Investigating the President: Bill Clinton and the 1996 Campaign Finance Scandal
Allegations arose from the 1996 US Presidential election, in which the People's Republic of China was accused of attempting to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration. It was also alleged that there were improprieties involving the fund-raising practices of the Clinton administration itself.China's alleged role in the affair first gained public attention when Bob Woodward and Brian Duffy of The Washington Post published a story stating that a United States Department of Justice investigation into the fund-raising activities had uncovered evidence that agents of China sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign.
According to information contained in a a report from the US Senate, Chinese officials sought to promote their interests with the United States government and to improve China's image with the American people. Dubbed the "China Plan", certain members of the United States Congress successfully lobbied President Clinton to grant a visa to Taiwan President Lee Teng-Hui. United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher had previously assured his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen that granting a visa would be "inconsistent with" US policy regarding Taiwan. This led some in the Chinese government to conclude that the influence of Congress over foreign policy was more significant than previously believed, and that compared to other countries, it had little influence over policy decisions made in Congress, which had a significant pro-Taiwan faction under. The China plan, according to the Senate report, instructed Chinese officials in the U.S. to improve their knowledge about members of Congress and increase contacts with its members, the public, and the media. The plan also suggested ways to lobby congressmen.
China denied that their lobbying efforts involved financial contributions of any kind, but ther has in fact been found to be significant activity by a number of Chinese businessmen involving financial contributions. Yah-Lin "Charlie" Trie attempted to make a $450,000 donation to Clinton's legal defense fund, allegedly delivered in two envelopes each containing several checks and money orders. The fund rejected $70,000 and deposited the remainder, but ordered an investigation of the source. The investigation concluded that some of the money orders were made out in different names but with the same handwriting, and sequentially numbered. The fund then rejected the donation entirely, and returned the deposited funds two months after the initial contribution.
Trie was born in Taiwan and had emigrated to the U.S. in 1974. He became an American citizen and co-owner of a restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attempted to develop an international trading business (Daihatsu International Trading Corporation), having accounts in Little Rock and Washington, D.C. Macau-based real estate businessman Ng Lap Seng wired over $1 million US from Macau and Hong Kong accounts, but the trading business had no successful activity. In Little Rock, Trie befriended Clinton, who was then governor of Arkansas. Trie and his immediate family donated $220,000 to the DNC which was also later returned. Immediately after the attempted donation to Clinton's defense fund, Trie sent a letter to Clinton that expressed concern about America's intervention in tensions arising from China's military exercises being conducted near Taiwan. Trie told the President in his letter that war with China was a possibility should U.S. intervention continue.
After Congressional investigations turned to Trie in late 1996, he left the country for China. Trie returned to the U.S. in 1998 and was convicted and sentenced to three years probation and four months home detention for violating federal campaign finance laws by making political contributions in someone else's name and for causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission.
Another Taiwanese-born businessman who was investigated was Johnny Chung, the owner of a "blastfaxing" business (an automated system that quickly sends out faxes to thousands of businesses) in California. Chung made forty-nine separate visits to the White House between February 1994 and February 1996. One of his goals was to obtain photographs of himself with the Clintons, which he believed would help him to get business in China by giving people the impression that he had connections and influence in Washington. He used a brochure that included at least ten photographs of himself with Hillary Clinton along with a personal note from her. Between 1994 and 1996, Chung donated $366,000 to the DNC. Eventually, all of the money was returned. Chung told federal investigators that $35,000 of the money he donated came from China's military intelligence. Chung testified under oath to the U.S. House Committee investigating the issue in May 1999 that he was introduced to Chinese Gen. Ji Shengde, then the head of Chinese military intelligence, and that Ji told him: "We like your president very much. We would like to see him reelected. I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to the president and the Democratic Party." Ji and the Chinese government denied the claims.
Chung was eventually sentenced to 5 years probation and community service following an agreement to plea guilty to bank fraud, tax evasion, and two misdemeanor counts of conspiring to violate election law. Chung claimed that, after his guilty plea, the Chinese government attempted to assassinate him three times, but the efforts were foiled by the FBI.
