "…… Ho and his business partners have been mired in international controversy in recent months. One of his partners is Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, whose Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. company has taken control of port facilities at both ends of the Panama Canal, prompting concerns that they may become a strategic beachhead for Beijing. The Clinton administration has gone out of its way to portray Li and Hutchison Whampoa as posing no security threat to U.S. interests, but not everyone is convinced. Peter Zhang writes in the New Australian, a weekly published in Melbourne, that Li is a "front man" for the Communist Chinese People's Liberation Army, or PLA. Commenting on Li's planned investments in Australian electric power and telecommunications infrastructures, Zhang warns, "Ordinarily I would advise any country to welcome a foreign investor. But Li is no ordinary investor. Just as British imperialism followed trade, Chinese military intelligence always follows Li." ….."

New York Times 4/22/00 Marc Lacey "…..A Justice Department prosecutor investigating campaign fund-raising improprieties conducted a wide-ranging interview with President Clinton on Friday that included questions about electronic messages that were improperly handled by the White House. The prosecutor interviewed Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday, White House officials said. They said the prosecutor, Robert J. Conrad Jr., head of the Justice Department's campaign finance unit, interviewed the two men in the presence of both White House and private lawyers. Conrad was joined by a group of FBI agents. White House officials refused to describe the focus of the questions but they said Clinton and Gore agreed to be interviewed voluntarily and cooperated fully. "Neither the president nor the vice president are targets," a White House official said. "There have been no requests for additional interviews." ……"

 

Washington Post 5/18/00 John Solomon AP "……FBI Director Louis Freeh wrote a memo in the earliest days of the Democratic fund-raising investigation suggesting a top Justice Department official was under pressure not to proceed with the probe to save Attorney General Janet Reno's job. …….. The memo, belatedly turned over to Senate investigators this week, also discloses that Freeh urged Reno and Justice Department public integrity chief Lee Radek to step aside from the investigation as early as December 1996 because of purported comments made by Radek. ………. "

Washington Post 5/18/00 John Solomon AP "……In the Dec. 9, 1996 memo to Deputy FBI Director William J. Esposito, Freeh recounted, third-hand, comments Radek allegedly made to Esposito suggesting he was being pressured in connection with the investigation into Democratic fund-raising improprieties during President Clinton's 1996 re-election. Freeh's memo quotes Radek as telling Esposito he was "under a lot of pressure not to go forward with the investigation" because Reno's job "might hang in the balance," the officials said. ……. Freeh wrote Esposito that he met with Reno and told her about Radek's purported comments and suggested "on that basis" both Radek and Reno should step aside from the investigation, the officials said. ……. Reached late Thursday, Radek said he never was under pressure to scrap the investigation to help Reno and did not recall ever making such comments to Esposito. ……"

Washington Post 5/18/00 John Solomon AP "……The Freeh memo involving the fund-raising issue emerges more than two years after Congress first began reviewing the conduct and quality of the criminal fund-raising investigation, in which several Democratic donors and fund-raisers have been convicted. ……. Officials said the FBI did not disclose the existence of the memo to Justice officials until late last month and that it wasn't turned over to Senate investigators until this week. …….But Freeh's memo provides the first evidence that such arguments dated to the very beginning of the investigation in late 1996 and were based in part on concerns about possible political pressures. ……."

WorldNetDaily 5/12/00 Johnny Chung "……When I learned last week the president and vice president of the United States offered a private dinner with the two most powerful men on earth for any fat cat donor who was willing to come up with half a million dollars, I said, "What is this?" ……..The 1996 campaign finance scandal is not over yet! Yesterday, May 11 was the one-year anniversary of my congressional testimony for Chinagate. After all this time, they are still doing this. In 1997 I made a statement that was widely quoted: "I see this White House like a subway -- you have to put in the coin to open the gate." This latest example of money for access proves I was right. ……… Another example is in the case of Elian Gonzales, who was taken to a big-time DNC donor's house in Georgetown. People said that no money changed hands; my experience with the DNC suggests otherwise -- that is how they operate. Sure, you don't have to pay for the event beforehand, but before you go to the event, you've already made a commitment for $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 or even $100,000 to the DNC. Then you go to the next party and you pay for it. That's how it works, ladies and gentleman. It's nuts! ......"

yahoo.com 5/31/00 Bill O’Reilly "……The Justice Department's top man on the Buddhist Temple case, Steve Mansfield, was gathering evidence against the vice president when he was told by Reno and Radek to shut down his operation. Sources say that when Mansfield questioned the decision because his investigation was zeroing in on what Gore knew and when he knew it, he was told that Reno and Radek were going to recommend that an independent counsel be appointed to look into the illegal Buddhist Temple donations. The logic was that Mansfield should not muck up the waters before the counsel got there. In fact, just the opposite occurred. Both Reno and Radek told the FBI they could not find enough evidence to warrant an independent counsel. Soon after that disclosure, Mansfield quit the Justice Department. He now practices law in Los Angeles but refuses to comment on the case.

yahoo.com 5/31/00 Bill O’Reilly "……The FBI also turned over a second memo to congressional investigators disclosing that the Justice Department bypassed using FBI agents to gather information about illegal campaign money and gave the job to investigators from the Commerce Department. …….. Another interesting wrinkle in this case is that Freeh was in no hurry to make his damaging memos known. In fact, it looks very much like he was covering for Reno and Radek. ….".

yahoo.com 5/31/00 Bill O’Reilly "……Justice in America has become a joke under the Clinton administration, and these latest revelations are about as serious as it gets. ……If it is true that the attorney general killed the Buddhist Temple investigation, that is obstruction of justice -- a felony. And there is now plenty of evidence pointing that way. ….But the elite media continues to ignore the story, and millions of Americans believe -- as long as the TV show Law & Order stays on the air -- things will be fine. But things are not fine. We are living in a time of great federal corruption. At this point only Congress can do something about it. Why am I not confident? …."

Conservative News Service 5/29/00 David Thibault "…..Charlie Trie, a central character in the 1996 Democratic fundraising scandal, is running out of time as he tries to avoid turning over sensitive documents in the case. A federal judge ruled last Thursday that Trie could no longer hide behind the Fifth Amendment and gave Trie ten days to show why he should not be held in contempt of court. Trie''s lawyers were unavailable for comment……. The Washington group, Judicial Watch, however, has been trying to learn whether Trie also used his fundraising prowess to buy access to the sensitive workings of the US Commerce Department. …….During his deposition in the Judicial Watch case, Trie refused to produce certain documents, claiming his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. "You can''t assert the Fifth Amendment concerning documents, like he did," Fitton said……. Before deposing Trie, Judicial Watch had asked the Department of Justice to grant Trie immunity, to make it easier for him to release the documents in question. However, according to Fitton, "the Justice Department, in an obstructionist tactic, ... refused to grant that immunity….."

TBO.com 5/24/00 Pete Yost "……At a May 2 hearing, Specter described a 1998 memo by then-Justice Department prosecutor Charles LaBella as saying President Clinton should be investigated in connection with the donations. Loral obtained a waiver from the Clinton administration allowing the company to do satellite business in China. …….. However, by the time of LaBella's memo, he and the task force had effectively excused Loral and Schwartz from the probe and LaBella said there had been only a "whisp of information" to justify the Justice Department's inquiry of Schwartz to begin with, said legal sources familiar with various internal Justice Department documents in the fund-raising probe. The Los Angeles Times earlier this week first reported on the additional information clearing Schwartz. "Meanwhile, legal sources say the Justice Department's campaign task force found no evidence of wrongdoing regarding more than $1.3 million in donations to Democrats by Loral Corp. chairman Bernard Schwartz." ………. I just want to lay out some basic facts to support my reason for outrage over the above statement. I believe most here understand all of this and respect the seriousness of this development. This was one of the few remaining active investigations of significance and it is now being shut down and washed away.

* Bernard Schwartz gave $112,500 to Democrats three months after being included in a 1994 China trade trip with Ron Brown.
* As a result of the trip and his meeting with Chinese officials he signed a telecommunications deal that was estimated to have raised additional revenues of about $250 million annually for Loral.
* Schwartz then became the single largest contributor to the Clinton/Gore 1996 re-election campaign and personally lobbied Clinton to grant a waiver for satellite launches in China.
* In 1996, Clinton transferred the licensing authority from the State Department to the Commerce Department which immediately approved the transfer. Given the green light on the launch by the Commerce Department, Loral Corporation provided China with missile technology to improve its satellite launch and guidance systems.
* When details of the technology transfer emerged, investigations were launched. Most notably, the Select Committee chaired by Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Ca) pursued the allegations vigorously and they were thwarted in their efforts by attorneys from Loral and the Justice Department.!

TBO.com 5/25/00 AP "…. Former political fund-raiser Charlie Trie got permission Wednesday to travel overseas on business while cooperating with government investigations into illegal contributions to Democrats. Trie, who pleaded guilty last year to violating campaign finance laws, completed four months of home detention Wednesday as part of his sentence and needs to travel abroad for a new job marketing videophones in the Far East and elsewhere, his lawyer said in court papers. U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. granted Trie's request but required Trie to report by telephone monthly to a federal probation officer in Arkansas. ….."

WorldNetDaily 5/20/00 Paul Sperry "…….The House Government Reform Committee plans to call the top official steering the Justice Department's Chinagate probe to testify about an FBI memo quoting him as saying he was under political "pressure" to ice the investigation. ………The potentially explosive hearing is slated for Thursday, May 25. The Dec. 9, 1996, memo -- turned over to Senate investigators more than two years after they asked for such information -- reportedly recounts how Justice Department public integrity chief Lee Radek allegedly told the no. 2 FBI official that he was "under a lot of pressure not to go forward with the investigation" because Attorney General Janet Reno's job "might hang in the balance." President Clinton delayed reappointing Reno after he won reelection in 1996. …….. .".

WorldNetDaily 5/20/00 Paul Sperry "…….The FBI-Radek memo follows remarkable Senate testimony last fall from four FBI agents assigned to Justice's campaign-finance task force. They accused Radek of impeding or delaying the task force's probe of Clinton fund-raiser pal Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie. Also, the U.S. Attorney probing Vice President Al Gore's involvement in an illegal Buddhist temple fund-raiser in Los Angeles, said Radek yanked the probe away from him in November 1996. …….. Charles LaBella, the former lead prosecutor on the Chinagate case, in 1998 urged Reno to include Clinton in a probe to see if record-high DNC donations from Loral Space & Communications Ltd. Chief Executive Bernard Schwartz were tied to missile technology transfers to China. Clinton gave Loral export waivers. Radek called the idea "silly," LaBella said. Radek has also fended off arguments from LaBella and Freeh that Reno should seek the naming of an independent counsel to probe Chinagate. LaBella said he saw a "pattern of conduct" that signaled political involvement at the highest levels, which presents a clear conflict for Reno. ……Despite turning over several other Clinton administration scandals to outside prosecutors, Reno still stubbornly insists on keeping the Chinagate probe in-house. Next week's hearings, which will be the first time Radek has testified before Congress, may shed more light on why that is……"

NewsMax.com 5/19/00 "……Moreover, in the memo Freeh said he had urged both Reno and Lee Radek, head of the Department's Public Integrity Section to step aside from the Democratic fund raising investigation because of comments made by Radek to a top FBI official that he was being urged to stop the probe to help Reno keep her job. ……. Now in the hands of Senate investigators, the memo, whose contents were disclosed to the Associated Press, was written to Deputy FBI Director William J. Esposito on December 9, 1996. It recalls remarks allegedly made by Radek to Esposito implying that he was "under a lot of pressure not to go forward with the investigation" because Reno's job "might hang in the balance," the Associated Press reported. ……. This is not the first time Radek's name has been brought up in connection with efforts to impede the campaign fund raising probe. In a March 14 story NewsMax reported that he had told investigators probing alleged illegal fund raising by Al Gore to back off. In that story we reported that in a secret Nov. 1, 1996, cease-and-desist order Radek wrote that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles "should take no steps to investigate these matters at this time," …….. Radek's name surfaced in reports in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times which revealed details of the so-called LaBella report that had been suppressed by Attorney General Janet Reno for two years. According to the papers, insiders at the Justice Department said that it was Radek who persuaded Reno to drop the investigation of Gore's role in the fund raising scandals ……."

 

 

 

 

 

newsmax.com 6/11/00 Carl Limbacher "….. Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Dan Burton said Sunday that he will seek obstruction of justice charges against Attorney General Janet Reno because of her conduct in the Chinagate probe. But, said the Indiana Republican, he wouldn't be able to do so until the Clinton administration was over. Burton told Fox News Sunday's Tony Snow and Brit Hume that he believes top Justice Department officials "have to be held accountable" for blocking the FBI's attempts to question President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore about key Asian fundraisers who pumped millions of dollars into the Democratic party in 1996. ……
SNOW: OK. Why can't this simply be a disagreement about what the law says? Why does there have to be some criminal element here?
BURTON: Well, if the president and the vice president broke the law, and if you read the LaBella and Freeh memos you'll find that the FBI believes that the vice president lied to them, and the Justice Department would not let the FBI ask them questions about John Huang, Charlie Trie, Maria Hsia and the other people who were bringing money in from Communist China and elsewhere, if that's the case -- and I believe it is -- then they have to be held accountable. ……"

AP 6/6/00 "…..In a memo kept secret for 2 1/2 years, FBI Director Louis Freeh warned that the Justice Department was ignoring ``reliable evidence'' that conflicted with Al Gore's accounts of his fund-raising activities. Freeh sent the November 1997 memo, written by staff at his request, to Attorney General Janet Reno to urge appointment of an independent counsel to investigate Democratic fund raising. ...... It preceded a better-known, and more scrutinized, memo by the chief prosecutor in the case, Charles LaBella, who urged the same action and also accused his Justice Department superiors of contorting their investigation to avoid triggering an independent counsel. ...... The FBI director said the Justice Department's preoccupation with bit players should be replaced by a top-down investigation starting with President Clinton and a ``core group'' of aides under the theory that ``most of the alleged campaign abuses flowed directly or indirectly from the all-out efforts by the White House and DNC (Democratic National Committee) to raise money.'' ......"

CNN 6/6/00 Ian Christopher McCaleb "……..The document, written by FBI Director Louis Freeh well over two years ago, accused Al Gore of acting as a shrewd, knowledgeable fund-raiser for the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election effort, despite Gore's regular insistence to the contrary. …….. In his memo, Freeh specifically focused on the fund-raising telephone calls Gore made from his office as the 1996 campaign was underway. …….Freeh, who urged the attorney general to appoint an independent counsel in the case, said in his memo that the Justice Department seemed quite content to rely "almost exclusively on the vice president's own statements to draw inferences favorable to him even where those statements are contradicted by other reliable evidence." Freeh, echoing the earlier-revealed sentiments of former lead campaign finance investigator Charles LaBella, urged Reno to consider a top-down investigation at the White House, starting with President Bill Clinton. "Most of the alleged campaign abuses flowed directly or indirectly from the all-out efforts by the White House and the [Democratic National Committee] to raise money," the memo said. ......"

Washington Post 6/7/00 George Lardner Jr. "…… FBI Director Louis J. Freeh bluntly warned Attorney General Janet Reno that she faced an "irrevocable political conflict of interest" in investigating allegations of fundraising abuses during President Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign, and he said there was "compelling evidence" to justify requesting that independent counsel be named to investigate Vice President Gore……."The contortions that the department has gone through to avoid investigating these allegations are apparent," LaBella said in a July 1998 memo. LaBella said the Justice Department seemed to be "result-oriented" and "the desired result was to keep the matter out of reach of the Independent Counsel Act."…….."If these allegations involved anyone other than the president, vice president, senior White House or DNC and Clinton/Gore '96 officials, an appropriate investigation would have commenced months ago without hesitation," LaBella said……."

