Chinagate fundraising scandal

Bill and Hillary Clinton

The Chinagate fundraising scandal was a campaign finance controversy in 1996 in which the Clinton's illegally took money from foreign governments and military establishments. Like the Nixon administration, however, it was impossible to get the government to investigate itself, at least to any acceptable or just conclusion before the Clinton's term of office was up. There was also sufficient evidence that Clinton's "donations" also bordered on treason and may have specifically helped the Chinese military, such as how prior to 1993, Chinese missile systems had lack of accuracy to such an extent that they "couldn't hit the side of a barn" according to Timothy W. Maier, while by 1997, their missiles can hit any major American city.[1] The scandal, or more specifically the attempted investigations into it and Bill Clinton, are also suspected to be one of the reasons for the creation of the infamous 1995 firewall memo by Jamie Gorelick barring communications between law enforcement and intelligence agencies that led to the events of September 11 in 2001.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Illegal fundraising, 1992
* 3 Ng Lap Seng
* 4 Illegal fundraising, 1996
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Background[edit]

An unclassified U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs report issued in 1998 stated that both James Riady and his father Mochtar "had a long-term relationship with a Chinese intelligence agency." According to journalist Bob Woodward, details of the relationship came from highly classified intelligence information supplied to the committee by both the CIA and Federal Bureau of Investigation.[3]

The relationship between John Huang, the Riady Family, and the Clintons, goes back to the late 1970s in Little Rock, Arkansas. The patriarch of the family, Mochtar Riady, is an Indonesian of Chinese descent who built up the Lippo Group empire. In the mid-1970s, Mochtar Riady planned to expand his business into the United States and began looking for partners. He met the Stephens family of Arkansas headed by Witt Stephens[4] and entered into various joint ventures with Stephens Inc.

In Little Rock the Riadys met then-Governor Bill Clinton and financially supported Clinton's gubernatorial campaigns throughout the 1980s.

It was through the Lippo-Stephens partnership that James Riady came to Arkansas to assist with their joint venture, Worthen Banking Corporation.[5]

Other corrupt individuals involved include Charlie Trie,[6] Johnny Chung,[7] and Wang Jun.[8]

## Illegal fundraising, 1992[edit]

Following James Riady was John Huang. Shortly after Riady pledged $1 million in support of then-Governor Clinton's campaign for the presidency 1992, contributions made by Huang had been reimbursed with funds wired from a foreign Lippo Group entity into an account Riady maintained at Lippo Bank and then distributed to Huang in cash. Also, contributions made by Lippo Group entities operating in the United States were reimbursed with wire transfers from foreign Lippo Group entities.[9][10]

## Ng Lap Seng[edit]

One of the world's wealthiest people,[28] Ng Lap Seng, a billionaire real estate developer from Macau, also is among the offshore owners in the leaked Panama Papers documents.

Ng was on friendly terms with Bill Clinton when he was president, visiting the White House ten times between 1994 and 1996.[31] Using a proxy, Ng illegally contributed $1 million to the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton-Gore campaign of 1996; his proxy was arrested, but Ng escaped criminal charges.[31]

## Illegal fundraising, 1996[edit]

The Chinagate was a campaign finance controversy in which the Clintons illegally took money from foreign governments and military establishments. Like the Nixon administration, however, it was impossible to get the government to investigate itself, at least to any acceptable or just conclusion before the Clintons term of office was up.

Agents of China sought to give contributions to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign in violation of US law barring non-American citizens from donating money to American politicians and political parties.[11]

An unclassified U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs report issued in 1998 stated that both James Riady and his father Mochtar "had a long-term relationship with a Chinese intelligence agency." According to journalist Bob Woodward, details of the relationship came from highly classified intelligence information supplied to the committee by both the CIA and Federal Bureau of Investigation.[12]

Hillary Clinton with Mochtar Riady at a fundraiser during the Chinagate scandal. Mochtar Riady, along with Bill Clinton's financial godfather Jackson Stephens, brought the BCCI to America, a front for international dope dealers and arms traffickers.[13]

The relationship between John Huang, the Riady Family, and the Clintons, goes back to the late 1970s in Little Rock, Arkansas. The patriarch of the family, Mochtar Riady, is an Indonesian of Chinese descent who built up the Lippo Group empire. In the mid-1970s, Mochtar Riady planned to expand his business into the United States and began looking for partners. He met the Stephens family of Arkansas and entered into various joint ventures with Stephens Inc.

