Time: Mon Jul 14 08:44:30 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id IAA14186; Mon, 14 Jul 1997 08:40:52 -0700 (MST) by usr09.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id IAA17184; Mon, 14 Jul 1997 08:40:40 -0700 (MST) Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 08:40:23 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: IBD Editorial: Chinagate: A Chronology (fwd) <snip> > >(C) Copyright 1997 Investors Business Daily, Inc. > > >E D I T O R I A L >Chinagate: > >A Chronology As the Senate started its hearings >yesterday into campaign fund-raising abuses, the >probe's chairman, Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., said >the evidence will lead all the way to China. That >nation, he said, sought to influence U.S. elections >with illegal funds through a plan that ''our >investigation suggests . . . continues today.'' > >This path to China leads through Little Rock, Ark., >and the Clinton White House. > >Here's a chronology of the events known so far: > >1984 > >February: China-born Mochtar Riady buys more than 20% of Worthen Banking >Corp. stock. Little Rock-based Worthen names Mochtar's son, James Riady, >president. The Riadys befriend Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. > >November: The Riadys' Indonesia-based Lippo Group, backed in part by >Worthen, buys the Hongkong Chinese Bank Ltd. > >1985 > >March: China-born Jian-Nan (John) Huang, who became a U.S. citizen in >1976, >is named a vice president at both Lippo and Hongkong Chinese Bank. He also >becomes Worthen's vice president for the Far East. > >October: Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton meet Huang on an Arkansas trade >mission to Taiwan and Hong Kong. > >1990 > >January: Huang is named director of Lippo Group USA and vice chairman of >Lippo Bank of California. > >1992 > >As part of the Clinton-Gore campaign effort, Huang helps lead Asian- >American fund raising for the Democratic National Committee in California. >(James Riady and his wife contribute $200,000 to the DNC.) > >November: Clinton wins the White House. China Resources Holding Co. - >owned >by the Chinese government - buys a controlling interest in the Hongkong >Chinese Bank. The deal puts Lippo in business with the Chinese communists. >Huang writes to a Clinton transition-team official expressing interest in >a >job in the new administration. > >Also in November, Huang lobbies on behalf of fellow Lippo executive >Charles >De Queljoe, who seeks a position with the National Security Council, State >Department or Commerce Department. > >1993 > >January: James Riady attends President-elect Clinton's economic summit in >Little Rock. He represents Lippo Bank. On the 20th, the Riadys attend >Clinton's inauguration along with some 15 other Indonesians. (The Riadys >helped pay for the inaugural celebration.) That night, Mochtar Riady meets >privately with Clinton. > >March: Mochtar Riady writes Clinton a letter on March 9 asking him to >normalize trade relations with Vietnam, extend most-favored-nation status >to >China and strengthen trade ties with Indonesia. > >April: James Riady and a senior adviser to Indonesian President Gen. >Suharto >visit the White House to persuade Clinton to let Suharto participate in an >Asia-Pacific summit in November. With Riady, Huang also pays a White House >visit to Clinton. On the 5th, Clinton officially responds to Mochtar >Riady's >March 9 letter, telling him the letter has been forwarded to National >Economic Council Director Robert Rubin. On the 12th, James Riady calls >Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell. (Hubbell's Rose Law Firm in >Little Rock represented Lippo.) > >On April 13, James Riady calls Hubbell again - this time from the White >House office of Clinton's most trusted adviser, Bruce Lindsey. (Lindsey's >Little Rock law firm Wright, Lindsey & Jennings also represented Lippo.) >On >April 16, Yah Ling ''Charlie'' Trie, a China-born Little Rock restaurateur >and big DNC donor, meets with Clinton in the White House. > >June: U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor ends a review of Indonesian >labor law standards, allowing Indonesia to retain special low tariffs. >(Kantor's Los Angeles law firm Manett, Phelps & Phillips also represented >Lippo.) > >August: Lippo opens offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. > >November: James Riady attends Clinton's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation >summit in Seattle on the 18th. He shares a breakfast table with White >House >chief of staff Thomas ''Mack'' McLarty. Clinton meets privately with >Suharto. > >December: On the 30th, Clinton appoints Huang deputy assistant secretary >for >international economic policy. > >1994 > >January: Huang gets a top-secret federal security clearance on the 31st - >six months before he begins his Commerce Department job and without the >usual full FBI security background check. > >February: Clinton lifts U.S. embargo against Vietnam, beginning >normalization process. > >March: Hubbell resigns to face fraud charges filed by Whitewater special >prosecutor Kenneth Starr. > >April: Commerce creates a new general license category, allowing nearly >all >dual-use (civilian or military application) telecommunications items to be >exported to civilian customers in China without licenses. > >May: Clinton