National Journal 6/6/00 Stuart Taylor Jr., "…….These are Roger Parloff's conclusions in "Temple in a Teapot," a cogently contrarian 7,000-word exploration of the matter in the May issue of The American Lawyer. "Gore's obviously not the straightest shooter to ever venture into public life," he writes, "but the evidence is now overwhelming that the temple event wasn't supposed to be a fund-raiser. Moreover, Gore's descriptions of it have been honest and accurate -- even consistent.... Not one shred of evidence indicates that Gore knew that anything illegal was happening at the temple.... A skeptical look at the key charges that have been leveled against Gore ... reveals that they all hinge on fuzzy thinking, malevolent assumptions, and the intransigent refusal to credit exonerating evidence." ………The strength of Parloff's latest article is not some big revelation. It is a meticulous review of the law and evidence already in the public record, amassed by congressional investigators, FBI agents, and prosecutors from subpoenaed documents and more than 20 key witnesses. Although some scraps of documentary evidence seem damning when taken out of context, and although the witnesses' credibility can be questioned because they are loyal to Gore, this hardly warrants an irrebuttable presumption of guilt. ………The essence of Parloff's analysis (available at americanlawyer.com) is this: There is no evidence contradicting Gore's original statement to a reporter in October 1996 that the temple event was "not billed as a fund-raiser" (to him) but rather as a "community outreach event." This campaign jargon seems less like a Clintonian word game in its context than when truncated in media accounts. (I retract my suggestion to the contrary in my Feb. 5 column.) ……… Although various Gore staffers sometimes referred to the temple event as a fund-raiser, top Gore aides say that "fund-raiser" is a term designating an affair for which tickets have been sold. Tickets were not sold for the temple event. ……."

Newark (NJ) Star Ledger 6/3/00 Robert Rudolph "…… In a surprise development, David Chang, the wealthy New Jersey businessman who has become a key figure in a Justice Department probe into campaign fund-raising, admitted yesterday he helped arrange for straw donors to funnel money into the 1996 election campaign of U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli. Chang, an international commodities trader who has visited President Clinton at the White House on several occasions, was scheduled to stand trial on the charges in Newark, with jury selection beginning Tuesday. Yesterday, however, following a flurry of last-minute negotiations with government prosecutors, Chang confessed his role in the Torricelli campaign scheme and also revealed that he has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators in probes involving election finance and other matters. ……"

Weekly Standard 6/19/00 "…….The paperback edition of Michael Isikoff's bestseller on the Lewinsky saga, Uncovering Clinton, has just hit the bookstores. It includes a freshly penned "Afterword" wherein interested readers can find the following remarkable account of how exactly Bill Clinton got elected president in the first place: …….. In the fall of 1999... [a] House committee obtained copies of hundreds of pages of previously secret FBI debriefings of John Huang .... In these talks, Huang for the first time laid out the origins of the so-called Asian connection to the White House--a story that actually began four years before the widely publicized abuses of the 1996 election. In August 1992, during a campaign trip to California, Clinton had taken a limousine ride with Huang's employer, James Riady, the billionaire chief of the Lippo Group .... The contributions were in most cases doubly illegal: Not only did they come from a foreign source, but they were also funneled through "conduits" to disguise the true identity of the giver. Meanwhile, Riady and his wife also wrote large "soft money" checks under their own names but they were distributed to state parties around the country where the national press never noticed them. By the time election day came around, James Riady's Lippo Group--a foreign corporation whose existence was virtually unknown in official Washington, much less to the American public--had become the largest single financier of Clinton's campaign against President George Bush, dwarfing the donations of trial lawyers, labor unions and other traditional Democratic Party "soft money" givers. …….That Clinton and his entourage kept all this hidden from the public for years is, at a minimum, an impressive testament to their ability to conceal from the public that which is politically awkward.

WorldNetDaily 6/14/00 Paul Sperry "…..Indonesian billionaire James Riady, the shadowy Clinton-Gore fund-raiser who's stayed clear of the U.S. since the Chinagate scandal broke three-and-a-half years ago, may finally be under Justice Department investigation, investigators say. Sources with knowledge of censored parts of recently released FBI and Justice reports say Riady is a target of the campaign-finance task force. "We wouldn't confirm or deny it," Justice spokesman John Russell told WorldNetDaily. ...... Riady runs the Beijing-tied Lippo Group conglomerate. He and his father, China-born Mochtar Riady, reportedly have some $8 billion invested in mainland China ventures, including ones with ties to Chinese army intelligence. Much of the illegal foreign money that poured into '96 Clinton-Gore coffers was laundered through conduits tied to Lippo and Beijing sources. ……. On March 24, before turning two long-sought, sensitive memos over to Congress, Justice says it redacted, or edited out, names and sections of the documents to protect ongoing investigations. The so-called "Freeh memo" runs 27 pages; the "LaBella memo," 94. …….. Many of the redacted parts refer to Pauline Kanchanalak, knowledgeable sources say, a major Democratic National Committee fund-raiser with ties to the White House and Beijing. She awaits trial on charges she defrauded the Federal Election Commission in the '96 presidential campaign. …….But other redacted passages in both the Freeh and LaBella reports refer to either James Riady or both Riadys, sources say. ……Attorney General Janet Reno, criticized for conducting a flaccid probe of White House allegations, came under more pressure early this year when Congress revealed that her task force prosecutors failed to ask President Clinton about his ties to Riady during interviews. ......"

Regnery Publishing Inc 1998 Year of the Rat Edward Timperlake and William C. Triplett 11 "……CAMPAIGN FINANCE The Clinton-Gore record of campaign finance abuses is staggering:

Chinese agents ensured victory for the Clinton-Gore team in the 1992 general election with a massive cascade of illegally laundered foreign funds into key states.

More than one hundred potential witnesses of illegal foreign campaign contributions to the Clinton-Gore team have fled the country,taken the Fifth Amendment,or refused to be interviewed by investigative bodies.

Chinese agents helped secure the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination for Clnton with a multimillion-dollar loan from an Arkansas bank under their influence.

Chinese agents became the number one donors to Clinton and Gore in 1992.

The Clinton Justice Department allowed the statute of limitations to run out so that illegal donations from Chinese agents could escape prosecution.

Leading donors to the DNC are business associates of a major Tiananmen massacre war criminal that even the Chinese have jailed.

Chinese agents tried to use their donations to democratic senators to pressure Taiwan's banking authorities.

Chinese agents gave $100,000 to convicted felon Webster Hubbell at the very moment the independent counsel's office was seeking his cooperation in its investigations of the Clintons.

Chinese agents helped fund Dick Morris's brilliant stealth advertising campaign against the Republicans in 1995-1996.

A Macau criminal syndicate figure who exploits women for prostitution laundered more than $1,000,000 in illegal donations to the DNC;he met Clinton on a number of occasions,including on visits to the White House;and he may also have funneled more then $300,000 in illegal cash donations to the Democrats and/or hush money for Hubbell.

A Chinese agent who is also in the business of exploiting women for prostitution donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and he sat beside both the president and vice president at intimate fund-raisers.

A Chinese agent/DNC donor with personal connections to Clinton and Gore is a business associate of Cambodia's largest narcotics trafficker.

A Chinese agent who specializes in illegally laundering funds for the Democrats has an eight-year business relationship with Gore.

A Chinese agent who raises funds for Gore may be assisting Chinese spies to gain entrance into the United States.

Leaders of a Thai conglomerate that is in business with Middle Eastern terrorists and with China's biggest arms smugglers had a White House meeting with Clinton at which they were illegally solicited for campaign donations.

A Chinese PLA spy laundered illegal campaign funds through Johnny Chung and met Clinton twice at fund-raisers.

A Macau gambling figure and a Hong Kong billionaire in business with the PLA donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Clinton's favorite charities.

A Chinese gangstser dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign funds on the Clinton Legal Defense Trust on the same day he delivered a letter demanding that Clinton abandon Taiwan.

A PLA partner sat next to Clinton at a DNC fund-raiser and contributed tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign funds to the Democrats.

The officers of an American defense contractor in business with China's missile builders became the number one contributos to the Clinton-Gore reelection campaign in 1995-1996.

After illegal campaign funds began to flow to the DNC from a PLA spy, the Clinton White House and his navy secretary helped the PLA's arms delivery boys secure the port at Long Beach, California.

The bottom line: Clinton and Gore got away with it. They got themselves elected in 1992 and reelected in 1996 on foreign money, much of it from sources hostile to the United States. ….."

9/16/97 SENATE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE HEARING ON CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING WITNESSES:
CLARKE WALLACE, WHITE HOUSE COFFEE ATTENDEE
BETH DOZORETZ, DNC MANAGING TRUSTEE
RAWLEIN SOBERANO, ASIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
"…… MR. TIPPS: And for a few months -- after a few months, when you began in that position, at some point the U.S.-Thai Business Council began to share office space with Ban Chang International, which I'm going to refer to as BCI. We've heard something about it already today, which was Ms. Kanchanalak's company. Is that correct?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: All right, sir. And Ms. Kanchanalak, I believe, it's been established, was the president of BCI. And because of that office-sharing arrangement, you would see her fairly frequently, wouldn't you?
MR. WALLACE: Correct.
MR. TIPPS: All right. And before we go to the coffee, which is really what we're focusing on here today, because you were around and saw her, you had -- prior to this June 18th, 1996 coffee, you had some idea about Ms. Kanchanalak's involvement with the DNC, correct?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: I believe you've told us, for example, that there were, from time to time, factions that would show up on the BCI fax that you would see from the DNC. I think you told us that someone had told you that Ms. Kanchanalak was a managing trustee of the DNC, correct?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: You weren't sure what that was, but you knew it had something to do with giving money, right?
MR. WALLACE: Right.
MR. TIPPS: All right, sir. And at some point in mid-1995, I believe you told us that Ms. Kanchanalak came to you and a couple of the other employees and said she had an opportunity for you all to go over to the White House and actually shake hands with the president as he was going to leave on a helicopter from the south lawn to take a trip, correct?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: And you actually got a chance to do that.
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: And so you knew from that that she had some sway over at the DNC. Is that accurate?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: All right, sir. Let's move to the coffee, the June 18th, 1996 coffee. We know -- the committee knows -- it's certainly been established that Mr. Huang set that coffee up as a DNC employee. Is it accurate that Mr. Huang came to the offices of Ban Chang International and met with Ms. Kanchanalak a day or two before the 6/18 coffee, the June 18th coffee?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: And you know that because you saw him and, I think, stopped and said hello, or something like that, to him.
MR. WALLACE: Right.
MR. TIPPS: And you had met him one time before. Is that accurate?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: And was that in connection with --
MR. WALLACE: It was Ron Brown's funeral, and Pauline asked me to give her and John Huang and another gentleman from the Department of Commerce a ride up to the National Cathedral because there was no parking. So I picked him up at the Department of Commerce and drove them to the cathedral.
MR. TIPPS: And that was your first time to meet Mr. Huang.
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: So when he came in a day or two before the June 18th coffee, you had seen him before. You knew who he was.
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: All right. And then I believe your testimony is that they met -- they being Ms. Kanchanalak and Mr. Huang -- met for about a half an hour in her office. Correct?
MR. WALLACE: Right.
MR. TIPPS: And then she came out and said something to you along these lines, that she was trying to organize a coffee at the White House for the CP group and the president, wasn't sure if it was going to come together, but she wanted you to get in touch with Karl Jackson and see if he could go. And she also wanted you to go, right?
MR. WALLACE: Right.
MR. TIPPS: And that's the first you had heard about the possibility that you might get to go. Is that correct?
MR. WALLACE: She may have mentioned it before, but this was the definite "Let's try to get this together."
MR. TIPPS: It would have been in that same time frame, though, just a few days beforehand?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: All right. And your normal way of communicating with Mr. Jackson, I believe, was to create a memo and then to fax it over to Mr. Jackson's office, because he had a separate office from where you were.
MR. WALLACE: Correct. Either I would call him on the phone or I would fax him.
MR. TIPPS: And in this particular instance, Ms. Kanchanalak specifically instructed you not to create any kind of paper, not to fax anything to him, but rather to call him. Correct?
MR. WALLACE: Yes.
MR. TIPPS: I believe you told us that she just told you it was a unique situation and you should exercise caution, and she asked you not to send him anything by fax. Right?
MR. WALLACE: Correct.
MR. TIPPS: All right, sir. Now, did she say anything else -- she being Ms. Kanchanalak -- right after this meeting? In other words, when she came out, did she talk to you about anything else specifically? Did she mention anything about Air Force One?
MR. WALLACE: She asked me to get together the passport numbers and Social Security numbers for Karl Jackson and myself and the people from the CP Group. And she also said that -- and she said it with an air of disbelief, really, that perhaps it could be arranged for me to go on Air Force One to Thailand, which I don't think she really believed it. But it appeared that she had come out of that meeting with that type of a discussion, yes.
MR. TIPPS: She'd never discussed that with you prior to that meeting with Mr. Huang.
MR. WALLACE: No. ……
MR. TIPPS: All right, sir. And then I take it that you went forward and made the preparations, gathered the Social Security numbers and the passport numbers and what-not. Then you sent those on to Mr. Huang, correct?
MR. WALLACE: Yes. …….

WorldNetDaily 6/9/00 Johnny Chung "…..Government conspiracies exist. I know this because I have been used in some of them. Let's review just two of them now. …….. After two and a half years, the Justice Department finally handed over documents to the House Government Reform Committee, which released them this week. ……. One of the newly-released documents was a memo from FBI Director Louis Freeh, recommending the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate former Department of Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary for involvement in Chinagate. ……. Former Justice Department task force supervisor Chuck LaBella recommended an external investigation. Even the judge that sentenced me for my involvement in the scandal, Manuel Real, found it suspicious that no investigator had been appointed. That's right: All three of these gentlemen -- the FBI director, the DOJ task force leader and the judge -- thought it necessary to have an independent counsel investigate the huge scandal. But it never happened. …….. "

WorldNetDaily 6/9/00 Johnny Chung "…..In the summer of 1996, I agreed to donate $25,000 to O'Leary's favorite charity, Africare, at the suggestion of the secretary's aide Corlis Moody. The money was to secure a place for China Petro at a political meeting with O'Leary. Moody said an invitation letter to China Petro signed by O'Leary would be sent. Indeed, I received the faxed invitation with O'Leary's signature, and I faxed it to a China Petro official. Later, an African America gentleman claiming to be an employee of the Energy Department came to my apartment in D.C. to collect the $25,000 check to Africare. He also said he needed to retrieve the faxed invitation I had received that morning because the inspector general of the Energy Department said that it was illegal. So I gave him the check along with the fax, but I emphasized my desire to secure the meeting. After the Chinagate scandal erupted, FBI and DOJ prosecutors asked me about the O'Leary incident. They showed me a copy of the invitation, but it had been altered. "This is not the one I saw before," I told the agents. They went back to do some more digging and found the original version. ……"

WorldNetDaily 6/9/00 Johnny Chung "…..Nevertheless, Attorney General Janet Reno sent a letter to the U.S. Appeals Court saying there was no need for an independent counsel to investigate the bribery. O'Leary knew nothing about my connection to her close aide Corlis Moody, Reno said. And besides, the invitation letter had been signed by autopen. Now, keep in mind I knew nothing about Africare before this incident. Why would I donate money to an organization I knew nothing about? All I knew was that I paid for a meeting, and I got it. By the way, Hazel O'Leary is the director of Africare. Coincidence? I think not. ….."

WorldNetDaily 6/9/00 Johnny Chung "…..The famous LaBella memo mentions an investigation of Hillary Rodham Clinton's office. I told LaBella about the $50,000 check I gave to Maggie Williams -- the first lady's chief of staff -- inside Mrs. Clinton's White House office. It was money for political access. By accepting the money, Williams and the first lady are guilty of violating the Hatch Act. Trying to defend his wife, Clinton said at a 1997 press conference that she merely accepted the money for the DNC. She should have referred me to the DNC, he told reporters. ……. But ladies and gentlemen, why would I want to hand my check to the DNC? I gave the check to the person from whom I was buying political access. If you're going to the movies to see "Mission: Impossible 2," you don't buy a ticket to see "Shanghai Noon." I needed to secure my political access in Washington, D.C., because I frequently entertained Chinese visitors who were valuable to my business. To impress them, I brought them to the White House. In order to better facilitate the arrangements, I needed an insider. ……….. In March of 1995, I brought a group of Chinese businessmen to the White House to meet with the first lady and have their pictures taken in the oval office. While we were there, an intern named Gina Ratliffe from the first lady's office was very friendly to my guests. So, I hired her as my company's public relations person while she still worked in the White House. …….."

WorldNetDaily 6/9/00 Johnny Chung "…..To familiarize her with Chinese customs, I sent Gina to China. After she returned, she told me she needed to move to an apartment in DuPont Circle where she could be closer to the White House. She wanted my company to pay for a year-long lease she had just signed at a cost of $15,000. We were already paying her a salary -- something she didn't get from her internship -- and she was still employed under a 90-day probationary period. ……. It soon became clear that Gina was not as good at her job as she had promised. Before the probationary period was over, we decided to let her go and did not pay her apartment lease. Disgruntled, she began sending my company several letters. Soon afterwards, I received a phone call from the first lady's office. Ms. Evan Ryan, the first lady's secretary, asked me to come to the White House. Once I arrived, Ryan relayed a message: "Maggie Williams said that if you don't settle this and pay Gina, this office will no longer welcome you." They were going to cut off my White House access. I asked Ryan why I should pay for the apartment contract, but they knew I wanted to secure my White House access, and they used this to threaten me. So I decided to give the intern an $8,000 check, including termination documentation prepared by my corporate attorney that she was to sign and return to my company. I handed copies of the documentation to Even Ryan to show I had settled the matter. Later, I found out the check had been cashed, but the termination papers were never signed nor returned to me. Those White House people really know how to shake you down. …….."

