The Cassandra Page: The Clintons, China and the scandal that we ignore at our peril.

As I promised Monday, here is the biggest reason to oppose the Clintons. For those of you that claim to be offended because of the scandalous nature of the Ed Klein "attack", here is a test. If these facts don't cause you to take up your sword and oppose the Clintons, then your feigned "offense" at the Klein book was a mere "feel good" exercise.

I will not repeat the entire history of the Clinton years, but it is important to remember 1994 - the year that Newt Gingrich and the Republicans took control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. This event was a true political earthquake. Commentators spoke of nothing else for months (while MSM/DNC mouthpieces would plot to reverse that result for the next . . . . Oh wait, they're still trying to do that). Clinton appeared to be doomed. With the presidential election only 2 years away, his presidency a disaster, his party in disarray and out of power everywhere but the White House - the prospects seemed hopeless for a second term.

We all know what happened. I won't bore you with the details of how he reshaped his image or outsmarted Bob Dole. The most important element in Clinton's revival was CASH, and lots of it. Clinton spent and spent and spent again. He bought airtime and used that airtime long before he even had an opponent. He became a fundraising machine. He sold access to the White House in various forms - coffees, nights in the Lincoln bedroom, etc. Among his main money suppliers were the Chinese.

We all know that it is illegal for foreign governments to spend money to influence American elections. Foreign governments cannot contribute to Presidential campaigns. (If you don't understand the reason for this law, you have spent too much time listening to John Kerry and his "global test.") But that law didn't stop Clinton. It only slowed him down. Before the race even ended, reports began to surface of shadowy Asian figures making huge contributions to Clinton that those individuals could not afford. Individuals whose names appeared on the contribution reports were reimbursed by China or by corporations seeking to sell ICBM or satellite technology to China.

The links are now old and broken, but here are references to articles from that era:

AP reported on May 2, 2000 regarding a Justice Department memo that was ultimately lost in the spin:

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.
LaBella said the question would be whether the money, in such situations, was given in exchange for the benefit to a business.
emphasis added

The scandal did not involve merely the outright sale of technology. It is involved spying and lax enforcement by the Clinton Justice Department:

A New York Post article from 1999 contained the following excerpts:

The chief suspect in revealing top U.S. nuclear secrets to China, Wen Ho Lee, flunked a lie-detector test last February, a new congressional report says.

The probe "was not a comedy of errors but a tragedy of errors," said Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), the panel's ranking Democrat. "There was a shocking lack of thoroughness, competency and urgency in the government's investigation."

Possibly for the first time ever, the report says, the Justice Department refused to help the FBI get a wiretap - agents were seeking to eavesdrop on Lee.

Critics have also questioned when President Clinton was informed of possible Chinese spying and why his administration was so slow to react.

During Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, Democrats got - and later returned - megabucks in illegal campaign cash with Chinese links.

I have the complete article in my computer, but I don't have the date. There were many stories of this kind at that time.
William Safire chimed in many times, including January 15, 2001 in the New York Times:

As he rages against the dying of the spotlight, Bill Clinton can breathe one final sigh of relief: the man with whom he established the illegal "Asian Connection" that heavily financed his 1992 and 1996 campaigns has been given a walk by Reno Justice.

James Riady, the Indonesian billionaire with close ties to Beijing's leaders, was allowed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. One of his banks will pay a fine of $8 million, to him a painless penalty. Because no threat of jail hangs over the Clinton money man who evaded subpoenas for almost five years, he is not induced to tell the whole truth about his hugely successful purchase of White House influence.

Staring us in the face is this stunning assertion now harder than ever to controvert: An American president's foreign policy decisions were substantially influenced by unlawful campaign contributions at critical times from a foreign source. In my view, that inescapable judgment will be more damning in history's eyes than Whitewater cover-ups or any abuses for which Clinton was impeached.
His defense is an artful denial that his decisions were influenced "solely" by contributions. Not solely. Other considerations, such as the avid advocacy of some business executives, muddied his motives so that a charge of outright bribery cannot be brought.

But the election law was broken and the reluctant Justice Department had to be hounded by a vigilant press and frustrated Congress into doing even part of its duty. Riady's much-needed money passed and Clinton's favors were done and America's Asian policies were changed. No nostalgic spinning or pleas to move on will ameliorate that betrayal of trust.

