Weekly Campaign Finance Hearings Wrap-Up
Friday, July 18th, 1997 -- Thursday's Senate hearings on campaign finance abuses found partisanship in high gear as Democrats openly sought to discredit a Senate staffer and the White House accused committee Chairman Fred Thompson of loading the dice with a gaggle of witnesses who did nothing more than engage in theory and presented little fact to bolster Republican contentions that John Huang was acting as an agent for the Lippo Group and China while fundraising during his tenure at the Commerce Department and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The White House accused Republicans of murdering the truth in their lust to skewer the President on campaign finance tactics. White House special counsel Lanny Davis said the Republicans who control the investigatory committee agenda had adopted a "partisan slashing approach." "This is not about a search for the truth. This is partisan politics,'' said Davis.
Yesterday, the Committee called Paula Greene, an office manager for Stephens, Inc., a Little Rock investment company -- one of the largest in the nation. Greene, a sleeper for Huang, testified that Huang used the Stephens office on a regular basis while at Commerce and that she would telephone him when packages, faxes or messages came to Stephens addressed to Huang's attention. She also testified that she was instructed never to leave her boss's name with Commerce Department secretaries because he was a registered lobbyist and did not want any appearance of impropriety.Greene, of course, had no idea what Huang did at Stephen's offices, had no clue as to what he received, sent, or discussed from the posh offices supplied him by Stephens on an as-needed basis. None of the Senate panel asked the main question: why did Stephens supply Huang with an office at all, and who at Stephens ordered such arrangements? My guess is that this question will never be asked.
The fact that Greene testified at all is indicative of just how weak Thompson's list of witnesses has been. Why was this charming woman, who was little more than a receptionist, called to task in this intrigue? Where was her boss, Vernon Weaver, an agent of Stephens and the firms Washington representative and lobbyist?
It's clear that Thompson felt Weaver would make a poor witness for Republicans and quashed any chance for Weaver to come up to the Hill and make a fool of him and other GOP members.
Thompson insinuates that he called Ms. Greene to establish that Huang made phone calls from a private office rather than use his Commerce Department phones, thus establishing a pattern of deceit and illicit behavior. Yet Thompson himself must do the same when he raises money for his own campaign. Thompson, under federal law, must trot out of his Senate office and over to the Republic National Committee to make fundraising calls.
John Cobb 
The Committee's next witness was a Senate investigator, John Cobb, who alleged that Huang's telephone records indicated a "fairly extensive range of contacts" with the Lippo Group when Huang worked for Commerce. Of course, Cobb failed to mention that Huang was close personal friends with many people at Lippo and that his phone calls could have been purely social -- a fact that was underscored by Senator Robert Toricelli (D-NJ).
Democrats were furious at Cobb, and attacked his charts and graphs which they said were overstating, reaching and in some cases misrepresenting the facts. Senator Max Cleland (D-GA) came close to insulting Cobb and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) said "These charts do not come close to helping this committee.'' Senator John Glenn accused Thompson of holding a "trial in absentia."
Republicans made much of the fact that Huang was a frequent visitor to the White House, but may have overstated the number of times he "met" with the President and key staffers. White House counsel Lanny Davis said that Mr. Cobb had not only overstated the number of times Huang was at the White House, but pointed out that many of these visits were for public receptions and other social functions.At this week's end, the committee has done little to shed light on, or gain truth about, Huang's activities -- especially those that might in any way prove Huang was an agent for Lippo or China. Of course, this doesn't mean he wasn't.
Senator Thompson has lots of friends in foreign countries and accepts money, legally, from company PACs and employees of businesses owned by foreign entities which love to influence the congress. Senator Thompson also switches offices to "dial for dollars" from time to time. One could easily make a case that Thompson himself was an agent of foreign and domestic corporate and political interests who desired to make an impact on U.S. legislative policy -- especially under the lowered bar of credibility he has established for his own committee.
Thompson has created just what he said he didn't want: two weeks of totally partisan shenanigans with almost no substance and certainly no discussion of what could be done to curtail suspected "activity" in the future.
The American people are not stupid, but they are stunned with boredom and disappointed with Thompson's hypocrisy.
We deserve better.
© 1998, 1997, American Politics Journal Publications Inc.