WorldNetDaily 6/9/00 Johnny Chung "…..High-ranking DOJ officials tried to stop every investigation into people close to the president, the first lady and the vice president. They stonewalled all the investigations of Chinagate. They replaced all the FBI agents who knew the case well. The FBI agents did a good job, and their boss, Louis Freeh, made a correct decision to recommend an independent counsel. My prosecutor, Michael McCaul, finished his case well and with my full cooperation, which included putting my life and the lives of my family on the line. McCaul's boss, Chuck LaBella, kept his promise to me by writing a good and thorough memo recommending an independent counsel. And Federal Court Judge Manuel Real also believed the case merited an independent counsel. But Attorney General Janet Reno said no. ……….After three years, we all know that no matter how many subpoenas are issued by Congress, no matter how many people testify on Capitol Hill, the Justice Department's response will always be the same -- stonewall the case and sweep everything under the rug. ……."

Washington Times 6/28/00 Jerry Seper "……President Al Gore's role in a Buddhist temple fund-raiser would now be moot because the Justice Department took nearly four years to question him about it under oath, Senate Republicans said yesterday……… "It appears to me that it may well be too late at this point to have a special counsel, because it would interfere with the election in 2000," said Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of a Senate subcommittee investigating the Justice Department's handling of the 1996 campaign finance probe……… Even if one were appointed, Mr. Specter said, it was "not even realistic" to suggest the probe could be completed before the November election……… Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican, also criticized the attorney general for the "lateness" of the Gore interview, saying the Justice Department failed to conduct a proper investigation of the temple accusations after they first surfaced…….. "I believe your staff failed you. And in a sense, you failed to supervise in making that declination of the independent counsel at that early date without even commencing any investigation," he said. "I think that was an error, and that has caused us to be [still investigating] at this late stage."….."

Washington Times 6/28/00 Jerry Seper "……When Mr. Specter and Mr. Sessions asked the attorney general directly why she had waited to conduct the interview until it was too late - since now the matter cannot be resolved in a timely fashion before the November elections - she declined to answer……… Miss Reno has twice refused to seek the appointment of an independent counsel for Mr. Gore, and she bristled at suggestions by Mr. Specter that she had "discounted everything you could" in examining the evidence against the vice president. "No, I looked at everything I could," she said…….."

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 6/25/00 Meredith Oakley "…… For the third time in as many years, a high-ranking Justice Department official has recommended that Al Gore's White House fund-raising activities be thoroughly investigated. Why would no one be surprised should it not come to pass? At this writing, Auntie Gen was thinking about it. Giving serious consideration, no doubt. Weighing the facts and the law. But be assured: She will not let this weighty matter interfere with other weighty matters on her plate, not the least of which is launching an investigation into the third recommendation……. See, it's not really the third recommendation, it's the fourth; this one's just been made twice, first orally, then again in writing. Both came from Robert Conrad, the supervising attorney for a Justice Department task force that has been investigating alleged fund-raising abuses in the 1996 presidential campaign……."

townhall.com 6/22/00 Robert Novak "……. Rep. Dan Burton's Government Reform Committee, after more than two years of trying, has finally forced release of Justice Department documents. They detail insistence by FBI Director Louis Freeh that Reno was conflicted in investigating Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Justice Department functionaries ignored him. ……. To pore over two thick binders of documents given Burton is to realize the worst imaginings. Pleas by Freeh and Charles LaBella, head of the campaign scandal task force before he was eased out, for an independent counsel to probe the president and vice president were stronger than leaks indicated. So was sophistry by Justice Department lawyer Lee Radek in staving off investigation. But the mood of Washington is such that the document dump stirred hardly a ripple in the capital. ………"

New York Times 6/22/00 Neil Lewis "……A Thai businesswoman at the center of the investigation into how the Democratic Party raised money from Asians in 1996 agreed today to plead guilty to funneling $690,000 in illegal donations to the party. The businesswoman, Pauline Kanchanalak, will enter guilty pleas to two felony counts. Her sister-in-law, Duangnet Kronenberg, who assisted her in the scheme, has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count, the Justice Department said. ……. The department said in a statement that Ms. Kanchanalak made the illegal donations to gain access for herself and Thai business executives to President Clinton and administration officials. Public records showed that Ms. Kanchanalak attended at least 26 White House events after Mr. Clinton's election in 1992. Mr. Clinton was present at 10 of those events, and Vice President Al Gore attended 2. On three other occasions, Ms. Kanchanalak met with officials of the National Security Council, the White House agency that coordinates foreign policy. The donations were illegal because Ms. Kanchanalak falsely identified the donors, most of whom were foreigners and were thus prohibited from making campaign contributions. More than $457,000 of the donations were provided to the Democratic National Committee and five state Democratic Party committees in connection with a "coffee" session at the White House on June 18, Justice Department officials said. At that event, Ms. Kanchanalak and four Thai business associates discussed United States-China policy with Mr. Clinton. ….."

WorldNetDaily 6/23/00 Charles Smith "……. Newly released documents show that recently appointed Gore campaign chairman, Commerce Secretary William Daley, met in October 1997 with a firm reported to be "an intelligence-collection front for China." …….. The documents show that Daley met with Chinese billionaire Li Ka-Shing during a closed luncheon sponsored by the powerful investment firm Goldman Sachs. Li Ka-Shing's company, Hutchison Whampoa, currently operates the two ports on the Panama Canal, the Pacific port of Balboa and the Atlantic port of Cristobal. …..One document, an "Event Brief," details the program of the 1997 meeting. ……. "Embassy Panama has received information to the effect that HIT (Hutchison International Terminals) is controlled by mainland Chinese, perhaps through a Macao front which allegedly recently invested $400 million in HIT," states the cable. "Such control would have security implications and might affect the Panamanian government's views on awarding the port concessions." Inside Capitol Hill, Daley's 1997 meeting onboard the Monkey's Uncle raised significant questions about conflicts of interest and the possibility that the Gore 2000 campaign is receiving money from Chinese government sources. ……"The DNC and Al Gore must be held accountable," stated Al Santoli, national security advisor to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. "Given Daley's relationship with Li Ka-Shing and other Chinese tycoons and given Al Gore's propensity for taking Chinese army money in 1996, we need to be on the alert for Red Chinese money flowing into the Gore 2000 campaign." ……."

Reuters 6/23/00 "….. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno vowed on Friday to put politics aside and resist any pressure to rush to decide whether a special counsel should investigate Vice President Al Gore over his 1996 fund-raising activities. …….. ``I am going to do everything in my power to see that any decision that I make is made without political influence from anyone,'' Reno told her regular Justice Department news briefing. ``I want to make sure that the investigation is done the right way, that it is done to seek justice, and that it is done fairly so that it does not interfere with the democratic process,'' she said. …….Reno's comments came the day after the disclosure of the recommendation to her by Robert Conrad, who leads the Justice Department's campaign finance task force, for a special counsel to investigate the truthfulness of answers Gore gave in an April interview. …….. It will be up to Reno, who twice before has rejected an independent counsel investigation of Gore, to decide the latest recommendation. …..Reno declined to say that Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who first disclosed the recommendation on Thursday, had revealed the information to put pressure on her. But sources close to Reno confirmed she had been upset the Gore matter, which had been a closely held secret within the Justice Department, had been disclosed. ……``I am reviewing the matter to see what would be appropriate,'' she said, when asked if any action would be taken to determine how the recommendation had ``leaked'' to Specter. ….."

New York Times 6/23/00 Don Van Natta Jr David Johnston "….The head of the Justice Department's campaign finance unit has recommended that Attorney General Janet Reno appoint a special counsel to investigate Vice President Al Gore's political fund-raising activities during the 1996 presidential campaign, government officials said today. …….. Robert J. Conrad Jr., who heads the agency's campaign finance team, told Ms. Reno in a meeting late last week that new evidence had revived questions about whether Mr. Gore had been truthful to investigators about his fund-raising activities. Mr. Gore has been questioned five times under oath, most recently in a four-hour interview on April 18 at the vice-presidential residence. …..Of the interview, one official said: "It was sure as hell a different approach. It was real confrontational and put him on the spot." ......,,The inquiry has rekindled a long-running internal battle in the Justice Department over the issue and, according to several current and former officials, has pitted Mr. Conrad against powerful advisers to Ms. Reno. Among them is Lee J. Radek, the head of the unit in the Justice Department that investigates public corruption. …… Mr. Conrad, several current and former Justice Department officials said, has expressed frustration over what he views as resistance from his superiors in the Justice Department. The officials said that Mr. Conrad had been told to avoid putting his views in writing and at times felt stymied in his efforts to communicate directly with top officials. ……"

newsmax.com 6/24/00 Carl Limbacher ".....And the Veep tried to blame President Clinton for whatever wrongdoing might emerge from the coffees, repeatedly claiming, "They were on his side of the house." ......... But a month before Conrad's interview with Gore, one-time Clinton fund-raiser Johnny Chung told NewsMax.com that the vice president not only understood that at least one of these events was a fund-raiser, but that the Veep personally solicited him for money on White House property. ............ Chung, whose deep pockets bought him access to President Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton and other senior White House officials more than 70 times, cited a 1995 luncheon at Washington, DC's Hay-Adams Hotel with 25 to 30 members of the Democratic National Committee's Business Leadership Forum. ....... After the event, Chung said he and a number of other ripe financial prospects were invited across the street to the White House. Destination: Vice President Gore's office in the Old Executive Office Building. ......... Chung told NewsMax.com that the vice president made a direct and personal appeal for campaign cash right there in his White House digs; a fact he shared with former Campaign Finance Task Force Chief Charles LaBella in 1998. ......"

newsmax.com 6/24/00 Carl Limbacher ".....[Chung] "The moment we sat down Vice President Gore came in on crutches -- he had just broken his leg. Gore could not sit down or stand still, so he leaned up against the table and began talking about how important it is for us, as major American businessmen, to raise money for political ads -- newspapers and televisions around the country should be filled with the Democrat message and paid for by big business." .........With Asian moneyman Charlie Trie and other Clinton-Gore fund-raisers looking on, Chung said the Veep announced: "As members of the DNC Business Leadership Forum, I need your help to get those ads out." ....... Gore's April account to investigator Conrad makes no mention of his attempt to solicit money from Chung and others on White House property: ....... "I would be shocked if any of my colleagues who participated in the meetings I was at, or any meeting at the White House that I was not at, thought of those coffees in that way." ........ When Conrad asked Gore whether he saw those meetings as "a fund-raising tool," the Veep again tried to blame Clinton, then denied that anything like what Chung described took place: ......... Chung's own conclusion about what happened during the White House meeting he had with Gore: "Now if that isn't a solicitation of campaign funds, I don't know what is." ......"

CBSNews 6/23/00 AP Dick Meyer "……The campaign donations Al Gore collected at the California Buddhist temple back in 1996 are truly the gifts that keep on giving. The latest goodie - a fourth senior law enforcement official has recommended that Attorney General Janet Reno appoint an outside counsel to investigate Gore's role in 1996 campaign fundraising controversies. Count 'em: four. ……. The rest of us are escorted to the dugout after three strikes. Gore is still in the batter's box after four, swing away, arguing the calls. …….. To review: the first to advocate bringing in an independent counsel was Charles LaBella, a career prosecutor who headed a Justice Department special task force investigating the 1996 campaign. LaBella was handpicked for the job by Janet Reno, who went on to reject his recommendation. He quit………Then FBI Director Louis Freeh wrote infamous memo calling for an outside prosecutor, noting that Reno faced "an irrevocable political conflict of interest" if she kept the investigation within the Clinton Justice Department. His counsel was not heeded. ………Next came Robert Litt, a very senior Justice Department official and Reno aide who also urged her to appoint an independent counsel. …….Now Robert Conrad, who is now running the department's Campaign 1996 task force, has weighed in supporting the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Gore's actions. Conrad's team recently spent four hours interviewing Gore. It isn't known whether his recommendation involves any new information or stems from the earlier inquisitions. ………"

CBSNews 6/23/00 AP Dick Meyer "……But if Reno were to change her oft made mind and appoint a special counsel, it would be devastating to the Gore campaign. At this point, there is absolutely no reason to think Reno will alter her thinking and launch a special investigation. There is plenty of reason to think she won't change her mind. But it isn't known yet whether Conrad has come up with any new evidence or findings. …….."

Associated Press Online 6/22/00 Sandra Sobieraj "…..Al Gore's political fund-raising problems were revived with a vengeance on Thursday as government officials confirmed that the most recent prosecutor to question Gore about his 1996 fund raising is recommending a special counsel investigate whether the vice president lied. ……. The recommendation came weeks ago from Robert Conrad, supervising attorney for the Justice Department's campaign finance task force. …..A senior Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "It's a preliminary recommendation" that Conrad and other officials are reviewing before a final decision by Attorney General Janet Reno. ……. A Democratic senator familiar with the task force said it unanimously rejected an oral recommendation by Conrad weeks ago. Conrad resubmitted a written recommendation this week, the senator said on condition of anonymity. Reno, outraged it leaked, will launch an internal investigation likely to include polygraph tests of the task force's 12 lawyers, the senator added. ……"

AP 6/22/00 "……Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee with Specter, said there is no evidence Gore committed any wrongdoing. "The untimely release of this information to a partisan opponent of the vice president is likely to make it very suspect in the minds of the American people," Torricelli said in an interview with The Associated Press. …….. Specter told the AP: "I have reason to believe that Mr. Conrad has made a recommendation that an independent counsel be appointed as to matters related to Vice President Gore." …… It could not be learned from the officials whether Conrad wants a special counsel to investigate the temple issue or other topics. …… Specter told AP that Reno "has done a great disservice to Vice President Gore because these matters should have been investigated a long time ago." …..Reno twice rejected an independent counsel to investigate Gore - once for fund-raising phone calls from his White House office, the second time for possible false statements about those calls. ……Recommendations from Conrad and others go to Reno, who alone decides to appoint a special counsel. ….."

