WHITE HOUSE COFFEES September 16, 1997 Transcript

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A RealAudio version of this report is available. KWAME HOLMAN: The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee today turned its attention once again to former Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang. SEN. FRED THOMPSON, Chairman, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee: Mr. Huang is a central figure in this inquiry. KWAME HOLMAN: Huang was an executive of the Indonesia-based Lippo Group, a conglomerate with close ties to the Democratic Party. In 1994, he joined the Commerce Department and later the Democratic National Committee. He raised $3.4 million for the 1996 campaigns, almost half of which was returned by the DNC because of questions about its source. Huang has refused to testify before the committee. Today, the committee focused on a June 1996 White House coffee attended by Huang and by Carl Jackson, who heads a business group that promotes trade between the U.S. and Thailand. KARL JACKSON: I had no awareness of that until I inadvertently attended one. I was called the day before by someone at the U.S.-Thailand Business Council and he said, "We have an opportunity to ride in on the coat tails of the chairman of the Charun Pekan Group to see the President." KWAME HOLMAN: Jackson did, and once inside the White House sat down with a group that included Thai business executives, the President, three Democratic donors, DNC fund-raiser Huang, and DNC chairman Don Fowler. KARL JACKSON: Mr. Fowler said: It's a pleasure to welcome all of you here to this coffee on behalf of the Democratic National Committee. And these coffees are important so that the President can maintain contact with people. This is particularly--this is important but it is particularly important in an election year. And this is an election year, arguably the most important election since the one that brought Abraham Lincoln to this House. He then said that we would all have an informal chat, and he sat down. QUESTIONER: And what was the next thing that occurred? KARL JACKSON: Mr. Huang stood up and said that he would like to reiterate the welcome of Chairman Fowler and that he agreed with Chairman Fowler that this was an election year and he went on to say elections cost money, lots and lots of money, and I am sure that every person in this room will want to support the re-election of President Clinton. QUESTIONER: Were you surprised by the statement? KARL JACKSON: Yes, I was. KWAME HOLMAN: Jackson said the meeting then focused on U.S.-China trade and related matters and ended after more than an hour. QUESTIONER: What was your reaction as to what had taken place? KARL JACKSON: Well, my reactions were mixed. They were disbelief, tinged with a bit of anger, disbelief at what I had witnessed in terms of someone mentioning money in front of the President in the White House, in a series of discussions of policy matters with foreign businessmen. This just broke everything that I had been taught in my service of four years' length at the White House in the previous administration. This was simply breaking all the rules. KWAME HOLMAN: Jackson spent those four years giving national security advice to then Vice President Dan Quayle. That former affiliation became the basis for a sharp exchange with Michigan's Carl Levin. SEN. CARL LEVIN, (D) Michigan: That was one person at one coffee who was excessive, who overdid it. That's not--that's not the heart of the problem. There's a problem. It should never happen. Improper. Okay. Now, let's go on to what's done openly. 50,000 bucks you get a private reception with President Bush, 20,000 bucks you go to Vice President Quayle's house, 10,000 bucks you get a visit with the committee chairman of your choice in a Republican Congress. Until you get to that, Democrats and Republicans have both done it, until you get to that, what you're doing is looking at one little hair on the tail of the elephant. That's what we're doing here so far. We ought to get to that hair on the tail of the elephant. KARL JACKSON: Could I respond to that? I would contend the most serious problem of all is when you're located in the very seat of our government, in the center of the White House, with the President of the United States, there should be no ambiguity henceforth that that is wrong and probably if it isn't already illegal, it should be made illegal. KWAME HOLMAN: Democrats pointed out Jackson is the only attendee at the June 18th White House coffee who believed John Huang made a clear solicitation for campaign money. This afternoon two attendees--former Thai business group representative Clarke Wallace and prominent Democratic fund-raiser Beth Dozoretz also had differing recollection. MARK TIPPS, Republican Counsel: Tell us as best you can recall what Mr. Huang said. CLARKE WALLACE, Former Director, U.S.-Thailand Business Council: He thanked the President for coming to the coffee to meet with the group, and he spoke to the table and he said, he talked about how this President was the right person to lead the country into the next millennium. And he knew that everyone at that table would do everything they could in the next elections. And that's what I remember. MARK TIPPS: All right. So how did you, Mr. Wallace, interpret what Mr. Huang had said? How did you take that? CLARKE WALLACE: That he was encouraging everyone at the table to do what they could to help the President get re-elected, either by contributing money or by promoting the President's platform in the elections, or, you know, he didn't make any specific recommendations. MARK TIPPS: And did he say what Mr. Wallace has attributed doing? BETH DOZORETZ, Trustee, Democratic National Committee: No, he did not. MARK TIPPS: All right. BETH DOZORETZ: What I'm saying to you is after hearing what people said that Mr. Huang said to the group, my opinion is that he did not say that. MARK TIPPS: That's your opinion? BETH DOZORETZ: He did not say that. And I would remember if he said that because he would have been soliciting people that I brought to the coffee. He would have been soliciting me, and I certainly would have remembered it, and I certainly would have left there having a clear understanding that he worked for the DNC. KWAME HOLMAN: Despite the divergent testimony, Oklahoma Republican Don Nickles said he's drawn a conclusion about all 100 White House coffees and the type of political money they raised. SEN. DON NICKLES, (R) Oklahoma: Mr. Chairman, I believe very strongly these White House coffees were illegal. These events--and there's other coffees and so on--they projected how much money they were going to raise, how much hard money would be raised. They were raising hard money, illegal money in the White House. And this was known. This was done by DNC. This was a fact, and, again, I'm not asking the panel to--even for their comments. I'm just saying it's clearly--according to the attorney general's interpretation--illegal. And she should appoint a special counsel. I don't see how she has any other choice. KWAME HOLMAN: Meanwhile, tomorrow's long-awaited start of the companion to these hearings before the House Government Reform Committee was postponed until at least Thursday over a question of immunity for witnesses. These Senate campaign fund-raising hearings resume tomorrow.

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