Even though the links no longer work, I have the entire articles in my hard drive for anyone that might be interested.

Insight Magazine wrote the following in early 2000:

Clinton friend and fund-raiser Charles Trie was a conduit for illegal donations from Chinese military and intelligence operatives to the Democratic National Committee and the president’s campaign committees. But Insight has learned that Trie also was involved — and used Clinton connections — in facilitating a 1993 sale of dual-use medical technology to China that poses a significant national-security threat.
In the course of 17 secret Trie interviews with the FBI in 1999 the Clinton confidant revealed an elaborate and illegal scheme to funnel large sums into Clinton-Gore campaign coffers and the president’s legal-defense fund. He 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.

For those who might be tempted to ask, "so what?", look at this excerpt from Bill Gertz on October 15, 1999:

China is building up its missile forces in preparation for possible attacks against Taiwan - and the United States if the U.S. military comes to the island's aid. The large number of regional offensive missile systems, backed by space-based spying systems, will be the "cornerstone of People's Liberation Army warfighting early in the 21st century" and a "devastating weapon of military utility," according to a Pentagon report.

"Beijing's drift toward a force dominated by offensive theater missiles could have significant implications for regional stability," the report said. "In the most likely scenario for their use, the PLA's growing arsenal of highly accurate and lethal theater missiles, and a preemptive doctrine could give Beijing a decisive edge in any future conflict with Taiwan."

Regarding U.S. involvement in a war between China and Taiwan, the report makes clear that Beijing won't hesitate to attack.

"The PLA has indicated a willingness to use highly accurate short-range ballistic missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles and land attack cruise missiles against U.S. assets, to include key bases in Japan and aircraft carriers operating in the Western Pacific," the report said, noting that Chinese weapons planners are working hard at preparing missiles to attack U.S. carriers.

Clinton's illegal policies brought us closer to facing the choice between war or ignoring a Chinese attack on its neighbors.
A congressional report concurs (as reported by Gertz in November 1999):

A newly declassified House committee report says China stole secrets on every deployed U.S. nuclear missile warhead in recent years and now has 20 long-range missiles aimed at the United States.
The report, obtained yesterday by The Washington Times, is a sweeping analysis of Chinese efforts to steal U.S. military and defense secrets and technology.
"The world is a lot less safe today as a consequence of these thefts," said Rep. Christopher Cox, California Republican and chairman of the special House committee.
. . . . . . . .
The report also said China supplies assistance to the nuclear weapons programs of Iran and Pakistan.
That finding contradicts President Clinton's recent certification to Congress that China was not supplying nuclear weapons-related goods to rogue states.
The report identified two Chinese officials, Wang Jun and Liu Chaoying, as being directly involved in illegal activities in the United States.
Mr. Wang is the son of the late Chinese President Wang Zhen and is head of a Chinese company that tried to smuggle 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles into the United States. He also attended a White House "coffee" with Mr. Clinton in 1996 and is connected to more than $600,000 in illegal campaign contributions made by Charles Yah Lin Trie to the Democratic National Committee.

Jeff Gerth of the New York Times had reported similar findings (with the usual MSM/DNC spin included) on March 17, 1999:

In late 1996, months earlier than previously acknowledged, a senior Clinton Administration official ordered that security measures at the nation's nuclear weapons laboratories be quickly strengthened, but his orders were largely ignored or delayed, Administration officials said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, China moves troops into the Sudan and Haiti and takes operational control of the Panama Canal.

These items are only part of the story. I have barely scratched the surface. But there is enough here to paint a clear picture of Bill Clinton selling out our security to a country bent on some degree of world domination on a scale rivaling the totalitarian powers of the 20th century. Hillary remained a willing partner with her husband during his administration. She cannot escape responsibility and does not deserve sympathy. As her husband always said, we got two for the price of one.

you know who

If this scandal bears fruit in the form of some future disaster, at least those of us that blogged it can claim to have warned the rest of us of the coming danger. It is a virtual guarantee that China will grow in power and influence in the coming years. It is also a guarantee that repression, threats, bluster and the risk of war will accompany China's rise for the foreseeable future. It has yet to be seen whether we can avoid the worst potential consequences of the Clintons' sellout. Keeping our heads buried in the sand is no way to achieve that goal.