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….As to the Vice President, the issue arose about the veracity of statements which he made about telephone calls raising hard money from the White House. If the money was so-called soft money, it was not a contribution and not covered by the act. But if it was hard money, then there could be a violation of the act. The Vice President was questioned about that and said he did not raise hard money, did not know that hard money was to be raised. ……..I questioned the Attorney General at some length about the specifics which had been produced. For example, there were four witnesses who testified that at a meeting on November 21, 1995, hard money was discussed, certainly probative raising the inference that if a Vice President is at a meeting where hard money is discussed, he knew he was raising hard money or that hard money was the objective. ......Leon Panetta, White House Chief of Staff, was very blunt about his testimony that the Vice President was there and listening and said the purpose of the meeting was ``to make sure they''--the President and Vice President--``knew what the hell was going on.'' .........The Attorney General and I had a protracted discussion about the fact that she discounted the evidence from David Strauss who was the deputy Chief of Staff for the Vice President who had made contemporaneous notes at this November 21, 1995, meeting: ``Sixty-five percent soft, 35 percent hard.'' Mr. Strauss said he could not remember. Notwithstanding that, the law of evidence is conclusive that if there is prior recollection recorded and a contemporaneous record made, that is evidence which can go before a grand jury or before a court. …….The attorney said he did not remember, even after he looked at his notes. That raises an evidentiary report of prior recollection refreshed, and that is evidence. Even if a person does not now remember, if they had notes and that refreshes their recollection, the person may testify from the notes on the approach of current recollection refreshed. It does not rule out what his notes had on prior recollection recorded, even though he could not remember it. That was some very important evidence. ……"

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….In addition, the Vice President received 13 memoranda from Harold Ickes who was involved and running the campaign. Those 13 memoranda recited hard money. The Vice President said he did not read the memoranda. That is a question which would call for further investigation. …….. The memoranda were put in his in box. And a secretary testified that the input was culled very carefully to keep out extraneous matters. But the Ickes memoranda always went in. …… Then the Vice President further said that: The subject matter of the memoranda would have already been disclosed in his and the President's presence. …..The Vice President further conceded, in interviews with the FBI--he acknowledged that he had ``been a candidate for 16 years and thought he had a good understanding of hard and soft money.'' ……. It is important to focus on the fact that the matters presented to the Attorney General are not such that would warrant a prosecution, but only that the matters call for further investigation. ...... The independent counsel statute is very carefully structured so that the Department of Justice does not do very much. The Department of Justice only makes a preliminary inquiry, and then, in the language of the statute, ``The Attorney General, on completion of a preliminary investigation, determines that there are reasonable grounds to believe that further investigation is warranted.'' …….. "

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….The others who were present at the meeting, who ``did not recall,'' should have been called before a grand jury, which the Attorney General cannot do on her preliminary inquiry. That is to keep the Department of Justice really out of it, but to turn it over to an independent counsel at an early stage. ……The Attorney General did say yesterday that they did not submit this to a grand jury. Certainly that is the next step. When witnesses are questioned, it is one thing, but it is quite another to come into the formality of a grand jury, under oath, and to be asked questions. That is why there is the provision for further investigation. ……The Attorney General testified yesterday, relying on her submission to the court declining the appointment of independent counsel, that ``the Government would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.'' That said, the standard for further investigation for appointment of independent counsel does not involve proof beyond a reasonable doubt, it is only that there is reason to have a further investigation. ……"

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….Mr. President, the subject then arose as to what were the factors related to the famous fundraiser at the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple on April 29, 1996. The Vice President had received an e-mail from his scheduler asking whether there should be another stop on the April 29 itinerary on top of the ``two fundraisers in San Jose and LA.'' The Vice President responded: "If we have already booked the fundraisers, then we have to decline." ……. But the Vice President said he did not know there were any fundraisers, that the Hsi Lai Temple was a fundraiser. ……"

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….Then Harold Ickes sent the Vice President a memorandum on April 10 identifying the Los Angeles fundraiser which would raise $250,000 and a supplemental memorandum on April 25 saying the Los Angeles fundraiser would raise up to $325,000. Within 24 hours of receiving this memorandum, the Vice President was given briefing materials from the Democratic National Committee informing him that the DNC luncheon he would attend on April 29 was at the Buddhist temple. …….. During the course of the event, two of the guests who ate lunch with the Vice President talked about fundraising. Witnesses there said-- ``One speaker commented that they had raised x amount of dollars.'' And another witness at the luncheon said that a speaker took the podium and reassured the assembled guests that they had ``doubled checked'' and it was ``OK to give contributions at the Buddhist temple.'' ......, So here again, there are substantial indicators which certainly would call for going forward with independent counsel. ..."

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….Then the question was raised about the coffees which raised more than $26 million. When the Vice President was questioned about the coffees-- and the Vice President released the transcript--he said: "Question: In terms of a fundraising tool, what was the purpose of the coffees?"
His response was:
"I don't know."
Then he was asked:
"With respect to raising $108 million, did you have discussions with anybody concerning the role coffees would play in raising that type of money?"
The answer of the Vice President:
"Well, let me define the term 'raising.'"
Shades of what ``is'' is.
Later, he was questioned:
"You had indicated earlier you may have attended one coffee. What were you talking about?"
His response:
"Although it was not my practice to go to any of these coffees, there may have been one that I attended briefly."
The Vice President's lawyer then submitted a letter 2 days later, saying:
"As best we can determine from the Vice President's schedule, he was designated to attend four White House coffees. The Vice President hosted approximately 21 coffees at the Old Executive Office Building."
Here again, those matters require further inquiry……."

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….Mr. President, I raised a question with the Attorney General as to why the Department of Justice went to ask the Vice President these questions on April 18. The apparent reason was that the subcommittee had finally gotten subpoenas out to get the Freeh and LaBella memoranda returnable on April 20. …….So the subcommittee would soon find out that the Vice President had never been questioned about the Buddhist temple fundraiser or about the coffee klatsches and that, in fact, the Department of Justice was embarrassed by that omission. …….I believe the Attorney General did a substantial disservice to the Vice President in failing to have these matters resolved one way or another at an early stage. ….."

Congressional Record 6/28/00 Sen Arlan Specter "…….All of this leads to a conclusion that there ought to be some form of judicial review on the Attorney General's judgment on an independent counsel. I had tried for a long time to have a mandamus action brought to take it for judicial review to see if an independent counsel should have been appointed under the mandatory provisions of the statute or the discretionary provisions where there was an abuse of discretion. The problem was one of standing. ……It would be my recommendation to the subcommittee that the subcommittee recommend that there be provision for standing to the Judiciary Committee to bring an action for judicial review to have a court determine whether an independent counsel should be appointed because of an abuse of discretion by the Attorney General or because of mandatory provisions of a new statute. This will be a very constructive result, so we do not find ourselves in a situation where these questions linger for more than 3 years and cannot really be resolved before the conventions and so that the Democratic Party would know who their candidate ought to be or what baggage that candidate would have…."

Ark. Dem-Gaz. 7/2/00 Jay Solomon "…..Last year, Tucker and his wife, Betty, moved to Jakarta to try to salvage a $6.5 million investment they made in 1996 in an Indonesian company now called PT Kbelvision. With fresh backing and a team of half a dozen cable experts from home, the 57-year-old Tucker is trying to stitch together a fiber-optic network that will become what he and his colleagues call "Indonesia's Internet backbone."…… That's a tall order in a 17,000-island nation where less than 1 percent of the population of 212 million people has Internet connections. But Tucker may have a shot……. And he has some powerful local connections. It happens that a controlling stake in Kbelvision is held by Lippo Group, the Indonesian conglomerate controlled by the family of James Riady, another prominent figure in President Clinton's financial scandals…….."

Jewish World Review 6/27/00 Carl Thomas "…… ATTY. GEN. JANET RENO won't name a special counsel to look into the fund-raising tactics of Vice President Al Gore, which Robert J. Conrad Jr., the head of a Justice Department task force, has recommended. Why should she? Stonewaller Reno refused the earlier importunings of Charles Labella, who investigated the same improprieties under the independent-counsel law (now expired). She seems determined not to follow the advice of two respected attorneys who think that Gore lied when he claimed to have been ignorant of his own fund-raising behavior at the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in California and at numerous "coffees'' attended by big Democratic donors in 1996. …….. The vice president abides by Clinton rules for responding to charges of ethical and legal violations: deny, delay, deceive and, if there are documents around (missing e-mails?), destroy. His staff will now overwhelm the public with information, hoping that eyes will glaze over and interest subside. Gore's people have already dumped a 150-page transcript of his interview, conducted under oath, with Conrad.......Gore spokesman Chris Lehane showed he can play the Clinton game. He accused Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) of "dirty tricks and political skulduggery'' for speaking publicly about Conrad's request for a special counsel……. The guilty expose themselves by their verbal contortions to circumvent the truth. In the transcript of Gore's testimony, the vice president resembles his boss, who debated the meaning of the word "is'' when answering questions about Monica Lewinsky.
Mr. Conrad: "With respect to raising ... $108 million, did you have discussions with anybody concerning the
role coffees would play in raising that type of money?''
Mr. Gore: "Well, let me define the term `raising,' if I could, because if you mean by it, would they be events at which money was raised, the answer is no.'' ……"

Taipei Times 6/30/00 Jou Ying-cheng "…… A friend of US President Bill Clinton who was convicted in the US for involvement in illegal foreign donations to Clinton's Democratic Party was arrested on suspicion of blackmail on Tuesday, according to Taipei police. Trie Yah-lin (±Z¨ÈµY) -- or Charlie Trie -- is suspected of blackmailing a religious group into paying him NT$5 million, police said. The Criminal Investigation Bureau arrested Trie and four other suspects on Tuesday night in Peitou, Taipei City, while they were allegedly meeting the victim to take the money. The suspects were handed over yesterday to Shihlin District Prosecutors' Office, which must decide whether to formally to charge them. ……. Trie told police that after his wife developed cancer in early 1998 the master of the foundation convinced her that only the Buddha could cure her illness. She then devoted herself to the affairs of the foundation, without seeking proper medical treatment, but died four months later. The foundation tells a different story, however. Its staff reported Trie to the police, accusing him of threatening that unless the foundation paid him NT$8 million, he would tell the media that, under the guise of normal religious activity, the foundation was defrauding its followers. ......"

WASHINGTON TIMES 6/30/00 Kenneth Timmerman "….. In a 4-hour interview with the Justice Department in April, Al Gore went out of his way to deny any knowledge that his April 29, 1996, appearance at a Buddhist temple in California was a fund-raising event for the DNC……. In fact, Mr. Gore's ties to the temple went back at least seven years, when Venerable Master Hsing Yun helped finance a trip Mr. Gore made to Asia that included a visit to the temple's headquarters in Taiwan. In fact, so deep and so consistent are Mr. Gore's ties to the Fo Kuang Shan Buddhist order and to the convicted DNC fund-raiser who first introduced him to the monks, that his denials are nothing short of breathtaking……… For more than 12 years, Al Gore has maintained a lucrative relationship with an Asian-American fund-raiser the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee said it had learned has been an agent of the Chinese government. He went on a tour of Asia paid for in part by the Hsi Lai Temple, and took campaign contributions from monks and nuns of the order. Mr. Gore's attempt to falsely categorize this longstanding relationship as something haphazard or impromptu demonstrates once again his precarious relationship to the truth.

WASHINGTON TIMES 6/30/00 Kenneth Timmerman "…..In April 1988, Mrs. Hsia joined forces with James Riady and John Huang in Los Angeles to form the Pacific Leadership Conference (PLC) as a vehicle for advancing the interests of the Asian-American community and especially Mr. Riady's Lippo Group. Very early on, they turned to the Hsi Lai Temple and its presiding monk for funds…….. In July 1988, the group contacted the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, offering to host an Asian tour for key U.S. senators. By late November, the senators they had initially approached backed out. When Maria Hsia met Mr. Gore at a fund-raiser at the Georgetown home of Pamela Harriman, she lobbied him to join the group, and followed up with a letter promising financial and political support. …… .Mr. Gore was accompanied on that fateful Asia tour by Maria Hsia, James Riady, John Huang and other PLC members. In Indonesia, they met Mochtar Riady, the head of the Lippo Group. In Hong Kong, they met with Chinese government officials. And on Jan. 11, 1989, Mr. Gore and the group toured the Kiaoshung Monastery on Taiwan, as the guests of Hsi Lai Temple Venerable Master Hsing Yun. According to the Senate investigation of the temple fund-raiser, Hsing Yun helped foot the bill for the Taiwan leg of the trip.......After the Asia trip, the relationship between Mr. Gore, Maria Hsia and the Hsi Lai Temple deepened. On April 30, 1989, Mrs. Hsia set up two fund-raisers for Mr. Gore at the Sostanza restaurant in West Los Angeles. On May 21, 1989, Mr. Gore returned to LA, where Mrs. Hsia organized a $250 per plate dinner at the home of PLC founding member Tina Bow. The event was co-chaired by Eddy Yang, an adviser to Venerable Master Hsing Yun and raised $20,000 for Mr. Gore. Among the guests were several monks and nuns from the Hsi Lai Temple……. According to a 1997 account in the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Gore sent a thank-you note to one of the monastics after the fund-raiser, saying he deeply appreciates your support and the support of your congregation. Given the fact Mr. Gore was up for re-election to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, where the monastics could not vote, the only support they could have given him was financial……."

Source: NewsMax.com 6/30/00 "…… Despite his sworn denial that he knew little about the Buddhist temple he visited on April 29, 1996, or that he was aware that his visit was a fund raiser for the Clinton-Gore campaign, Al Gore had ties to the temple's leadership stretching back seven long years, according to Kenneth Timmerman in a forthcoming article in the American Spectator. ……… He vehemently denied that he was aware of the fact that the temple affair was a fund-raising event for the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. "I felt this visit was something they would be very pleased with because it showed honor to their community and to their place of worship," he told Conrad. Writes Timmerman, "Sensitive Al was just trying to show respect." ……… The truth is that his ties to the Buddhist sect have been so close that the temple sect's Venerable Master Hsing Yun helped finance a January 1989 trip Gore made to Asia that included a visit to the temple's headquarters in Taiwan, Timmerman reveals. …….."In fact, so deep and so consistent are Gore's ties to the Fo Kuang Shan Buddhist order and to the convicted DNC fund-raiser who first introduced him to the monks, that his denials are nothing short of breathtaking," Timmerman writes. ……"

Source: NewsMax.com 6/30/00 "…… That convicted DNC fund-raiser was the notorious Maria Hsia, who in April 1988 helped organize the Pacific Leadership Conference (PLC) along with two other figures prominent in the 1996 fund-raising scandals, James Riady and John Huang. The group lobbied then-Senator Gore, who was involved in writing the 1990 Immigration Act…….. In July 1988, the group contacted the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee and offered to host an Asian tour for key Democrat senators. "By late November, the Senators they had initially approached backed out," Timmerman reveals. …… Then Maria Hsia met Gore at a Georgetown fund-raising event and invited him to come along on the junket. Afterward, she sent Gore a letter promising both political and financial support. …… "If you decide to join this trip, I will persuave [sic] all my colleagues in the future to play a leader [sic] role in your future presidential race," Hsia wrote. The letter was sent to the attention of Gore's top fund-raiser, Peter Knight. ……Accompanying Gore on the Asian junket were Maria Hsia, James Riady, John Huang and other PLC members. On January 11, 1989, Gore and the group toured the Kiaoshung Monastery on Taiwan as the guests of Hsi Lai Temple Venerable Master Hsing Yun, who, according to the Senate investigation of the infamous Los Angeles temple fund raiser, helped foot the bill for the Taiwan leg of the trip. ……."

Source: NewsMax.com 6/30/00 "……After the junket, Gore's ties to the group strengthened. Hsia set up two fund raisers for Gore in West Los Angeles on April 30, 1989, Timmerman writes. He returned to Los Angeles on May 21, 1989, for a $250-per-plate dinner at the home of PLC founding member Tina Bow, which Hsia organized. Co-chairman of that event was Eddy Yang, an adviser to the temple's Venerable Master Hsing Yun. The affair raised $20,000 for Gore. Timmerman cites a 1997 story in the Los Angeles Times that said after the fund raiser Gore sent a thank-you note to one of the Buddhist monks, saying that he "deeply appreciates your support and the support of your congregation." Notes Timmerman, "Given the fact that Gore was up for re-election to the U.S. Senate in Tennessee, where the monastics could not vote, the only support they could have given him was financial." ……."

Source: NewsMax.com 6/30/00 "…… "For more than twelve years, Al Gore has maintained a lucrative relationship with an Asian-American fund-raiser the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee said it had learned 'has been an agent of the Chinese government,'" Timmerman says. "He went on a tour of Asia paid for in part by the Hsi Lai Temple, and took campaign contributions from monks and nuns of the order," Timmerman concludes. "Gore's attempt to falsely categorize this long-standing relationship as something haphazard or impromptu demonstrates once again his precarious relationship to the truth." ……"

UPI 7/6/00 "……Reports saying President Clinton is being considered as an unindicted co-conspirator in a fund-raising investigation are not true, knowledgeable sources told United Press International Thursday. Fund-raising investigators are focusing on Clinton fund-raiser James Riady, whose family heads the Indonesian Lippo Group. The business owns vast assets in banking and real estate. ……Riady's relationship with Clinton started with the Lippo purchase of shares in an Arkansas bank in the 1980s. In 1998, U.S. Senate Republicans tried without much success to link the Riady family to Chinese intelligence. …….Sources told UPI that federal investigators have no evidence showing Clinton had knowledge of alleged illegalities in Riady's contributions to the Democratic Party in 1992. Much of the money raised was returned to donors by the party because it was allegedly raised overseas. ……"

Fox News 7/6/00 David Shuster "…… Riady Faces Indictment on Campaign-Finance Charges Clinton likely unindicted co-conspirator Federal prosecutors on the campaign-finance task force have agreed to seek a criminal indictment of James Riady, who is in charge of the Indonesia-based financial conglomerate known as the Lippo Group, Fox News has learned. ……. Riady was expected to be charged with money laundering and conspiracy, sources told Fox News. The charges stem from Riady's fund-raising tactics in the 1992 presidential elections…….On a limousine ride with presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992, Riady reportedly promised his longtime associate he would raise $1 million for the Democratic Party. He made good on his promise, but various investigators have determined that most of the money came from illegal foreign sources……."