John Huang emigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1969. Huang first met Bill Clinton at a financial seminar in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1980. Huang became a key fund-raiser within the DNC in 1995. While there, he raised $3.4 million for the party. Nearly half had to be returned when questions arose regarding their source during later investigations by Congress. According to U.S. Secret Service logs, Huang visited the White House 78 times while working as a DNC fund-raiser. Immediately prior to joining the DNC, Huang worked in President Clinton's Commerce Department as deputy assistant secretary for international economic affairs. He was appointed to the position by President Clinton in December 1993. His position at the Commerce Department gave him access to classified intelligence on China. While at the department, it was later learned, Huang met 9 times with Chinese embassy officials. Huang eventually pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations relating to the same scheme as well, and was sentenced to pay a large fine. The most well-known of John Huang's fund-raisers involved Vice President Al Gore, Maria Hsia, and the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in California.
Taiwan-born Maria Hsia was a long time fund raiser for Al Gore. She facilitated $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions through her efforts at Hsi Lai Temple, a Chinese Buddhist temple associated with Taiwan in Hacienda Heights, California. This money went to the DNC, to the Clinton – Gore campaign, and to Patrick Kennedy. After a trial, she was convicted in March 2000. The Democratic National Committee eventually returned the money donated by the Temple's monks and nuns. Twelve nuns and employees of the temple. The Temple event was attended by the Vice President Gore. In an interview on the January 24, 1997, edition of the Today show, Gore said: "I did not know that it was a fund-raiser. But I knew it was a political event, and I knew there were finance people that were going to be present, and so that alone should have told me, 'This is inappropriate and this is a mistake; don't do this.' And I take responsibility for that. It was a mistake."
Ted Sioeng was an Indonesian entrepreneur who donated money to both Democrats and Republicans. He donated $250,000 to the DNC and $100,000 to Republican California State Treasurer Matt Fong. Fong returned the money in April 1997. Attorney General Janet Reno and the directors of the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) told members of the Senate committee they had credible intelligence information indicating Sioeng acted on behalf of China. A spokesman for Sioeng denied the allegations. Sioeng left the country shortly thereafter, and no charges were filed.
The Justice Department opened a task force in late 1996 to begin investigating allegations of campaign fund-raising abuses by the Clinton/Gore re-election campaign. It expanded its internal investigation to include activities related to President Bill Clinton's legal defense fund in December 1996. President Clinton announced in February 1997 that he thought there should be a "vigorous" and "thorough" investigation into reports that the People's Republic of China tried to direct financial contributions from overseas sources to the Democratic National Committee, but did not call for an independent prosecutor, saying that was the decision of the Justice Department.
Senator Fred Thompson (a Republican from Tennessee) and chairman of the committee investigating the fund-raising controversy, said he believed the Chinese plan targeted presidential and congressional elections while Democratic Senators Joe Lieberman and John Glenn said they believed the evidence showed the Chinese targeted only congressional elections." The congressional investigation was met with considerable resistance as 95 people either refused to be questioned, pled the Fifth Amendment, or left the country altogether. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs held public hearings into the campaign finance issues from July to October 1997. The Committee, chaired by Fred Thompson, adopted a report on a straight party-line vote, 8 in favor and 7 opposed in March 1998. Democrats published a minority report dissenting with most of the conclusions of the final report, stating the evidence "does not support the conclusion that the China plan was aimed at, or affected, the 1996 presidential election."
A House investigation, headed by Indiana Republican Dan Burton focused on allegations of campaign finance abuse, including the contributions channeled through Chung, Huang, and Trie. The investigation was lengthy, spanning both the 105th and 106th Congresses, at a cost of $7.4 million.
President Clinton's FBI Director Louis Freeh wrote in a memorandum to Attorney General Janet Reno in November 1997 that "It is difficult to imagine a more compelling situation for appointing an independent counsel." In July 1998, the Justice Department's campaign finance task force head, Charles La Bella, sent a report to Janet Reno also recommending she seek an independent counsel to investigate alleged fund-raising abuses by Democratic party officials.[47] The media reported that La Bella believed there was clearly an appearance of a conflict of interest by Reno.
FBI agent Ivian Smith wrote a letter to FBI Director Freeh that expressed "a lack of confidence" in the Justice Department's attorneys regarding the fund-raising investigation. Smith and three other FBI agents later testified before Congress in late 1999 that Justice Department prosecutors impeded their inquiry. FBI agents were also denied the opportunity to ask President Clinton and Vice President Gore questions during Justice Department interviews in 1997 and 1998 and were only allowed to take notes. During the interviews, neither Clinton nor Gore were asked any questions about fund-raisers John Huang, nor the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple fund-raising event.