renews - unconditionally - China's most-favored-nation >trading >status. On the 12th, Trie again meets with Clinton in the White House. > >June: Clinton sets up defense fund to defray legal costs from Whitewater >probe and Paula Jones sex-harassment suit. > >June: Riady meets with Clinton for five straight days. The next week, >Riady's Lippo pays Hubbell $100,000. Also in June, Entergy Corp. business >manager Chris Brown meets with Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary Jude >Kearney, a Clinton appointee, about Entergy's China projects. >(Louisiana-based Entergy owns Arkansas Power & Light.) > >July: Huang collects $878,700 in bonuses from Lippo. On the 18th, he joins >Commerce payroll. During the month he also calls Little Rock offices of >Entergy from his Commerce office. > >August: Huang again calls the Little Rock offices of Entergy. On the 30th, >he and Commerce Secretary Ron Brown make trade mission to China with 24 >U.S. >executives (15 of whom are heavy DNC contributors). The trip nets $6 >billion >in new business contracts, including a $1.3 billion deal between Entergy >and >Lippo to manage and expand a power plant in northern China. (The deal >wouldn't have been possible without renewal of MFN status a few months >earlier.) > >September: Commerce approves export of machine tools to China. Some are >shipped to the Nanchang Aircraft Co., which produces fighter aircraft and >cruise missiles for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. > >October: In a phone message, a DNC worker reminds Huang at Commerce about >the ''campaign for the fall.'' (It's illegal for federal workers to >solicit >campaign gifts). Hubbell flies to Indonesia to visit the Riadys. > >November: Republicans win Congress. Clinton and the first lady visit >Indonesia with Ron Brown and an Arkansas business entourage. The business >group signs $40 billion in new contracts. Clinton meets with Suharto, as >well as China's president, Jiang Zemin. He also meets privately with James >Riady. Also in November, Huang formally recuses himself from Indonesian >affairs - but only after he sat in on at least two interdepartmental >meetings to re-examine U.S.-Indonesia policy on trade and human rights >months earlier. > >December: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. orders Lippo Bank of >California to comply with federal safeguards against money laundering. >U.S. >Trade Rep. Mickey Kantor names Lippo's De Queljoe to the Investment and >Services Advisory Committee. > >1995 > >March: Huang is briefed by Commerce's intelligence liaison officer, the >link >between the department and the CIA, and sees reports on China. Huang then >calls Lippo Bank of California in Los Angeles. (Conflict-of-interest laws >bar federal officials from staying in close contact with former >employers.) > >May: Huang is again briefed by Commerce intelligence liaison officer. >Again, >he calls Lippo Bank of California in Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge >Royce >Lamberth orders Commerce to turn over more than 30,000 pages of documents >on >trade missions to Judicial Watch. (Commerce withholds about 3,000 pages.) > >June: Hubbell is sentenced to 21 months in prison and is fined $135,000. >Also in June, the DNC kicks off its '96 television advertising campaign - >the earliest of any presidential race. > >July: Huang's California friend, Commerce aide Melinda Yee, becomes a >senior >adviser to Ron Brown. Clinton fully normalizes relations with Vietnam. > >Also in July, Huang attends Washington ceremony unveiling Clinton bust >given >in honor of Mochtar Riady. > >August: Hubbell enters federal prison. > >September: Huang, James Riady and Joseph Giroir, former Rose Law Firm >managing partner, meet with Clinton and Lindsey in the White House. All >agree that Huang can better serve the president as a fund- raiser. Huang >later gets another briefing from Commerce Department's intelligence >liaison >officer. That same day, he phones Lippo Bank of California. Riady meets >again with Clinton and stresses the importance of renewing China's MFN >status. > >Also in September: Clinton meets with Long Beach, Calif., officials to >push >a plan to lease an old Navy base to Beijing-controlled China Ocean >Shipping >Co. The Pentagon's No. 2 attends the White House meeting. > >October: Ron Brown leads another trade mission to China. Brown, Trie, >Antonio Pan (a former Lippo executive) and Ernest Green (a Clinton >Arkansas >pal) hold a fund-raiser in Hong Kong. The pitch to wealthy dinner guests: >Make a big donation and meet the president. (It's not known how much, if >any, money was raised. It's illegal for U.S. candidates and parties to >take >donations from people other than U.S. citizens or permanent residents.) >Huang attends two meetings at Chinese Embassy. Takes cab from Chinese >ambassador's residence. Thai businesswoman Pauline Kanchanalak meets with >Brown as part of an official Thai government delegation. > >November: Huang takes big donors to the White House for photo opportunity >with Vice President Al Gore. Keshi Zhan attends. She works for Trie's >Daihatsu International trading firm. Trie is informed of his appointment >to >the president's commission on U.S.