The New York Times 7/7/00 David Johnston "…..Negotiations have intensified between federal prosecutors and lawyers for James T. Riady, a friend of President Clinton and a prominent Indonesian businessman whose large campaign donations to Democrats have been scrutinized by investigators, government officials said today. After talks with the Justice Department's chief political-finance prosecutor, Robert J. Conrad Jr., Mr. Riady has been under pressure in recent days to accept a plea bargain, the officials said. Mr. Conrad has been investigating Mr. Riady's activities in connection with contributions made by employees of the Lippo Group, the Riady family conglomerate, in the 1992 and 1994 campaigns. It was not clear whether Mr. Conrad has insisted that Mr. Riady plead guilty to a felony or whether he might accept a lesser charge and settle the case without a trial. But, the officials said, Mr. Riady is unlikely to accept any deal unless it includes a provision that would spare him a prison sentence. ……"

Freeper Wallaby "…… Confirming Eroteme's timely response to your question: the announcement of Litt's departure from DOJ to Arnold and Porter appeared in The National Law Journal last December: …… LATERAL HIRES ... When submitting announcements, firms and individuals must make clear whether a new partner is from the associate class or is a lateral hire. For lateral hires, in-house moves and of counsel items, the immediately previous title and place of employment must be provided. ...Arnold & Porter (Washington, D.C.): Robert S. Litt, former principal associate deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice; Leonard H. Becker, former head of the Office of District of Columbia Bar Counsel; in London, Tim Frazer, former London-area practitioner and professor at Newcastle University. ("NAMES BEHIND THE NEWS; Pg. A18; The National Law Journal, December 6, 1999) ……"

Freeper Wallaby "…..He was with Williams & Connolly prior to coming to DoJ. Interesting that he didn't go back. Williams & Connolly Clinton Tie ……Washington powerhouse law firm represents Bill and Hillary Clinton in Starr's Whitewater probe. Most recent figures show the firm has billed the Clintons more than $2.8 million for its Whitewater work-with more than $2.2 million of that still unpaid. Former partner Robert Litt has been helping to run the Criminal Division in Clinton Justice Department, directing probe of Democratic National Committee fund raising from questionable foreign sources. ...Arnold & Porter Clinton Tie ……Blue-chip Washington firm has supplied a high-powered crew of Clintonites, including outgoing White House Counsel Jack Quinn, former Justice aide Irv Nathan, and top commodities regulator Brooksley Born. After Carville launched his anti-Starr campaign, Quinn joined in to question publicly the Whitewater prosecutors' impartiality, but studiously avoided mentioning the tobacco issue…….( "THE CLINTON CONNECTION WHEN IT COMES TO LAWYERS, TOBACCO AND THE PRESIDENT HAVE A LOT IN COMMON," MICHAEL ISIKOFF, Legal Times, January 20, 1997, Pg. 14) ….."

Insight Magazine online 6/19/00 Paul Rodriguez "…..Hillary Clinton was active from the earliest days of the campaign fund-raising scandal seeking donors who could give big bucks to her husband's reelection-campaign committee and the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, as Insight reported earlier (see Insight Online at http://www.insightmag.com). ...... The latest document to come to Insight's attention is an undated memo believed to be from 1996 in which an unknown writer at the White House summarized notes on a high-level meeting to discuss the need for the DNC to generate millions of dollars to help repay huge debts incurred by the Democrats. The memo states: "DNC out of money, can't generate revenues to meet expenses." It says the DNC has "borrowed $3.5 million" and has "debt of $5.0 mil projected by year's end." The handwritten memo points out that "BC [Bill Clinton] made 15-20 calls - raised $500k" and that "HRC making calls." ……"

Fox News 6/27/00 "……. Reno and the Justice Department have had "ample time to be thorough (in deciding how to investigate the fund-raising) and it is now time to make a decision and be held accountable for it," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chair of the committee, said at the start of the hearing, which he is leading along with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa, head of the special committee to investigate campaign finance irregularities. …….. Early on, Reno said the fact that Gore attended a meeting where illegal fund-raising activities were planned did not necessarily implicate him. "There is no evidence that he heard the statements or understood their implications," she testified. "Can you be expected to remember everything you hear at every meeting you go to?" …..She defended her record and the work of the Justice Department but acknowledged her investigation has been imperfect, saying, "We have not done it as well as you have liked; I'll keep trying harder in the time I have remaining." …..The grilling comes as Fox News has learned that Reno abruptly cut off weekly meetings with one of her top prosecutors after he interviewed Gore about his fund-raising. ……"

UPI via NewsMax.com 6/27/00 "…….Al Gore is facing yet more legal questions surrounding a 1996 fund raiser in a Buddhist temple near Los Angeles. ……. Maria Hsia, the organizer of the event, was convicted earlier this year of using Buddhist monks and nuns to funnel $65,000 to the Clinton-Gore campaign in an attempt to evade contribution limits - third-party conduit contributions are a common violation in national campaigns, and numerous Democratic and Republican fund-raisers have been accused of the practice over several decades. …… The task force chief, while not accusing Gore specifically of a crime, concluded that only a special counsel and a relatively independent investigation could avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest for top Justice Department officials. …….Though Reno is expected to reject that advice - in the past she has turned down probes of Gore under the now-lapsed Independent Counsel Act for lack of credible evidence - the political damage to the Democratic candidate has already been done. ….. Though there were some side issues, Clinton mainly was accused of diverting "soft" money - unregulated money that could only be spent on "party-building" activities - into "hard" money accounts that could be spent directly on his re-election campaign. But Reno issued an opinion saying that the lines between hard and soft money had been so blurred by the actions of both parties and the federal courts that the president could not conceivably be convicted of a crime. ……. "

New York Times 6/24/00 "……..Following are excerpts from Vice President Al Gore's April 18 interview with the F.B.I. about political fund-raising during the 1996 Presidential campaign…..
Q: In terms of a fund-raising tool, what was the purpose of the coffees?
A: I don't know. They were on his side of the house. And I will give you my understanding of what I thought they were. I thought they were events that allowed the President to spend time with influential people who wanted to talk about policy, who would at some later time possibly be asked to financially support the D.N.C. It was certainly not my understanding that they were fund-raising events.
Q: Did you have any understanding, or do you have any understanding that there was a price tag associated with the coffees?
A: No, I do not and did not.
Q: With respect to raising the $108 million [a goal mentioned in a White House memo on fund-raising], did you have discussions with anybody concerning the role coffees would play in raising that type of money?
A: Well, let me define the term "raising," if I could, because if you mean by it, would they be events at which money was raised, the answer is no.
…….
Q: Did you have any conversation with the President about the income-generating function of the coffee?
A: No, not per se. Just in the way that I have described it to you previously. I attended meetings where the assumption was that the relationships built at these coffees would be such that some of those who attended would be more likely to be receptive at a later time, if they were solicited by the D.N.C. ......,,

Q: Have you had a conversation with anybody about the cost to attend a White House coffee?
A: No. No, I ---- it is not my ---- it is my certain belief that I never heard anyone say that a particular amount of money was attached to attendance -- a particular amount of money that would later be anticipated to be raised by the D.N.C. was attached to attendance at these events. I never heard anything remotely similar to that, and I would be very surprised if any such reference was made.
Q: You are not familiar with the cost of $50,000 being the cost to attend the fund-raiser?
A: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And it is my belief that that would have been considered wildly inappropriate, if not worse, by those who talked about those coffees. They not were considered in that way.

Q: There's an interesting book about your life on the bookshelves these days called "Inventing Al Gore," by an author named Bill Turque. Are you familiar with that work?
A: I haven't read it, but I'm certainly familiar with it.
Q: In that book, that author indicates that you had attended 23 White House coffees and joined the President at 8. Would that be an accurate statement.
A: I don't know.
Q: But certainly more than one?
A: I wouldn't necessarily take him as a source. ……
Q: He refers to you as earning the reputation as solicitor-in-chief. Have you ever heard that title before?
A: I heard that title for the first time in a newspaper article by Bob Woodward, and it struck me as quite odd when he put that in the newspaper article, because I had never heard it prior to that time. I believe it to be completely unfair and inaccurate.
Q: Do you believe it to be related in any way to the White House coffees? .
A: Oh, I know it's completely unrelated to the White House coffees. . . .

Q: Sure. Maybe I can phrase it in a better way. When do you first recall having any conversation to do with attending the temple on April 29, with anyone on your staff or anyone else? When is ----
A: When Hsing Yun was there in my White House office.
Q: O.K. When is the next time you had a conversation with any person concerning going to the temple?
A: I don't know. I don't know.
Q: Do you recall having any conversations with anybody about attending on that ----
A: I sure as hell don't recall having ---- I sure as hell did not have any conversations with anyone saying, this is a fund-raising event. As to whether or not I had any follow-up conversations that said, were we able to set up this event or not, I don't think I did. But I may have. The reason I don't think I did is because I recall the feeling I had, when I looked at the briefing book, and saw, oh, great, I'm going to be able to go see this, this temple. ……."

New York Times 6/24/00 James Risen "…….A former official of the Central Intelligence Agency has provided fresh evidence to support accusations that a top Democratic Party official sought to enlist the agency to aid a major donor to President Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign. …….. …. Mr. Lake withdrew his nomination as soon as the accusations of Democratic efforts to politicize the agency emerged.. ......... Mr. Fowler also testified, telling a Senate committee investigating the campaign finance scandal that he could not recall ever talking to a C.I.A. officer in order to help Mr. Tamraz. ……… But "Bob from the C.I.A." never testified publicly about the matter. At the time, he was still under cover as an officer in the Directorate of Operations, the agency's clandestine espionage arm, and even his last name remained classified. ……."

New York Times 6/24/00 James Risen "…….. Mr. Tamraz wanted support from the Clinton administration for his plan to build an oil pipeline in the Caspian Sea region. ………. Mr. Tamraz gave Mr. Fowler "Bob's" name, since he was then a senior manager in the agency's Central Eurasian Division. But Mr. Fowler insisted in his Congressional testimony that he could not recall ever having called the agency on Mr. Tamraz's behalf. The notes also made it clear that Mr. Fowler understood Bob's C.I.A. affiliation, according to the Senate campaign finance committee's report on the matter. ……….. "I am very sensitive to the implications of perjury statutes," Mr. Fowler told the Senate campaign finance committee in 1997. "But I have in the middle of the night, at high noon, late in the afternoon, early in the morning -- at every hour of the day for months now searched my memory about conversations with the C.I.A., and I have no memory -- no memory of any conversations with the C.I.A." ……"

New York Times 6/24/00 James Risen "…….In the new manuscript, Bob writes that on Oct. 18, 1995, Mr. Tamraz called him at his office at the agency. "A fellow named Don Fowler is going to call you," he (Mr. Tamraz) said. "Please talk to him."' At that point, Bob writes, he did not know who Don Fowler was. So he took Mr. Fowler's number from Mr. Tamraz, and called him to see who he was and what was going on. ……"Fowler called back the next day -- October 19th, and identified himself as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee," the manuscript says. "I never identified myself as a C.I.A. employee, and Fowler never referred to my C.I.A. employment, but it was nevertheless obvious that he knew exactly who I was. He told me he was trying to help his good friend Roger Tamraz. He told me straight out that he was upset with" two National Security Council officials "because they were blocking Tamraz's access to the president, and they were doing it for the benefit of major corporations like Amoco. He said that Roger had been disinvited to a White House fund-raising event, and so Roger had complained to Fowler. I guessed Roger had given the D.N.C. chairman my name as someone from C.I.A. who could vouch for him." ….."

New York Times 6/24/00 James Risen "…….The C.I.A. has blocked publication of the manuscript, arguing that it contains too much classified material about agency operations. Since the author submitted the manuscript to be cleared in December, the agency's publications review board has repeatedly demanded numerous changes, despite a requirement that the review process be completed in 30 days. ……Bob said he now believes that the agency's demands have been so excessive that the manuscript can't be published in its current form. …….. Disputes between the agency and Bob and his attorney over the manuscript have intensified in recent days, after security personnel demanded to retrieve copies of a letter Ms. Toensing had written to the agency's executive director relating to the manuscript. An agency spokesman said the incident was prompted by the fact that the C.I.A. believed the letter contained classified information, and Ms. Toensing had sent the letter to the agency over an unclassified fax machine. However, Ms. Toensing said in an interview today that she had been using the same fax to communicate with the agency on matters related to the manuscript for months. ……"

WorldNetDaily 6/29/00 Julie Foster "…..According to major Taiwanese television and print media, Charlie Trie, pal of the Clinton administration and convicted player in the 1996 campaign finance scandal, was arrested for extortion today in Taipei. ……. Trie was granted permission to return to Asia last month on business after completing his community service sentence in Little Rock, Ark. His return was anything but uneventful, however, as Trie is now accused of extorting 5 million Taiwan dollars (about $178,000 U.S.) from the founder of his dead wife's religious organization. …….Upon returning to Taipei, Trie contacted Sing-Bond Lin -- the founder of a Buddhist educational foundation and soon-to-be ex-husband of a famous Taiwanese actress -- on June 11. Lin's foundation is one of many in Taiwan that educates members in the Buddhist faith and spiritual healing. …….Through an intermediary, known as Mr. Wu, Trie asked the foundation to pay 8 million Taiwan dollars to compensate for the death of his wife, Wang Mei. …….Lin had told Trie's wife that if she worked as a volunteer in the organization, only Buddha could save her life from cancer. According to Trie, his wife volunteered for four months, and as a result of her hard work, died.

WorldNetDaily 6/29/00 Julie Foster "…..The foundation's chief executive officer, Ting-Wen Chuang, told Taiwanese media, "In June of this year, Charlie Trie asked Mr. Lin and other organization officials to meet at a restaurant in Taipei to talk about compensation." ……The foundation sent its secretary and CEO to the meeting, which included Trie and his friend Wu. …….According to Chuang, "Trie said he would find someone to falsely testify and also give information to the news media to keep pressure on the organization," and mentioned that he had a good relationship with the Taiwanese Mafia. …….As a result of negotiations, foundation officials agreed to pay Trie 5 million Taiwan dollars and arranged for a pickup of the money. They then reported the extortion scheme to Taipei police Saturday night. …..The Taipei police department criminal division rushed to the scene of the pickup -- a local restaurant -- this morning, where they arrested Trie with the money and took other witnesses back to the police department. …..Trie was smiling as policemen fingerprinted him, said reports, and was released on bail. ….According to Lin's foundation, Trie was a member of the organization with his wife, but the two had been inactive for some time. …….Trie pleaded guilty last year in the United States to violating campaign finance laws and completed four months of home detention as part of his sentence. His lawyer said he needed to travel abroad for a new job marketing videophones in Asia and elsewhere. A district court judge granted Trie's request but required him to report by telephone monthly to a federal probation officer in Arkansas. ….."

 

The Washington Times 7/14/00 Edward Timperlake and William Triplett II "……The Temple matters because Al Gore was flying solo on this one. It was his own long-time fund-raiser, not President Clinton's, meeting him at the top of the stairs. ……. Despite all the evidence, he has to convince the FBI and the head of Justice's Campaign Task Force that he, alone, did not know the Temple event was a fund-raiser. Everyone around him knew it was a fund-raiser. His scheduler knew it was a fund-raiser, his press lady knew it was a fund-raiser, but he did not, or so he told the Feds. ......,If the vice president cannot convince the investigators he knew nothing of what went on around him at the Temple, he has an immediate criminal exposure. Based on her activities at the Temple, Maria Hsia, Mr. Gore's fund-raiser, was convicted on five counts of violating the federal election laws. …. "

The Washington Times 7/14/00 Edward Timperlake and William Triplett II "……. We now know that in December 1998, FBI Director Louis Freeh advised Attorney General Janet Reno to seek an independent counsel for a "core group" of "covered persons" (bureaucratese for Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gore) under the federal conspiracy laws (Title 18 U.S. Code, section 371). Mr. Freeh argued to Miss Reno that this "conspiracy" derived from a "pattern of conduct" that included a "conspiracy by the People's Republic of China to bribe high-ranking U.S. political figures." …………Mr. Gore's problem is that the Temple is Ground Zero for the Freeh memo. Sitting to Mr. Gore's immediate left at the Temple lunch was Ted Sioeng, identified - in inquiries conducted under Sen. Fred Thompson, Tennessee Republican - by the CIA as a Chinese agent. The vice president cannot allow the investigators to follow the Ted Sioeng thread. Mr. Sioeng has fled to China leaving an ugly political trail to the back alleys of the Far East. First, Mr. Sioeng was and may still be a business partner of Thung Bunma, Cambodia's most notorious drug trafficker. A competent investigator would start shaking the tree at the U.S. State Department to find out how Mr. Thung repeatedly received visas for extended visits to the United States, long after official Washington knew exactly what he does for a living. ……."

