Demos Make Refunds

DNC announces another 1.4 million in returned campaign contributions

BY FRANK H. WU

With congressional hearings into the campaign finance scandal about to start, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Friday, June 27 that it had refunded another $1,353,800 in campaign contributions it deemed to be either illegal or inappropriate. The DNC, the Washington headquarters of the political party, had stated on Feb. 28 that based on an internal audit it had decided that 172 contributions it received between 1994 and 1996 should not have been accepted. These funds are at the center of the controversy over possible foreign influence and campaign corruption in the 1996 re-election of President Bill Clinton.

According to the DNC, it has returned a total of $2,825,600 as a result of its internal inquiry. That figure represents 1.2 percent of the grand total raised by the DNC during 1994-96.

In announcing its action, the DNC pointed out that "three people--John Huang, Johnny Chung, and Charlie Yah Lin Trie--solicited 79 percent of [the] total" which was deemed questionable. The DNC asserted that only $256,000, or 19 percent of the money being given back, involved "legal questions."

The DNC also updated its earlier audit results. It noted several changes from its earlier announced plans.

There were 171 "contributions solicited by John Huang which were under $2,500" that were reviewed after the initial audit. Of those smaller donations, 11 are being given back.

The DNC internal audit, one of many investigations into the fundraising that occurred in the past presidential race, had been widely criticized for its focus on Asian Americans. One of the seven categories of the audit was funds raised "in connection with any event embracing the Asian Pacific American community." The script used by the investigators, released by the DNC, indicated that donors were asked about their citizenship status, income, and other personal financial matters.

Since the audit, the DNC has adopted new guidelines for donations, which include refusing contributions which could legally be made by individuals who hold green cards. Asian American advocacy groups have opposed this decision. Together with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Arab American civil-rights organizations, they recently launched a campaign to push for the right of legal immigrants to donate money.

The ACLU has been at the forefront of legal challenges to restrictions on campaign donations, arguing that citizens have a right under the First Amendment to support causes and candidates by giving money which can then be used to advance viewpoints--in effect, money equals speech. More recently, the ACLU has joined with other public-interest groups to propose that instead of imposing maximum limits on donations, minimum levels of campaign funds be made available to candidates through a system of public financing of elections.

In several press releases and speeches by party officials, the DNC has attempted to apologize for offending Asian Pacific Americans. A Democratic Party task force, headed by Hawaii Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, is discussing other measures that could be taken to reach out to APA supporters. In the past few weeks, the DNC has been discussing options with Asian American leaders. Some APA leaders hope that the DNC may rescind its policy, but the DNC has given no indication that it would do so.

In announcing that it was returning the money it had promised to return, the DNC took a low-key approach. Unlike its announcement of the initial audit results, at a press conference attended by both of the co-chairs of the party, its lawyers, its accountants, and dozens of journalists, the actual process of giving back checks was confirmed only by a news release sent late Friday afternoon to a few media organizations.

Leading national newspapers gave the matter minimal coverage. Although the DNC itself did not refer to the racial background of Huang and others, the New York Times reported that "the Democrats said more than three-fourths of the amount returned had been raised by three Chinese American businessmen: John Huang, Johnny Chung, and Yah Lin Trie, who is known as Charlie Trie."

Few Asian American political leaders responded to the DNC announcement. None of the major APA groups issued a formal reaction.

In an interview, Daphne Kwok, the executive director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), said, "One thing that has been improved by the DNC is that they have put this into context: this is point-zero-zero percent, so people can understand how small the amount it is. Although out of that amount, most of it came from the three central individuals."

The DNC has been experiencing financial problems since the election. It admitted that it was having difficulties maintaining sufficient cash flow, with more than $14 million in debt on its books. While campaign finance proposals are being considered, the DNC has embarked on another round of ambitious fundraising for the 1998 elections.

Attempting to turn the tables on their Republican counterparts, the DNC also pointed out that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has faced allegations of impropriety related to loans given by Ambrous Young, a Hong Kong-based businessman, to the National Policy Forum, an entity that may have been controlled by the RNC.

The Republican Party, through spokeswoman Mary Crawford, told AsianWeek, "As usual, they are playing pretty fast and loose with the facts. They are not letting the facts get in the way of their spin."

Crawford explained, "The facts are that the RNC has returned the only contribution that, as it turned out, we learned came from a foreign source. Those were received six years ago from Young Brothers. All of the documents available to the RNC since indicated that the company was owned and operated in the United States. But when we learned that the source of the funds was foreign, we returned the funds the same day."

In any event, many of the individuals whose donations have been sent back to them have been subpoenaed by congressional committees investigating the matter. On advice of their lawyers, virtually none of them is willing to discuss his or her case.

In a new development that likely represents a trend, however, the Senate committee chaired by Fred Thompson has announced grants of immunity from criminal prosecution. The committee gave immunity to Hueitsan Huang and Siuw Moi Lian, both Buddhist monks who had given money during an April 29, 1996, event at the Hsi Lai Temple in the Los Angeles area with Vice President Al Gore. The committee also extended immunity to two women, Xi Ping Wang and Yue F. Chu, both of Maryland, who apparently were reimbursed for $25,000 that they gave.

The Thompson committee reportedly is resolving some of the bitter partisan struggles over the scope of its hearings, including issues ranging from the allegations that would be investigated and the subpoenas that would be issued to the allocation of office space and office supplies to the majority and minority staff teams. According to the current plans, the committee will not only consider the charges of foreign influence but also campaign finance abuses more generally.

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