The Senate report can be found at this link.
According to information contained in a a report from the US Senate, Chinese officials sought to promote their interests with the United States government and to improve China's image with the American people. Dubbed the "China Plan", certain members of the United States Congress successfully lobbied President Clinton to grant a visa to Taiwan President Lee Teng-Hui. United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher had previously assured his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen that granting a visa would be "inconsistent with" US policy regarding Taiwan. This led some in the Chinese government to conclude that the influence of Congress over foreign policy was more significant than previously believed, and that compared to other countries, it had little influence over policy decisions made in Congress, which had a significant pro-Taiwan faction under. The China plan, according to the Senate report, instructed Chinese officials in the U.S. to improve their knowledge about members of Congress and increase contacts with its members, the public, and the media. The plan also suggested ways to lobby congressmen.
China denied that their lobbying efforts involved financial contributions of any kind, but ther has in fact been found to be significant activity by a number of Chinese businessmen involving financial contributions. Yah-Lin "Charlie" Trie attempted to make a $450,000 donation to Clinton's legal defense fund, allegedly delivered in two envelopes each containing several checks and money orders. The fund rejected $70,000 and deposited the remainder, but ordered an investigation of the source. The investigation concluded that some of the money orders were made out in different names but with the same handwriting, and sequentially numbered. The fund then rejected the donation entirely, and returned the deposited funds two months after the initial contribution.
Trie was born in Taiwan and had emigrated to the U.S. in 1974. He became an American citizen and co-owner of a restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attempted to develop an international trading business (Daihatsu International Trading Corporation), having accounts in Little Rock and Washington, D.C. Macau-based real estate businessman Ng Lap Seng wired over $1 million US from Macau and Hong Kong accounts, but the trading business had no successful activity. In Little Rock, Trie befriended Clinton, who was then governor of Arkansas. Trie and his immediate family donated $220,000 to the DNC which was also later returned. Immediately after the attempted donation to Clinton's defense fund, Trie sent a letter to Clinton that expressed concern about America's intervention in tensions arising from China's military exercises being conducted near Taiwan. Trie told the President in his letter that war with China was a possibility should U.S. intervention continue.
After Congressional investigations turned to Trie in late 1996, he left the country for China. Trie returned to the U.S. in 1998 and was convicted and sentenced to three years probation and four months home detention for violating federal campaign finance laws by making political contributions in someone else's name and for causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission.
Another Taiwanese-born businessman who was investigated was Johnny Chung, the owner of a "blastfaxing" business (an automated system that quickly sends out faxes to thousands of businesses) in California. Chung made forty-nine separate visits to the White House between February 1994 and February 1996. One of his goals was to obtain photographs of himself with the Clintons, which he believed would help him to get business in China by giving people the impression that he had connections and influence in Washington. He used a brochure that included at least ten photographs of himself with Hillary Clinton along with a personal note from her. Between 1994 and 1996, Chung donated $366,000 to the DNC. Eventually, all of the money was returned. Chung told federal investigators that $35,000 of the money he donated came from China's military intelligence. Chung testified under oath to the U.S. House Committee investigating the issue in May 1999 that he was introduced to Chinese Gen. Ji Shengde, then the head of Chinese military intelligence, and that Ji told him: "We like your president very much. We would like to see him reelected. I will give you 300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to the president and the Democratic Party." Ji and the Chinese government denied the claims.
Chung was eventually sentenced to 5 years probation and community service following an agreement to plea guilty to bank fraud, tax evasion, and two misdemeanor counts of conspiring to violate election law. Chung claimed that, after his guilty plea, the Chinese government attempted to assassinate him three times, but the efforts were foiled by the FBI.