The Washington Times 7/14/00 Edward Timperlake and William Triplett II "……Mr. Sioeng also leads to Macao criminal syndicate figure Ng Lapsing. Mr. Sioeng and Mr. Ng are partners in a Macao company that brings Thai girls to Macao for prostitution. …… Between them, Mr. Sioeng and Mr. Ng poured something approaching $2 million in illegal campaign contributions into the Clinton-Gore ticket in 1996. ….Mr. Ng is a long-time business associate of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, thought to be at the center of any attempt to bribe high-ranking U.S. officials. Mr. Ng's real estate ventures include a reported tie-up with Communist China's KGB. ……"

The Washington Times 7/14/00 Edward Timperlake and William Triplett II "……To an investigator, the Ng thread inevitably leads to another business partner, Charlie Trie, now charged in Taiwan with attempted extortion. Mr. Trie's FBI interviews turned up his handwritten note with unexplained references to "Hughes," "Boeing" and "bribery………Hovering in the background at the Temple was John Huang, James Riady's self-described man in the U.S. government. Mr. Huang and Mr. Riady lead to the million dollars in illegal campaign funds they contributed to the Clinton-Gore ticket in 1992. According to the CIA, James Riady has a long-term business relationship with Communist Chinese intelligence. ……….Maria Hsia, herself, was identified as a "knowing" Chinese agent by the CIA to Mr. Thompson. Considering her work helping Chinese enter the United States and Mr. Gore's role in the passage of immigration legislation in the early 1990's, we can understand Mr. Gore's testy response when the investigators questioned him on that in April. ….."

 

AP 6/21/00 Michael Sniffen "…….Thai businesswoman Pauline Kanchanalak agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to a scheme to illegally contribute more than $690,000 to Democrats in return for access to President Clinton and other officials, the Justice Department said. In a statement filed in U.S. District Court, she admitted using accounts of her sister-in-law and mother-in-law to give more than $457,000 to the Democratic National Committee and five state Democratic committees in connection with a June 18, 1996, coffee at the White House. ……..Clinton attended the coffee, as did Kanchanalak, two executives of a Thai corporation known as the CP Group and John Huang, an administration and Democratic party official. Last year, Huang pleaded guilty to scheming to make campaign contributions with funds from the Indonesia-based Lippo Group. …….……As part of the same plea bargain, Kanchanalak's sister-in-law and business associate, Duangnet ``Georgie'' Kronenberg, agreed to plead guilty to one count of causing a $10,000 illegal corporate contribution to the Democratic National Committee in February 1996. ….."

http://www.drudgereport.com/mat28f.htm "…….. Justice Department lawyers on Tuesday were urged to question Vice President Al Gore about a remark that he makes on a videotape -- a remark congressional investigators believe ties Gore to Indonesian billionaire James Riady. …….. "We ought to, we ought to, we ought to show Riady the tapes, some of the ad tapes," Gore allegedly said to an Indonesian gardener who illegally contributed $455,000 to the Democratic Party………. A spokesman for Gore tells the TIMES: "Wait until Dan Burton finds out that when you play the tape backwards it says, 'Paul is dead.'" ……"

ABCNEWS 7/20/00 "……Rep. Dan Burton is calling on the Justice Department to review a videotape of a 1995 White House coffee gathering that he claims is evidence of improper fund-raising practices by Vice President Al Gore. Burton, the chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno on Tuesday urging Justice Department officials to review the tape. The Indiana Republican claims it shows Gore discussing political ads with Arief Wiriadinata, an Indonesian citizen who was found to have made more than $400,000 in illegal donations to the Democratic Party. Burton told The New York Times the vice president can be heard off-camera in the videotape telling Wiriadinata, "We ought to show Mr. Riady the tapes, some of the ad tapes." ……… "It would indeed be extraordinary for the vice president to suggest showing political issue advertisements to an Indonesian billionaire who lives in Jakarta, Indonesia," Burton wrote to Reno………. Riady is alleged to have donated money originating from overseas, a violation of U.S. campaign finance law. "Did Mr. Gore know anything about Mr. Riady's campaign contributions and how they related to the issue advertisement campaign?" Burton asked in the letter. ……"

ABCNEWS 7/20/00 "……Committee spokesman Jim Wilson told ABCNEWS the Justice Department has had a copy of the tape since 1997, but has never formally investigated the incident in question. Wilson conceded, however, that the meaning of the remarks captured on the tape is subject to interpretation……"

CNN 7/20/00"……. The Justice Department has received a request from a leading Clinton administration critic to examine a new angle in its investigation into Vice President Al Gore's role in 1996 fund-raising efforts. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, asked the Justice Department in writing to question Gore about a comment he may have made on a videotape of a White House coffee five years ago. …….. Both the Justice Department and Burton's House Government Reform Committee said the issue will be explored at a Thursday afternoon hearing. Four senior Justice Department officials involved in overseeing the Campaign Finance Task Force investigation have been subpoenaed to testify at the hearing. The task force's top prosecutor, Robert Conrad, is among those who will testify. Conrad has recommended an outside counsel be appointed in the case. ……."

Asian Wall Street Journal 7/20/00 "……One month before the 1996 U.S. presidential election, Washington reporters for this newspaper broke the story of Asian commercial interests -- notably Indonesia's Lippo Group, controlled by the Riady family -- contributing millions to the Clinton-Gore re-election effort. With less than four months to go to the 2000 elections, the Riady connection and questions of corrupt influence still resonate……….. Yet Robert Conrad, the new task force head brought on to replace Mr. La Bella, last month recommended that a special prosecutor investigate Vice President Al Gore for possible crimes related to fund-raising, and is studying whether to indict Lippo head James Riady on campaign-finance violations. In March, Mr. Conrad led a team to Jakarta to request Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman's assistance in investigating the Riady-Clinton connections. Mr. Darusman told The Journal the investigators were "very anxious" to get to the bottom of it all......."

Asian Wall Street Journal 7/20/00 "……Campaign-finance investigators have focused on a key White House meeting on September 13, 1995, when the loose enterprise likely was set in motion. At the meeting was President Clinton, then-Commerce Department official John Huang, Mr. Riady, senior Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey, and Arkansas businessman Joseph Giroir. Now some of these figures, as well as key players from other sectors of the Whitewater scandal, are turning up in Indonesia in a new Riady-financed venture. To many, perhaps most, it seems as if the Clinton cover-up has succeeded. But Mr. Riady and some of his associates are still open to prosecution. …….. The new venture is AcrossAsia, a holding group for the multimedia arm of the Lippo Group. AcrossAsia debuted last week on Hong Kong's recently organized Growth Enterprise Market stock exchange. As our Jay Solomon reported from Indonesia, among those holding a significant share of its stock are former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker, convicted in the Whitewater scandal; Mr. Giroir, a longtime Arkansas wheeler-dealer who once headed Hillary Clinton's Rose Law Firm; and Dwight Harlan, a Tucker associate implicated in Whitewater schemes......."

Asian Wall Street Journal 7/20/00 "……Mr. Giroir is one of the most interesting figures in the background of the Clinton scandals. A longtime Arkansas-based associate of the Riadys, he also holds a 1.5% stake in AcrossAsia. Mr. Giroir was a former managing partner of the Rose Law Firm, working with the young Hillary Rodham and Webster Hubbell, among others. According to congressional testimony, Mr. Giroir was at the center of efforts to move former Lippo employee John Huang from the Commerce Department to the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Huang later pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and received a wrist-slap one year of probation from Justice. Mr. Giroir's employee, Mr. Harlan, also given an equity stake in AcrossAsia, was the figurehead president back in Arkansas of Castle Sewer & Water, one of the central scams in Kenneth Starr's successful prosecution of Mr. Tucker and the McDougals; Mr. Harlan was not charged with any crimes and testified for the prosecution, identifying documents......."

The Columbus Dispatch 6/11/00 Robert Ruth "…..Russian gangsters and their associates have contributed thousands of dollars to American politicians, the book says, including to President Clinton, Vice President Albert Gore, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, the Republican National Committee and the Republican Congressional Committee. ……..During the past three decades, federal law-enforcement authorities have decimated the old Italian mafia. But these once-pervasive gangsters are being replaced by criminals even more sophisticated and malevolent: Russians who immigrated to this country during the past 10 years or so, according to Robert I. Friedman's ground-breaking Red Mafiya. …..Americans should be afraid -- very afraid, Friedman warns. Russian hoods have many more resources than the old Italian dons had. Some have college degrees. Besides goons who perform the more heavy-handed tasks of murder and extortion, Russian mob kingpins hire economists and business executives to manipulate their billions. ……"

WorldNetDaily 7/26/00 Charles Smith "…..Huang was no ordinary former-banker. The documents found in Huang's Commerce Department office show that the Clinton appointee met with American defense contractor Raytheon in an effort to sell the Patriot anti-missile system to South Korea. The documents were obtained from the Clinton Commerce Department using the Freedom of Information Act. In an October 1994 letter, Richard Elliot of the legal offices of Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton and Garrison, noted that Raytheon requested and obtained the meeting with Huang. "Thank you for agreeing to host a meeting with representatives of Raytheon at 2:30 pm next Thursday, November 3," wrote Elliot. …….. Raytheon gave Huang, the ex-Lippo banker, detailed information on the Patriot missile and South Korean missile defenses. Huang obtained both "Coalition military tactical information on North Korean offensive missiles" and a "U.S. Army analysis" of South Korean defenses. According to a Raytheon attachment sent to Huang, titled "Modernization of South Korean Air Defense," South Korea has no defense against a North Korean missile attack. "The North Korean threat consists of primarily of high performance aircraft, cruise missiles and an extensive family of tactical ballistic missiles," states the Raytheon documentation given to Huang. "The SCUD tactical ballistic missiles deployed by North Korea are a serious threat to all populated areas and industrial areas and military forces in South Korea." ……"

WorldNetDaily 7/26/00 Charles Smith "…..According to more documents discovered at the U.S. Commerce Department, convicted John Huang also obtained detailed information about Chinese and American artillery sales to the Middle East. In 1995, Kuwait allocated $1.3 billion to upgrade its field artillery. Included in this new program was an intense competition between U.S. based United Defense and China North Industries, or "Norinco" to win the contract. The documents in Huang's files note that there was "heavy pressure from the Chinese Government" on Kuwait "to select Norinco." "China also remains the only member of the U.N. Security Council that has not been awarded a large military contract from Kuwait. It is understood that the Chinese are pressing this issue with the Kuwait Government," notes the Commerce document from Huang's files. ……..Huang's file on the Kuwaiti howitzer purchase also contains detailed weapon information of great value to the Chinese military. ….."

WorldNetDaily 7/26/00 Charles Smith "…..Still, the ex-banker did manage to put in some time covering the secret financial artworks of the Clinton administration. According to an August 1994 "TPCC" or "Trade Policy Coordinating Committee" document, John Huang and the CIA discussed pay-offs to Indonesian dictator Suharto. John Huang met 37 times with the CIA for secret briefings. ……The 1994 meeting between the CIA and Huang provided detailed information on a now-invalid $2.6 billion U.S. sponsored electric power plant for Indonesia……..After the CIA meeting on Indonesian corruption, Huang immediately left the Commerce Department and went to an office owned by Arkansas billionaire Jackson Stephens. At the Stephen's offices, Huang made a very long phone call to his former Indonesian employer -- the Lippo Group. ……"

Excite /Reuters 7/20/00 John Whitesides "……Top Justice Department lawyers Thursday refused to answer questions about a video that House Republicans said showed Vice President Al Gore making reference to an Indonesian businessman who played a key role in the 1996 Democratic fund-raising scandals. …….With Attorney General Janet Reno still pondering whether to appoint a special counsel to look into Gore's 1996 fund-raising activities, Justice Department officials brushed off lawmakers' queries about the tape of a December 1995 White House coffee meeting attended by Gore, President Clinton and an Indonesian gardener with ties to millionaire businessman James Riady. ……….. With the video stopped in freeze-frame showing Gore and Clinton standing in the room, the officials refused to acknowledge even that it showed Clinton and Gore standing there. "It would be inappropriate to comment," Robinson said. ……."

Jerry Seper 7/20/00 Washington Times "……A top Justice Department official Thursday confirmed that Attorney General Janet Reno is considering a special counsel to investigate Vice President Al Gore's 1996 campaign fund-raising activities, but refused to give a House committee any details on the pending decision………. Assistant Attorney General James K. Robinson also declined during a rancorous, five-hour hearing before the House Government Reform Committee to say whether the department's campaign finance task force is investigating comments made by Mr. Gore during a 1995 White House coffee that purportedly link him to illegal 1996 donations by an Indonesian businessman…….Also declining to discuss the ongoing probe with the committee were Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben, who heads the office of legislative affairs; Robert J. Conrad Jr., head of the campaign finance task force; and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Alan Gershel, who supervises the task force effort……… "I don't think the Justice Department has even looked at it," Mr. Burton said of the tape, which was played during the committee hearing. "In five interviews with the vice president, they didn't ask him a single question about it."……"

Washington Times 7/26/00 Jerry Seper "……President Clinton told federal investigators he never asked an Indonesian businessman to pay $100,000 to Arkansas pal Webster L. Hubbell to guarantee his silence in the Whitewater investigation. Mr. Clinton, under intense questioning by Robert J. Conrad Jr., the Justice Department's campaign finance task force chief, admitted going on vacation with Mr. Hubbell to Camp David a week after the businessman, James Riady, gave Mr. Hubbell the cash, but the president said they never discussed the matter…….. "So the question would be, at the same time that Mr. Riady is meeting with Mr. Hubbell twice, sandwiching the meeting with you, do you have any recollection about any conversation with Mr. Riady with respect to Webster Hubbell?" Mr. Conrad asked in the April 21 interview, which was released Monday by the White House. "No, sir, I don't," the president said. "I just don't remember it. If he did say anything, I simply don't remember it."……"

Washington Times 7/26/00 Jerry Seper "……"Do you have any memory of a conversation with Mr. Riady about paying Mr. Hubbell because of concerns that Mr. Hubbell might end up being a witness against you in some fashion?" asked Mr. Conrad……. "Absolutely not. I never talked to anybody about that," Mr. Clinton said. "Webb Hubbell was persistently persecuted by the independent counsel because he would not lie about me or Hillary. I never worried about what Webb Hubbell would say. If he wanted to say something bad about me, he'd have to make it up." "So you didn't have the conversation?" Mr. Conrad asked……"No. It never occurred to me that he would be asked to be a witness. He didn't know anything. There was nothing to Whitewater. He didn't know anything to testify against me for. It never happened," the president responded……"

Washington Times 7/26/00 Jerry Seper "……The Democratic National Committee is to blame for illegal foreign contributions during the 1996 election because it shut down for economic reasons a vetting process aimed at identifying unacceptable donors, President Clinton told federal investigators. Mr. Clinton, during a four-hour interview by the Justice Department's campaign finance task force, said he was "livid" after learning of the DNC's decision to eliminate the previously required background checks to save money - saying it "put all of us in a very bad position." "I don't know who made the decision. I don't know how they did it. Nobody wanted to be the father of that decision once this came out," Mr. Clinton said. "All I can tell you is that I was livid about it . . . and I thought it was wrong not to vet these things."……"

Washington Times 7/26/00 Jerry Seper "……In response to questions by Mr. Conrad, the president declined to place blame on specific DNC officials, although he noted that "people who were in high positions of responsibility" left after the plan was uncovered. Those leaving the DNC in late 1996 were its chairman, Donald Fowler, and Marvin Rosen, the DNC's finance chairman. "Marvin Rosen resigned and then Don Fowler left," Mr. Clinton said. "Everybody that was responsible for it was gone."……"

Washington Times 7/26/00 Jerry Seper "……But in a 1998 report, Charles G. LaBella, who formally headed the campaign finance task force, called Mr. Clinton a key player in a 1996 fund-raising scheme designed to "raise money by whatever means and from whomever would give it, without meaningful attention to the lawfulness of the contributions." Mr. LaBella noted that former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, who directed the 1996 campaign from his West Wing office, was the liaison between the White House and the DNC, and he described Mr. Ickes as a "Svengali, assuming power - with the imprimatur of the president - to authorize DNC and Clinton/Gore '96 expenditures."……. "All pretense of maintaining discrete areas of responsibility and control were shattered as the need for campaign funds - driven by the media campaign - increased," Mr. LaBella said. "Such blurring of lines is troubling because it triggered an intermingling of funds, resources and personnel that resulted in the circumvention and violation of campaign contribution regulations."……."

