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| For Immediate Release | |
| Jan 25, 2001 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Judicial Watch Had Forwarded Letter to Committee Members Suggesting Legitimate (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government abuse and corruption, uncovered in recent weeks that Labor Secretary-designate Elaine Chao not only had asked Chinese agent John Huang for campaign contributions for former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, but that her husband, Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), had also received contributions from John Huang and his company, Lippo Group, which comprises mega-banking and other interests. In a deposition of November 6, 2000, one day before the Presidential election, John Huang revealed that the money which he donated to McConnell, D’Amato and others was illegally laundered from overseas bank accounts. When asked if he had donated more than $2,000 to McConnell during the 1990's, John Huang took the Fifth Amendment and was held in contempt by the Magistrate Judge. He could face significant jail time for this and 139 other contempt citations. Huang’s 6th deposition session will continue in the next few weeks. The renowned conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote a column about John Huang’s revelations concerning Chao and McConnell on January 18, 2001. See www.JudicialWatch.org. Other articles written by investigative reporters in the last few weeks show that Elaine Chao and her family have “ties” to Communist Chinese President Jiang Zemin and that Ms. Chao had criticized the well-respected Cox Committee for uncovering breaches of national security by Wen Ho Lee and Communist China. Specifically, Ms. Chao called the Cox Committee report “racist.” Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman had a meeting with Ms. Chao several years ago, in late 1996 after he deposed John Huang and asked her, in the presence of a colleague, whether she knew John Huang. Ms. Chao gave no indication that she did and sidestepped the question. Huang testified, under oath, that he met Chao at least four times. (Chao now cannot remember ever meeting Huang.) “The first Labor Secretary-designate, Linda Chavez, was forced to withdraw her nomination based upon lack of candor and an incident of providing shelter to an immigrant. Ironically, the potential seriousness of Ms. Chao’s apparent lack of candor concerning John Huang, as well as her involvement with him, raises questions far more serious than those raised against Ms. Chavez. Despite this, the Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Labor Committee refused to ask her any questions about Huang and his laundered contributions to her husband, D’Amato and other politicians,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. “The behavior of Democrats and Republicans is shameful and stems from a desire, as expressed by Bob Novak, not only to cover-up matters concerning Chinagate, but also to do a favor for their fellow-Senator Mitch McConnell. This conduct does not serve the interests of the American people,” added Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. |
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