The Stephens family were in fact the original owners of the American branch of the notorious Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in a joint venture with the Riady's in the late 1970s and 1980s.[14] It was shut down in the early 1990s in an enormous worldwide criminal money laundering scandal.

In Little Rock the Riadys met then-Governor Bill Clinton and financially supported Clinton's gubernatorial campaigns throughout the 1980s.

After Riady pledged $1 million in support of then-Governor Clinton's campaign for the presidency 1992, contributions made by Huang had been reimbursed with funds wired from a foreign Lippo Group entity into an account Riady maintained at Lippo Bank and then distributed to Huang in cash. Also, contributions made by Lippo Group entities operating in the United States were reimbursed with wire transfers from foreign Lippo Group entities.[15][16]

Huang visited the White House 78 times while working as a DNC fund-raiser.[17] James Riady visited the White House 20 times including 6 personal visits with President Clinton.[18] As a key fund-raiser he raised $3.4 million for the party.[19]

Immediately prior to joining the DNC, Huang worked in the Clintons' Commerce Department as deputy assistant secretary for international economic affairs giving him access to classified intelligence on China.[20]

Under questioning by Sen. Don Nickles during congressional investigations Clinton private investigator Terry Lenzner identified Cody Shearer as a liaison between Lenzner's firm, Investigative Group International, and the Cheyenne-Arapaho tribe. The tribe had donated more than $100,000 to the Democratic Party hoping that the Clinton administration would intervene on the tribes behalf in a dispute over drilling rights on tribal land. Lenzner's firm had been hired by the Clintons to discredit Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky and others, and had been retained to uncover compromising links between Sen. Don Nickles-opposed the tribe's claims—and local oil interests.[21]

## See also[edit]

* Terry McAuliffe
* Democrat election fraud

## References[edit]

1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20031001210123/http://www.richardpoe.com/column.cgi?story=125
2. ↑ https://www.newsmax.com/Pre-2008/Gorelick-s-Memo-Impeded-Probe/2004/04/26/id/679464/
3. ↑ Woodward, Bob, "Findings Link Clinton Allies to Chinese Intelligence", Washington Post, Feb. 10, 1998.
4. ↑ http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1773
5. ↑ Simultaneously with the Rose Law Firms's shredding of documents related to Whitewater and the death of Vince Foster, the Worthern Bank suffered a fire destroying all its documents relating to loans made to the Clinton's and their election campaigns. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/04/23/whitewater-weirdness/2422e03b-eb40-4816-936d-86ccc50f6a6c/
6. ↑ FBI Arrests Chinese Millionaire Once Tied to Clinton $$ Scandal, ABC News
7. ↑ New Clinton Scandal Mirrors 'Chinagate,' Say Analysts, CNSNews
8. ↑ Chinagate's smoking gun, WND
9. ↑ "James Riady Pleads Guilty", Department of Justice, press release, January 11, 2001.
10. ↑ "Former Democratic fund-raiser John Huang pleads guilty", CNN.com, Aug. 12, 1999.
11. ↑ Woodward, Bob and Duffy, Brian, "Chinese Embassy Role In Contributions Probed", Washington Post, February 13, 1997.
12. ↑ Woodward, Bob, "Findings Link Clinton Allies to Chinese Intelligence", Washington Post, Feb. 10, 1998.
13. ↑ [1]
14. ↑ mlhttps://fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm
15. ↑ "James Riady Pleads Guilty", Department of Justice, press release, January 11, 2001.
16. ↑ "Former Democratic fund-raiser John Huang pleads guilty", CNN.com, Aug. 12, 1999.
17. ↑ "The Democratic Fund-Raising Flap: Timeline", CNN.com, July 1, 1997.
18. ↑ "The Democratic Fund-Raising Flap: Cast of Characters", CNN.com, July 1, 1997.
19. ↑ "Campaign Finance Key Player: John Huang", Washington Post, July 27, 1997.
20. ↑ "Highlights of U.S. report on alleged China spying", CNN.com, May 25, 1999.
21. ↑ https://www.weeklystandard.com/the-other-secret-dossier/article/2011477

## External links[edit]

* The Idiot's Guide to Chinagate, Newsmax