Newsday.com 8/7/00 AP "......When presidential aides tried to portray White House coffees for donors as something other than fund-raisers, Sen. Joseph Lieberman scoffed. ''In a sense that most people would understand, they were fund-raisers,'' Lieberman said matter of factly. ''I think credibility is lost when we continue to insist on technical legal points.'' From impeachment to fund raising, the Connecticut Democrat picked to be Al Gore's running mate has spoken his mind about Clinton-era scandals -- a role that endeared him to Republicans but frustrated the White House. ...... No issue divided Lieberman from rank-and-file Democrats more than the fund-raising allegations that prompted Senate hearings in 1997. When Republicans presented their first direct evidence that Democratic fund-raiser John Huang had arranged for a foreign political donation, Democrats had a defense script ready. The evidence, a 1992 memo, was written four years before the election that the committee was supposed to investigate, and thus was irrelevant, the Democrats said, one after the other. Not Lieberman. He called the memo ''a pretty clear document'' and declared that it ''certainly looks like the movement of foreign money into an American campaign.'' ........ When the chief prosecutor of the fund-raising investigation disclosed he had wanted an independent counsel to take over but had been overruled, Democrats attacked his credibility. Not Lieberman. He declared the development ''gives me pause.'' ......."

New York Times 7/25/00 "……Following are excerpts from an interview President Clinton gave to Justice Department investigators in a campaign finance inquiry in April……
Q. Do you recall the car ride that you had with Mr. Riady on Aug. 14 of 1992?
A. Not specifically. I do remember though that I saw him sometime in 1992 and that he wanted to help. But I don't remember anything about the car ride. . . . ..
Q. Whether it's in the car ride or sometime else in '92, do you have a specific recollection about James Riady pledging $1 million to your campaign?
A. I don't. I don't. And I don't know whether he ever gave that much money. My recollection is I hadn't seen him in a while. We had a nice little reunion, and he said he was going to help us. I don't remember what the specific dollar was.
Q. As candidate Clinton in August of 1992, an offer of $1 million would have been something that was of some interest to you ----
A. Yeah, if he said that, I'm surprised I don't remember it. I mean, but I, I ----. You asked me what I remember. I can't remember any specific thing. I know that I saw him sometime in '92 after I became the nominee, and I know he said he was going to help us. If he said he was going to give us $1 million, which he might have done, I just don't remember it. ….
Sometimes people give that much money. I know in an election or two ago that one of the Republicans got that much money from one source. So, it happens from time to time and it's not unlawful. But I, I just don't remember……."

Associated Press 7/19/00 Jonathan Salant "......Commerce Secretary-designate Norman Mineta received a handful of contributions in 1992 arranged by a convicted Democratic fund-raiser who later acknowledged she reimbursed the donors, congressional investigators' documents show. There's no evidence Mineta knew of the scheme by fund-raiser Nora Lum to funnel $4,250 to his House campaign through straw donors, congressional investigators found. ......Only $2,250 of the donations actually reached Mineta's campaign treasury, Federal Election Commission records show. ........"

 

Reuters 8/10/00 "……The Democratic Party figure convicted in March of using Buddhist monks to hide $109,000 in illegal campaign contributions went to court Thursday to seek a new trial. Lawyers for Maria Hsia, who helped organize a 1996 fund-raiser at a California Buddhist temple that was attended by Vice President Al Gore, argued that politics had overshadowed the trial, with prosecutors and U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman facing pressure to convict her. Prosecutors countered that Hsia's arguments had no legal basis. Nancy Luque, Hsia's lead attorney, cited an ongoing review of allegations that the case was improperly steered to Friedman -- appointed by President Clinton -- as grounds for Friedman's retroactive recusal, a step that could lead to a new trial. "I just don't think it's fair for those kind of questions to be in the air," said Luque at a motions hearing before Friedman. She said Friedman's awareness of the review may have "unconsciously or subconsciously" biased him against Hsia, who is out on bond. …’

Reuters 8/10/00 Drudge "….Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday she hoped to decide "shortly" whether to name a special counsel to investigate Vice President Al Gore over his 1996 fund-raising activities. Reno declined at her weekly news briefing to say whether she would make her decision before or during next week's Democratic convention in Los Angeles, where Gore is expected to receive his party's presidential nomination. Asked how close she was to making her decision, Reno replied, "I hope to do it shortly." ......"

 

Drudge Report 9/10/00 "….The NEW YORKER is set to report that Hsia feels she was convicted after refusing to testify under pressure from the Justice Department that Vice-President Al Gore knew the temple event was a fund-raiser and was perhaps illegal. Hsia has also been the subject of a criminal tax investigation, which ended in a mistrial last year. ……. Hsia makes it clear in her conversation with NEW YORKER's Jeff Toobin that she does not think Gore did anything wrong…….. The guests who would have been at the restaurant fund-raiser were invited instead to the rally at the temple. Toobin reports that the event itself took the shape of the original rally that was planned, but that it still raised legal questions about the campaign finance law. Hsia claims she was aware of the possible complications. "I asked John, 'Do you have to get permission from the D.N.C. to do this, because I know this is a religious facility?'" Hsia tells Toobin. "He said the legal people had told him that since all the politicians do events in the basements of black churches they don't see any problem with the temple. So the two events were combined."......"

CBSNEWS 8/23/00 "……On a day Vice President Al Gore was talking health care to seniors in Florida, the health of Gore's campaign got a significant booster shot from Attorney General Janet Reno, reports CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts. Reno announced Wednesday she will not seek a a special prosecutor to investigate Gore's 1996 campaign fund-raising activities. "I have concluded that a special counsel is not warranted," Reno said. …….. The recommendation stems from fund-raising irregularities during the 1996 election and whether Gore made false statements during an April interview with Justice Department investigators. ……."

New York Post 8/27/00 "……. Team Clinton-Gore has proven yet again its deftness at skirting legal sanctions for its shady behavior of the past eight years. But the president and his V.P. might yet pay the price for that behavior - at the polls. In legal terms, Clinton-Gore recently skated by on two fronts. Predictably, President Clinton's trusty attorney general, Janet Reno, declined last Wednesday - once again - to name an independent counsel to probe the 1996 fund-raising practices of her boss and Vice President Gore. In doing so, the most partisan A.G. in history rejected the advice of respected non-partisan members of her staff. Yet anyone reading the transcripts of Gore's and Clinton's interviews with investigators could see that there's some fancy footwork going on here yet again by the masters of the meaning of the word "is." …….. A second flap - concerning the shenanigans of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt - has also escaped criminal prosecution. Independent Counsel Carol Bruce declined to indict Babbitt for rejecting casino licenses for certain Indian tribes in order to benefit competing tribes who donated heavily to the Democratic National Committee - and for then lying about it. ….."

New York Times 8/28/00 Tim Golden David Kocieniewski "….. At his small suite of offices in Fort Lee, N.J., David Chang was a tycoon without much to do. Mr. Chang, 56, often rode to work in a Rolls-Royce and strode through the door in a long mink coat, a cigarette dangling from his lips. But although his holding company boasted of big, global deals in everything from oil exploration to telecommunications, almost none of those ventures ever got off the ground. ......, "I never really saw anybody there do anything," said Clark R. Wilcox, a former banking executive who was hired to help run the firm in 1997, only to quit soon after and successfully sue his former employer for breach of contract. …… In Washington, however, Mr. Chang cut a very different figure. There, he attended state dinners at the White House and visited informally with the president. He hired Mr. Clinton's chief fund-raiser as a consultant and cultivated senators and congressmen from both parties. The chairman of his company, a retired Navy admiral, had been chief of staff to George Bush when he was vice president. ……… The secret of Mr. Chang's popularity among American politicians was of course no secret: he and his employees gave generously to favored candidates and their parties -- more than 100 contributions that totaled $325,000. Mr. Chang also pledged at least $1 million toward the presidential library that Mr. Clinton hopes to build in Little Rock, Ark. …….Mr. Chang's activities finally caught the attention of federal campaign-finance investigators, who learned he was spending more on politicians than he was reporting in taxable income. ……."

Ottawa Sun 8/20/00 R Cort Kirkwood ".......This week, he and his Democrats were caught in yet another campaign money scandal. For some reason, Gore can't seem to stay out of fundraising trouble, and like his adolescent boss, who may be indicted for lying about the White Owl he shared with Monica Lewinsky, can't deliver a straight answer when he gets caught. ...... The latest trouble concerns Gore, the Democrats and a company called the Share Group. Based in Massachusetts, the company was run by a thief named Michael Ansara, convicted in 1997 of embezzling money from the Teamsters union and plowing it into the re-election effort of Teamster kingpin Ron Carey. The union claims Ansara and Share Group ripped off $3 million. According to a Newsweek website report by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, Gore and the Democrats have paid the Share Group more than $1 million. "Campaign finance records reviewed by Newsweek show that since last year, the Gore 2000 Presidential campaign paid The Share Group at least $154,000 in campaign funds for 'telemarketing services.' "Records show that in 1999 and 2000, the Democratic National Committee also paid the company at least $512,000 (in consulting fees) ... and that as of June 30 of this year, the DNC still owed the company another $257,000." The Democratic Congressional and Senatorial campaign committees, Newsweek says, paid the firm at least $425,000 during the current campaign. Using the firm wouldn't have been all that bad if the Democrats had been blissfully unaware of the Share Group's shady past. But the Democrats knew about the firm and hired it anyway after receiving "written assurances," Newsweek reports, that Share Group gave Ansara the boot. ....."

AP 9/22/00 "…..Reconstructed White House e-mails kept from investigators show Vice President Al Gore was urged to bring $20 to a Buddhist temple fund-raiser, and his staff was told a businessman offered to raise $250,000 to have coffee with President Clinton. ... The messages disclosed Friday are some of more than 100,000 e-mails the White House never properly archived. As a result, they weren't reviewed to determine whether they should have been sent under subpoena to investigators of topics ranging from fund raising to Whitewater and impeachment. ……. One message details an apparent offer from Taiwanese-American businessman George Chang in Virginia to raise $250,000 if the Democratic National Committee arranged his request for a White House coffee and a Clinton interview with a Taiwanese reporter. ...... The long-missing messages, turned over to Congress on Friday, also show Gore's staff sought a way to keep the vice president's e-mails from a political adviser from being archived by the White House system. ….. ``All Internet e-mails are recorded on the White House computers,'' an e-mail to Gore warned in 1996 when Gore's media adviser Carter Eskew sought a way to send messages to the vice president. ``The only way not to have your e-mails backed up on government computers would be to get a Clinton-Gore computer in your office and set it up for private e-mails,'' the memo said. ……. The offer of $250,000 came through Democratic fund-raiser John Huang, one of the key figures in the 1996 political money controversy. ``Chang is trying to arrange a POTUS coffee through the DNC, as well as a POTUS interview with a Taiwanese reporter,'' a vice presidential staffer wrote in March 1996. ``In return for the DNC's efforts, Chang has promised to raise $250,000,'' the message added. ``John feels there is a chance Chang has overpromised, but he plans to keep worming with him.'' ……"

WorldNetDaily.com 9/20/00 "…….Another company that denies it has insider access at the highest level is the trading firm Goldman Sachs. Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin worked at Goldman Sachs before coming to the Clinton administration to run money policy. Documents obtained using the Freedom of Information Act show that Gore campaign chairman Commerce Secretary William Daley met in October 1997 with Goldman Sachs and the leader of an Asian firm reported to be "an intelligence-collection front for China." The documents show that then Commerce Secretary Daley met with Chinese billionaire Li Ka-Shing during a closed luncheon sponsored by the powerful investment firm Goldman Sachs. Daley currently operates and controls Al Gore's campaign. Li Ka-Shing's company, Hutchison Whampoa, currently operates and controls the two ports on the Panama Canal, the Pacific port of Balboa and the Atlantic port of Cristobal. The meeting was held onboard the Goldman Sachs' boat "Monkey's Uncle" as part of an informal "talk" between Secretary Daley, Li and several "influential business people." The documents show that Daley's meeting onboard the "Monkey's Uncle" included a Mr. Duo from China Resources, a firm reported by Senator Fred Thompson, R. Tenn., to be "an agent of espionage -- economic, military, and political -- for China." ……… After the Daley meeting, Goldman Sachs was given the exclusive and very lucrative stock offering for Petrochina, an oil company wholly owned by the Chinese government. One other major stockholder in Petrochina is, of course, Chinese tycoon Li Ka-Shing. In the 2000 campaign, the Goldman Sachs Political Action Committee alone has donated over $200,000 split evenly between Republican and Democrat candidates. ……."

WorldNetDaily.com 10/6/00 Charles Smith "……Although facing allegations of illegal campaign donations and an ongoing Department of Justice investigation, Indonesian businessman James Riady, son of billionaire Moctar Riady, says President Bill Clinton will join the Lippo Group after he leaves office. "Indonesian tycoon James Riady has invited U.S. President Bill Clinton to join the board of Lippo Group when he steps down from office early next year, according to business people who have met Riady in Jakarta recently," states a report appearing in the Far Eastern Economic Review. "Riady has been telling business contacts in Jakarta that he expects Clinton to accept, even though the U.S. president has been dogged by allegations that Riady funneled illegal foreign donations to Clinton's 1992 and 1996 election campaigns," states the Intelligence section of the Review's edition dated Oct. 12, 2000. …….. "It would be a continuation of Bill Clinton's employment by the Riadys, and for Chinese army intelligence, as reported by several congressional committees," stated Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based legal watchdog group that has several ongoing court actions against Clinton and his administration. "The Riadys were Bill Clinton's greatest financial supporter in 1992 and a major donor in 1996. Clinton met with the Riadys inside the Oval Office and discussed fundraising and foreign policy," noted Fitton. ……. "He's been working for the Riadys for eight years," echoed David Schippers, former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, who successfully sought Clinton's impeachment. "At least it might get him out of the country," said Schippers, who has since written "Sellout: The Inside Story of President Clinton's Impeachment." …….."

Newsmax.com 10/5/00 "….. If Lippo, which is now substanially under the control of Communist Chinese interests, has indeed offered Clinton post-White House employment, it would certainly heighten suspicions about a quid-pro-quo. …….Congressional investigators determined that in 1996 the People's Liberation Army sought to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Clinton-Gore campaign at the same time Beijing gained valuable U.S. military secrets. Former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker was convicted by Whitewater prosecutors that same year. He plea bargained for a lighter sentence, then declined to implicate the president in serious wrongdoing and now also resides in Indonesia. ……. In July the Wall Street Journal reported that Tucker is involved in developing a cable television business, the profitability of which has been guaranteed by the Indonesian government. "A former Lippo Group employee reports that as far back as the mid-1990's Riady was said to be trying to recruit Clinton to the board as soon as he left office," the Far Eastern Economic Review claims.

Far Eastern Economic Review 10/12/00 "…Indonesian tycoon James Riady has invited U.S. President Bill Clinton to join the board of Lippo Group when he steps down from office early next year, according to business people who have met Riady in Jakarta recently. Riady has been telling business contacts in Jakarta that he expects Clinton to accept, even though the U.S. president has been dogged by allegations that Riady funnelled illegal foreign donations to Clinton's 1992 and 1996 election campaigns. A former Lippo Group employee reports that as far back as the mid-1990's Riady was said to be trying to recruit Clinton to the board as soon as he left office. Jakarta police are currently helping the U.S. Justice Department in its investigation of the alleged campaign contributions……"

New York Times 9/23/00 Don Van Natta Jr. "……Retrieved White House e-mail messages turned over today to federal and Congressional investigators show that Vice President Al Gore's senior aides routinely characterized White House coffee sessions as fund- raising events in early 1996. While none of the e-mail messages indicate that the vice president himself was involved in any of the electronic conversations, the aides' descriptions of the coffees seem to be at odds with Mr. Gore's comments in an April 18 interview this year with federal investigators. The vice president said the 103 coffee gatherings with campaign donors held at the White House before the 1996 election had not been "fund-raising tools."……… Republicans quickly seized on the contents as evidence that the vice president and the White House had not been truthful in earlier explanations of the purpose of the coffees and an event at a Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif., before the 1996 election. And the committee chairman, Representative Dan Burton of Indiana, said he would made hold hearings on the newly released correspondence next week……… Karen Skelton, Mr. Gore's political director, asked an aide to the vice president in an e-mail note dated April 23, 1996: "These are F.R. coffees, right?" Asked tonight whether the abbreviation stood for fund-raising, a White House aide said it could also mean "finance-related," a phrase the vice president himself once used to describe his appearance at a luncheon at a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles in April 1996. On May 8, 1996, Ms. Skelton described in an e-mail message the expectations that the White House had for people invited to coffees with President Clinton and Mr. Gore. "Yes," Ms. Skelton wrote to an aide, "but keep in mind that these people must be justifiable on the basis of what they give us down the line. What is the consequence of our meeting with one person other than that person feeling good?"……."