-Pacific trade and investment policy - >five months in advance. > >December: Lindsey arranges Huang's transfer to DNC to begin fund raising. >DNC Chairman Don Fowler creates a new position - ''vice chairman for >finance'' - for Huang. Huang takes unpaid leave from Commerce on the 4th. >On >the 19th, he gives $1,000 to the DNC and lists (on his FEC report) his >employer as ''Lippo Bank-Lippo Group.'' > >1996 > >January: Huang spends his last day on the Commerce payroll (according to >the >Commerce press office). With Clinton aide Doris Matsui, he begins mapping >out a strategy to raise $7 million from Asian-Americans. In a 33-page >memo, >titled ''National Asian Pacific American Campaign,'' Matsui urges party >leaders to reward big donors with meetings with the president. > >February: Clinton meets with Wang Jun, one of China's top weapons dealers. >Trie paved way for White House meeting. Huang visits the White House four >times. (Over the entire month, he makes 21 visits.) Huang organizes DNC >fund-raiser at Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington. Clinton attends. The event >raises $1 million from the 150 guests. Among the donors: several Buddhist >monks ($11,500 total); Keshi Zhan ($12,500 - more than half her >$22,000-a-year salary); Maryland restaurant worker Yue F. Chu ($20,000). > >March: Ron Brown is granted a delay in his scheduled testimony in a civil >case brought by Judicial Watch. The suit charges that the Clinton >administration used Commerce as a vehicle for overseas political fund >raising. > >Also in March, Trie delivers $460,000 in hundreds of checks and money >orders >to the Clintons' legal defense fund. Trustees deposit $378,000 and return >the balance after learning many of the money orders contain identical >handwriting and sequential numbering. > >April: Trie comes back with another $179,000 in gifts for Clintons' legal >defense fund. Clinton appoints Trie to his commission on U.S.-Pacific >trade >and investment policy. > >On April 3, during a trade mission to Bosnia, Brown dies when his Air >Force >Two plane crashes into a Croatian mountain. Huang's boss at Commerce, >assistant secretary Charles Meissner, also dies. The next day, legal >defense >fund trustees inform Hillary Clinton and top White House aide Harold Ickes >of Trie's suspicious donations. > >On April 29, Gore hosts a fund-raiser at Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in >Hacienda >Heights, Calif. The event, organized by Huang, nets $140,000 (which the >DNC >later returns). (Temple master Hsing Yun met with Gore in the White House >on >two previous occasions, as well as in Taiwan during an '89 trip with >Huang.) > >June: Clinton meets with Kanchanalak and Khun Dhanin, the head of >Thailand's >biggest conglomerate, at a White House coffee. Among topics discussed: >U.S. >policy in China. Huang, who arranged the event, attends with other top DNC >officials. (It's illegal to raise money in the White House.) Kanchanalak, >a >permanent U.S. resident, gives $85,000 to the DNC. Her partner, Duangnet >Kronenberg, gives $50,000. > >July: Kanchanalak gives another $50,000 to the DNC. On July 22, Clinton >attends Los Angeles fund-raiser with Asian-Americans where he praises >Huang's ''aggressive efforts.'' > >August: Huang visits the White House 10 times. > >September: Trie joins president's commission on U.S.-Pacific trade and >investment policy on a two-week junket across East Asia. > >October: On the 3rd, Huang makes his last recorded visit to the White >House. > >November: Shortly after the election, Clinton meets with Dhanin in >Thailand. >His firm, CP Group, has extensive holdings in China. Huang is ''laid off'' >by the DNC. DNC gives back a $427,000 gift Huang solicited from an >Indonesian couple. > >For the third time, Attorney General Janet Reno rejects a written request >for an independent counsel to probe the widening fund-raising scandal. > >December: DNC returns $253,000 given by Kanchanalak after she says the >money >wasn't really hers. (It's illegal to make donations in the name of >another.) >Hubbell goes before a federal grand jury in Little Rock to answer >questions >about the six-figure payment he got from Lippo before going to prison. >Yee, >Brown's close aide who helped arrange his China trade trips, admits >throwing >away notes two months after Judge Lamberth subpoenaed them. She had >resisted >testifying for months. > >1997 > >April: Reno rejects full Senate request to name an independent counsel to >probe the fund raising scandal. > >July: Senate hearings into DNC and White House fund raising begin, chaired >by Thompson. > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >- >(C) Copyright 1997 Investors Business Daily, Inc. >Metadata: E/IBD E/SN1 E/EDIT > >TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT > (=F4=BF=F4) Dean Howard Stanton (=F4=BF=F4) >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm >subscribe: mailto:deanstan@cybertron.com >home page: http://www.cybertron.com/~standean/ >voice email: http://www.vocaltec.com >www pager: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/127748 >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm >------- >To subscribe to c-news, send the message SUBSCRIBE C-NEWS, or the message >UNSUBSCRIBE C-NEWS to unsubscribe, to majordomo@world.std.com. Contact >owner-c-news@world.std.com if you have questions. > > > ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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