John Huang emigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1969. Huang first met Bill Clinton at a financial seminar in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1980. Huang became a key fund-raiser within the DNC in 1995. While there, he raised $3.4 million for the party. Nearly half had to be returned when questions arose regarding their source during later investigations by Congress. According to U.S. Secret Service logs, Huang visited the White House 78 times while working as a DNC fund-raiser. Immediately prior to joining the DNC, Huang worked in President Clinton's Commerce Department as deputy assistant secretary for international economic affairs. He was appointed to the position by President Clinton in December 1993. His position at the Commerce Department gave him access to classified intelligence on China. While at the department, it was later learned, Huang met 9 times with Chinese embassy officials. Huang eventually pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations relating to the same scheme as well, and was sentenced to pay a large fine. The most well-known of John Huang's fund-raisers involved Vice President Al Gore, Maria Hsia, and the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in California.
Taiwan-born Maria Hsia was a long time fund raiser for Al Gore. She facilitated $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions through her efforts at Hsi Lai Temple, a Chinese Buddhist temple associated with Taiwan in Hacienda Heights, California. This money went to the DNC, to the Clinton – Gore campaign, and to Patrick Kennedy. After a trial, she was convicted in March 2000. The Democratic National Committee eventually returned the money donated by the Temple's monks and nuns. Twelve nuns and employees of the temple. The Temple event was attended by the Vice President Gore. In an interview on the January 24, 1997, edition of the Today show, Gore said: "I did not know that it was a fund-raiser. But I knew it was a political event, and I knew there were finance people that were going to be present, and so that alone should have told me, 'This is inappropriate and this is a mistake; don't do this.' And I take responsibility for that. It was a mistake."
Ted Sioeng was an Indonesian entrepreneur who donated money to both Democrats and Republicans. He donated $250,000 to the DNC and $100,000 to Republican California State Treasurer Matt Fong. Fong returned the money in April 1997. Attorney General Janet Reno and the directors of the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) told members of the Senate committee they had credible intelligence information indicating Sioeng acted on behalf of China. A spokesman for Sioeng denied the allegations. Sioeng left the country shortly thereafter, and no charges were filed.
The Justice Department opened a task force in late 1996 to begin investigating allegations of campaign fund-raising abuses by the Clinton/Gore re-election campaign. It expanded its internal investigation to include activities related to President Bill Clinton's legal defense fund in December 1996. President Clinton announced in February 1997 that he thought there should be a "vigorous" and "thorough" investigation into reports that the People's Republic of China tried to direct financial contributions from overseas sources to the Democratic National Committee, but did not call for an independent prosecutor, saying that was the decision of the Justice Department.
Senator Fred Thompson (a Republican from Tennessee) and chairman of the committee investigating the fund-raising controversy, said he believed the Chinese plan targeted presidential and congressional elections while Democratic Senators Joe Lieberman and John Glenn said they believed the evidence showed the Chinese targeted only congressional elections." The congressional investigation was met with considerable resistance as 95 people either refused to be questioned, pled the Fifth Amendment, or left the country altogether. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs held public hearings into the campaign finance issues from July to October 1997. The Committee, chaired by Fred Thompson, adopted a report on a straight party-line vote, 8 in favor and 7 opposed in March 1998. Democrats published a minority report dissenting with most of the conclusions of the final report, stating the evidence "does not support the conclusion that the China plan was aimed at, or affected, the 1996 presidential election."
A House investigation, headed by Indiana Republican Dan Burton focused on allegations of campaign finance abuse, including the contributions channeled through Chung, Huang, and Trie. The investigation was lengthy, spanning both the 105th and 106th Congresses, at a cost of $7.4 million.
President Clinton's FBI Director Louis Freeh wrote in a memorandum to Attorney General Janet Reno in November 1997 that "It is difficult to imagine a more compelling situation for appointing an independent counsel." In July 1998, the Justice Department's campaign finance task force head, Charles La Bella, sent a report to Janet Reno also recommending she seek an independent counsel to investigate alleged fund-raising abuses by Democratic party officials.[47] The media reported that La Bella believed there was clearly an appearance of a conflict of interest by Reno.
FBI agent Ivian Smith wrote a letter to FBI Director Freeh that expressed "a lack of confidence" in the Justice Department's attorneys regarding the fund-raising investigation. Smith and three other FBI agents later testified before Congress in late 1999 that Justice Department prosecutors impeded their inquiry. FBI agents were also denied the opportunity to ask President Clinton and Vice President Gore questions during Justice Department interviews in 1997 and 1998 and were only allowed to take notes. During the interviews, neither Clinton nor Gore were asked any questions about fund-raisers John Huang, nor the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple fund-raising event.
The Senate report can be found at this link.