New York Times 9/23/00 Don Van Natta Jr. "……"Currently, we are committed in San Jose and L.A. for fund-raising events," one staff e-mail note said about the trip. But the schedule for Mr. Gore prepared nearly three weeks before the temple luncheon did not mention a fund-raising event at a Los Angeles area restaurant. After arriving in Los Angeles at 11 a.m., Mr. Gore was scheduled to proceed to the Hsi Lai Temple event, which was described at the time as a Democratic National Committee "Asian Pacific American Leadership Council Luncheon."……. Another e-mail note recommended that Mr. Gore bring $20 with him to the temple so he could make a donation of his own. "The V.P. will need to have some cash on hand," a message said, "to offer as an offering at the Buddhist temple in L.A." James C. Wilson, the chief counsel of the House Committee on Government Reform, said tonight that he was "particularly frustrated" by the cache of e-mail messages that the committee received this afternoon……… "There is new information and new leads that need to be investigated," Mr. Wilson said. "The White House covered this up for over three years and that is simply not acceptable."……"

CBSNEWS 9/23/00 AP "…..Newly disclosed White House e-mail messages bolster the argument made by opponents of Vice President Al Gore that a Buddhist temple event he attended was a political fundraiser. ……. The long-missing messages, provided Friday to the House Government Reform Committee chaired by Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., also show that Gore's office was informed of an offer from a businessman to raise $250,000 if a White House coffee were arranged with President Clinton. ......The newly disclosed e-mail is part of a batch of over 100,000 e-mail messages that the White House never properly archived. As a result, the messages weren't reviewed to determine whether they should have been sent under subpoena to investigators on topics ranging from fund raising to Whitewater and impeachment. ….. While the e-mail provides new ammunition to Gore's opponents, the White House says the material in the e-mail contains "nothing of significance." Spokesman Jim Kennedy said the Gore staffer who referred to the temple event as a fund-raiser was questioned about it in Congress three years ago. ……… "Currently, we are committed in San Jose and LA for fund-raising events," said one staff e-mail on April 9, 1996, three weeks before the event. That message included a draft official schedule for two fund-raisers that day - one at the temple and one in San Jose. ……"

 

 

Paula Zahn on Fox News Network 10/27/00 Freeper Rich_E "….Just saw Dick Morris on Paula Zahn state that secrets were sold to China for campaign contributions from Loran Corp. He also said "The country wants Bush for President and it's only Gore's to win." Also he said "For the first time in the campaign, I believe Lazio will beat Hillary"….."

10/27/00 Severnside "….Since the "Daisy" ad is taking such a hit, why don't we get some rich guys to sponsor an ad based on the new edition of "Year of the Rat"? It has 700 endnotes [in new edition] and has never been challenged.YOTR 2 has everything we need: Gore at Ground Zero at the Temple with Chinese agents- illegal campaign contributions, drugs and thugs, women forced into prostitution, espionage and threats to our national security. ……"

Ap 10/27/00 "……The Gore campaign said a new Republican attack advertisement modeled after the infamous ``Daisy'' commercial that President Johnson used in 1964 is a ``desperate tactic'' by conservatives designed to help George W. Bush. A mysterious group is urging viewers to vote Republican with TV ads in a handful of states that recall the 1964 ad, which suggested that his opponent, Barry Goldwater, might get the nation into a nuclear war. The original ad created such a negative reaction that it was pulled after only one showing. The new ad accuses President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore of giving away nuclear technology to China in exchange for campaign contributions. Like the original spot, it shows a little girl plucking petals from a daisy. ……``Red China was given access and sold vital technology that will give China the ability to threaten our homes with long-range nuclear warheads,'' an announcer says. Both ads end with a countdown to a nuclear blast. ….. The newest ad repeats allegations by Republicans, though unproven, that China stole nuclear secrets from the United States and dumped money into the 1996 elections. …….Carey Cramer, of Aretino Industries of McAllen, Texas, distributed information about the spot, but would not say who was paying to air the ad. He said his group hopes to spend $500,000 between now and Election Day, and has bought time in Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Sacramento, Calif.; Lansing, Mich.; and Springfield, Mo. ……"

Freeper tame reports 10/24/00 "…. C-SPAN FREEP #3 FOR 10-24-00: FROM TEXAS, NG LAP SING, FREEREPUBLIC.COM PLUG ON C-SPAN THIS MORNING! …….. Here is a transcript of the third call that made it on to C-SPAN this morning. The guest was Bill Paxon. Two other freep calls were made earlier, including one to Bill Paxon. Here it is:
HOST [CONNIE]: Galveston, Texas--A Bush supporter.
CALLER: Good morning. How are you...?
HOST: Good morning.
CALLER: I am a student at a community college in Clear Lake, Texas, and we had C-SPAN on a couple of mornings ago. And one of y'all's callers called in and mentioned a excellent web site called FREEREPUBLIC.COM.
And that caller said that some pretty horrendous news--and we looked it up immediately--that at FREEREPUBLIC.COM there's a picture of Al Gore and Hillary Clinton with an Asian fella, Ng Lap Sing [sic?]. And he's a--he owns the Fortuna Hotel. It's a prostitution house.
And, sure enough, the picture is there. It's at FREEREPUBLIC.COM. You can do a search for Hillary.
And I am astounded, and everybody in the class--they first started laughing. But this is actually in the White House. There's a DNC emblem behind Hillary and Gore with Ng Lap Sing.
And I want somebody to please explain this. This is at FREEREPUBLIC.COM.
HOST: Who finances it? Does it say?
CALLER: The picture is right out of the DNC scrap book. Apparently...
HOST: No, who finances the web site, is what I'm asking?
CALLER: FREEREPUBLIC is non-profit. It's a--Apparently it's a conservative web site. It's called FREEREPUBLIC.COM. It's non-profit. It's like a chat.
They have all the articles from all the newspapers everyday, and then after each article there's a discussion of the subject matter, and we discuss this in our class.
And we pulled up that web site, FREEREPUBLIC.COM, and the teacher and all of us were just dis-heartened. I cannot believe...
HOST: Mr. Paxon, is FREEREPUBLIC.COM on your bookmark?
BILL PAXON: Not--It hasn't been. I have to--have to take a look.
HOST: Okay. ……"

The San Francisco Examiner 10/22/00 Lance Williams "…… An investment fund backed by the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinste in pumped millions of dollars into firms doing business in China while Feinstein was boosting expanded trade between China and the United States, The Examiner has learned. Feinstein has denied that her husband, San Francisco financier Richard C. Blum, has investments in China. In May, before she voted for a measure that normalized trade with China, she said through a spokesman that Blum had divested of his last holdings in mainland China in 1999. …… In response to queries for this story, Blum said he had earmarked some China assets for charity and sold others, one as recently as August. Public records show a venture capital firm backed by Blum's investment bank owns millions of dollars worth of stock in corporations doing business in China. ……The firm is Newbridge Capital, a joint venture between Richard C. Blum & Associates and another firm called Texas Pacific Group. It maintains an office in Shanghai for an affiliate called Newbridge Asia, public records show. …… And in the past two years, the firm has pumped more than $400 million in U.S. venture capital into East Asian businesses in hopes of profiting from the region's rebounding economy. ……."

Associated Press 10/19/00 "......A divided House Government Reform Committee concluded Thursday that Attorney General Janet Reno retained control of a campaign fund-raising investigation to protect President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and the Democratic Party. ..........The report said it was a conflict-of-interest for Reno's Justice Department to conduct the investigation, especially after FBI Director Louis Freeh and leaders of the department's campaign finance task force have urged that an independent counsel be named. ........ ``The principal beneficiaries of the campaign finance scandal of 1996 were President Clinton and Vice President Gore,'' the report said. ``In insisting that she retain control, ... Reno has failed to exercise a minimally acceptable standard of judgment required of the custodian of federal law enforcement.'' .......The committee said it was ``hard to escape the conclusion that the attorney general has acted politically to benefit the president, the vice president and her own political party.'' .......Accusing Reno of failing to conduct a thorough investigation, the report said that until this year, Clinton ``was not asked a single question about foreign money'' donated to his campaign. Gore was not asked until this year about a notorious fund-raiser at a California Buddhist temple, the report said. .........The report said Reno negotiated in ``bad faith'' by resisting committee requests for documents with the contention surrendering them would harm investigations. These explanations ``have almost universally turned out to be pretexts to cover up embarrassment,'' the report said......."

Background Note: Liu Huaqing is also the father of Liu Chaoying who was implicated in the Chinese fund raising scandal by Johnny Chung. She introduced Johnny to Ji Shengde in Hong Kong. Liu Huaqiing stepdown fromthe PLA in 1997.....

9/28/00 SCMP AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ".......The daughter-in-law of a former Chinese

military chief has been arrested in connection with China's largest corruption case, a press report said yesterday. Zheng Li, daughter-in-law of Liu Huaqing, former Politburo member and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was detained as part of investigations into the smuggling activities of the Yuanhua Group in Xiamen, the Hong Kong Daily News said......... Mr Liu has expressed his support to the central Government over the investigations, although Zheng's husband, Liu Weiming, was not implicated in the case, the report said........ Zheng worked under Ji Shengde, the former head of intelligence at the general staff headquarters of the People's Liberation Army, who reportedly was accused of taking bribes in excess of 100 million yuan (HK$94 million)......."

Judicial Watch 11/6/00 "……Today, Judicial Watch continued to obtain testimony from John Huang, the reported Chinese agent. Judicial Watch is the public interest anti-government corruption law firm that sparked the Chinagate scandal with the original deposition of Huang four years ago on October 29, 1996. Huang, who previously worked for the Lippo Group, an alleged front for Chinese intelligence, and was a high official at the Commerce Department during the Clinton-Gore Administration, returned to answer questions about his role and others' in the illegal sale of seats on trade missions in exchange for political campaign contributions. ….. Since Huang now has immunity, he was forced to answer questions without claiming the 5th Amendment - having previously done so over 2,000 times over the last four years. …….. In his testimony today, Huang implicated Vice President Al Gore in the illegal fund raising, but refused to answer questions which he was ordered to answer on at least 131 occasions. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola found Huang in contempt of Court for these refusals, and if this is sustained by the Honorable Royce C. Lamberth, Huang could be headed to prison. ...... In addition, Huang revealed that Congress never questioned him about the Clinton-Gore Commerce Department trade mission scandal. Huang refused also to answer questions about a number of high-level Republican politicians who reportedly got illegal campaign contributions through him and the Lippo Group. Indeed, Huang implicated about 25 percent of the Thompson Committee, which supposedly investigated Chinagate, in illegal contributions. He also implicated former Senator Alfonse D'Amato - the Republican politician who chaired the Whitewater Committee. ……"

WorldNetDaily.com 11/2/00 Paul Sperry "..........."She's really something, to put it mildly," one Los Angeles attorney told WorldNetDaily. ......And that was all before the feds caught up to her. Hsia's now a felon. In March, a federal grand jury convicted her on five counts of campaign fraud tied to fund-raisers at the Los Angeles temple. ........ Despite her checkered reputation, Gore has maintained a 10-year political partnership with Hsia, surprising people who claim to be victims of her "devious schemes." ....."

WorldNetDaily.com 11/2/00 Paul Sperry "......WorldNetDaily's extensive investigation into the background of 49-year-old Hsia, as well as her long-standing ties to Gore, turned up state and federal tax liens against her and several civil suits listing Hsia as either the defendant or plaintiff. In the course of the months-long investigation, WorldNetDaily had to navigate through different aliases used by Hsia, several Los Angeles residential addresses and a raft of corporations and DBAs, possibly shell companies, started by her. A review of little-noticed congressional documents also reveals efforts by Hsia to apparently cover up crimes, adding to a pattern of shady behavior. Here are some of the overall findings:

* In 1993 and 1997, California authorities filed liens totaling $11,349 against Hsia for back taxes. In 1997, the IRS filed a $13,453 lien against Hsia. (In Hsia's campaign-fraud case, jurors deadlocked on related tax-fraud charges.)

* No stranger to the courtroom, Hsia shows up in at least eight Los Angeles County civil cases since 1989, when she and Gore first hooked up on a political trip to Asia. In one case, a copying service sued her. In another, she sued a dentist.

* In 1997, a Los Angeles superior court judge ordered Hsia to pay Gail Dulay Hom $9,178 in court costs after Hsia lost a suit against her. Hsia tied up Hom, the wife of one of Hsia's ex-business partners, in litigation for nearly six years. Hsia even sued Hom's 80-year-old mother-in-law.

* In a court filing, Howard Hom, a former Immigration and Naturalization Service lawyer, called his ex-business partner and lover "an ambitious, aggressive and unscrupulous businesswoman." Hom fired Hsia in 1991 after he accused her of stealing from their immigration-services business. He alleges she opened a secret bank account and funneled money into it from the firm.

* In a related lawsuit, Hsia allegedly filed a false decree in which she "concocted" a key date. "She has no credibility or regard for what perjury means," said a lawyer involved in the case.

* Hsia had a run-in with another business partner. In July 1995, she allegedly broke into the offices of lawyer Arnold Malter in order to retrieve a ceremonial pen after their business relationship fell apart, according to a report filed by the Monterey Park (Calif.) Police Department. President Bush had used the pen to sign into law the Immigration Act of 1990, which made it easier for foreigners to obtain visas and green cards here. Hsia, a top Gore fund-raiser at the time, had lobbied Gore and other senators to pass the bill, which aided Hsia's business. Gore ended up co-sponsoring it.

* Hsia, who has no law degree or license, allegedly has promoted herself to clients as a lawyer. "Many of her clients, including ones at the Hsi Lai temple, think she's an immigration attorney," said a Los Angeles lawyer familiar with her practices. "She's led them to believe that."

* Hsia helped a temple nun prepare misleading responses in a sworn statement to the Federal Elections Commission, and helped another nun lawyer up. She also may have phonied up an invitation to make it look like the temple fund-raiser was originally supposed to be held at a Los Angeles restaurant instead of a tax-exempt church.

* Hsia barred reporters from viewing the King & I Productions' video of the temple luncheon and speeches by Gore and other guests. Within two days of the fund-raiser, all copies of the video were shipped to Taiwan. A full videotape of the April 29, 1996, event remains hidden. ......"

Julie Foster 11/2/00 "…….. China's military prosecutors recommended that Gen. Ji Sheng-de, former military intelligence director for the People's Liberation Army and a key player in the Clinton-Gore 1996 campaign finance scandal, be given a death sentence for his involvement in internal Chinese scandals. ……. The recommendation came Monday, according to Asian news sources. Ji is known to have been involved in corrupt business deals involving the PLA, including a smuggling case in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen. More serious, though, is Ji's indictment for mishandling funds from the military intelligence system. …….. Ji is one of China's "princelings" -- the sons and daughters of China's "old guard" under Mao Tse-tung. The general's father, Ji Peng-fei, was Mao's minister of foreign affairs during the time of U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China. As a "princeling," the general had a budget at his disposal, which he is accused of using for personal gain. He was prosecuted for taking more than 100 million Chinese dollars. (One U.S. dollar equals about 8 Chinese dollars.) ……. The general's senior colonel, Yang Kai-chin, who is also in trouble for illegal smuggling, tipped off officials to Ji's activities in an attempt to secure leniency for himself. …..During the Chinagate investigations in the U.S., former Democrat fund-raiser Johnny Chung testified that Ji had given him $300,000 to funnel to the Clinton-Gore campaign. Ji has yet to be questioned by U.S. authorities about his involvement in the scandal. ….."

New York Daily News 11/3/00 Bob Port "…… A multimillionaire immigrant channeled at least $210,000 in soft money through at least 14 different businesses to Hillary Rodham Clinton's New York Senate campaign on a single day in September, the Daily News has learned. The donations made Sant Singh Chatwal one of the First Lady's biggest benefactors. Chatwal, an Indian-American who started the Bombay Palace chain of restaurants, also controls the Hampshire Hotel and Resorts chain and is part owner of the News India-Times newspaper and television companies in New York. His name appears nowhere in Clinton's federal election disclosures, but the obscure names of his businesses do…… The Daily News traced the businesses to Chatwal through state corporation records, news clips and business databases. They show that on Sept. 21, at least 14 of Chatwal's partnerships and corporations made donations ranging from $9,000 to $25,000 each. All of it was so-called soft money, unregulated contributions to a Democratic Party committee set up for the New York Senate race. Chatwal's contributions came a week before Clinton agreed with Rick Lazio to stop using soft money for TV ads……."