Adding another piece to a still- incomplete puzzle, Clinton-Gore fundraiser Johnny Chung testified before Congress that ex-Clinton aide Mark E. Middleton received $500,000 from Chinese officials “to do good things for China.”
The revelation adds urgency to the question of whether the corrupt Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) is helping Clinton-Gore cover-up the Chinese espionage scandal. The question was first raised by NLPC, based on original research conducted as part of its Organized Labor Accountability Project.
The Luskin Connection
The possible link between LIUNA and the Chinese scandal is Robert D.
Luskin, who serves both as Middleton’s attorney and the overseer of LIUNA’s
“internal reform effort.”
In 1994, the Department of Justice (DOJ) was poised to take over LIUNA. It accused the union and its President, Arthur A. Coia, of being controlled by organized crime. Instead of taking over the union, however, DOJ entered into a unique agreement in 1995 allowing LIUNA to reform itself.
LIUNA portrays Luskin as an outsider brought in to clean up the union, but a NLPC special report released in January contains devastating evidence of Luskin’s lack of independence and effectiveness. Entitled “The Failure of the LIUNA Reform Effort,” the report can be obtained from NLPC or is available on our website (www.nlpc.org).
For overseeing the LIUNA “reform,” Luskin’s law firm is paid lavishly, over $90,000 per month. Luskin has admitted, in the Washington Post, to charging Middleton a reduced rate on his legal expenses. Is it possible LIUNA gets more for its $90,000 than just Luskin’s assistance in the “clean up,” namely Middleton’s silence?
Middleton has taken the Fifth Amendment when questioned by Congressional investigators. His only response to any of the allegations have been categorical denials by Luskin of any involvement in illegal fundraising activity, a now-laughable assertion.
Who is Mark Middleton?
Middleton is a long-time friend of Bill Clinton from Arkansas. He came
to Washington and worked as an assistant to White House Chief of Staff
Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty from 1993-95. During and after his White
House service, Middleton became a key liaison to Asian scandal figures
like Charlie Trie, James Riady and John Huang.
Five days after a 1994 White House meeting between Middleton, Riady and Huang, a Riady company sent Webster Hubbell $100,000, as part of a series of payments apparently designed to buy Hubbell’s silence in matters under investigation by Ken Starr.
After leaving the White House, Middleton traveled with Charlie Trie to Taiwan and reportedly passed out business cards stating he was a special assistant to Clinton. Although this was false, Middleton was no stranger at the White House, visiting 63 times after he quit.
Chung’s Explosive Testimony
While Middleton’s involvement with shady Asian figures like Riady was
widely known, Chung’s testimony links Middleton for the first time to the
Communist Chinese government.
In dramatic testimony before Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and the House Government Reform Committee on May 11, Chung not only told of how a Chinese military made cash gifts to Clinton-Gore’s reelection, but also of threats to his family if he talked, and the promise of hush money if he didn’t. In response, the FBI hid Chung and his family for three weeks.
Chung said how he was introduced to General Ji Shengde, chief intelligence officer of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by Liu Chao-ying, a daughter of a PLA Lt. General. Ji told Liu that he would wire $300,000 to her to provide to Chung for a gift to the Democratic Party. Chung also testified that Liu told him of a transaction in which the Communists “gave a Singapore group $500,000” for Middleton.
More Denials from Luskin
Luskin’s response to Chung’s testimony was a flat denial: “Mark never
worked in any way, directly or indirectly with the People’s Republic of
China or anybody associated with it. Period.”
But financial documents show that Middleton received a wire transfer of $499,985 from an Asian bank. Investigators have obtained a note by Middleton to Singapore billionaire Yip Uan Wong in which he thanks Wong “for the update on Ms. Liu.”
Even after the Chung testimony, Luskin alleged that Middleton has fully cooperated with DOJ investigators and has been assured that “they have no reason to think that Mark is a subject or target of any investigation.”
Reno: Prosecutor or Protector?
According to DOJ documents released by mistake and detailed in an August
2 Robert Novak column, the Middleton probe has been upgraded from “likely
to be closed shortly” to “ongoing.” In any other Administration,
this would be presumed to be a stepped-up response to new information,
but it appears to just be Administration efforts to protect Middleton.
When an investigation is classified as “ongoing,” DOJ claims that it may not release any information to Congress or the media. Novak concludes that DOJ may be using its “investigations” to block real investigations by Congress and others.
Middleton Silence Continues
On August 5, Middleton continued his silence by taking the Fifth Amendment
28 times before the House Government Reform Committee. Middleton
remains the highest-ranking administration official to refuse to cooperate
in the campaign finance probe.
EW