[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E937]]



              FOREIGN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS: AN UGLY TALE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 1998

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member is greatly disturbed by recent 
revelations that substantial sums of Chinese money found its way into 
the coffers of the Democratic National Committee. It is clear that 
campaign operative Johnny Chung collected hundreds of thousands of 
dollars from individuals and organizations with direct links to the top 
echelons of the People's Liberation Army.
  Such activity confirms our worst fears, and is a threat to this 
nation's collective soul. This Member urges his colleagues to rise 
above politics and address this problem in the serious manner that the 
situation demands.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member would insert into the record an editorial 
from the Omaha World-Herald of May 16, 1998, entitled ``Johnny Chung's 
Shocking Tale Puts Focus Back on Donations.'' This entire body should 
reflect on the sober lesson expressed in this editorial.

                          [Omaha World-Herald]

       Johnny Chung's Shocking Tale Puts Focus Back on Donations

       The get-it-any-way-you-can ethic of Democratic National 
     Committee fund raising for the Clinton-Gore re-election 
     campaign has come into more focus. Johnny Chung has 
     reportedly told federal investigators that he channeled money 
     from the government of communist China to the DNC.
       This should be a shock to America. It would be if the 
     Clintonites had not apparently been successful in convincing 
     the people that they should be interested more in the Dow 
     Jones Average and federally subsidized day care than in old 
     stories about unproven scandals.
       Chung pleaded guilty in March to campaign-related bank and 
     tax fraud and is cooperating with investigators. Most of the 
     $100,000 he provided the DNC in the summer of 1996 came from 
     the Chinese military, Chung said.
       His contact was Liu Chao-ying. She was a lieutenant colonel 
     and a vice president in charge of international trading for 
     China Aerospace International Holdings Ltd. Liu's father was 
     China's top military commander and a Communist Party leader. 
     American companies were prohibited from doing business with 
     China Aerospace in 1991 and 1993 because the company had 
     illegally sold missiles to Pakistan.
       The Justice Department reportedly has documents to verify 
     the relationship described by Chung, who arranged for Liu to 
     be photographed with President Clinton when she was in the 
     United States. Chung was able to get Liu and another Chinese 
     national into an exclusive Clinton fund-raiser in July 1996 
     after sending the DNC a check for $45,000. That same month, 
     Chung set up a California corporation for Liu and himself. 
     This allegedly was a vehicle through which donations could 
     flow from China to the DNC.
       Liu's aerospace company benefited from U.S. policies in 
     1996 that allowed American civilian communication satellites 
     to be launched by Chinese rockets--despite China's sale of 
     missiles to Iran and nuclear equipment to Pakistan that year 
     and its perennial threats against Taiwan. The Chinese 
     military also benefited in that it buys missiles from 
     companies like China Aerospace and relies on the health of 
     the industry.
       Chung's attorney and officials of the Clinton 
     administration and the DNC deny that Chung-related donations 
     had any effect on U.S. policy toward China. But even if there 
     was no policy quid pro quo, federal law bans campaign 
     contributions from foreign sources.
       DNC and White House spokesmen say that there was no way to 
     know the origins of Chung's donations and that suspicious 
     donations were returned. Yes, they were returned--after 
     exposure in the press and intense public pressure.
       And what of the documented concerns of White House staffers 
     that Chung was a ``hustler'' bringing disreputable characters 
     into the inner circle of the presidency? Why was he allowed 
     into the White House 49 times? Why were he and his guests 
     allowed to attend exclusive fund raisers?
       Disclosures of the activities of Chung make the efforts of 
     House Democrats to shut down the House portion of the 
     investigation even more alarming. If the House investigation 
     collapses, as it appears about to, the public is left with 
     the Justice Department to investigate the matter. The Justice 
     Department is headed by Attorney General Janet Reno, whose 
     refusal to recommend an independent counsel to investigate 
     these matters has become a national disgrace.

     

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