WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson said yesterday that President Clinton on three different occasions considered Bernard Schwartz for the job of secretary of defense.
Schwartz was the top soft money donor to the Democrat Party in 1996. His company, Loral Space and Communications, is now under investigation for allegedly illegal transfers of missile-guidance technology to Communist China.
On Dec. 14, 1992, the Associated Press reported that Schwartz was one of five persons considered for the job of defense seetary, until former Representative Les Aspin received the appointment.
On Jan. 1, 1994, Jack Nelson of the Los Angeles Times reported that Schwartz was one of six top candidates considered for the job eventually given to Deputy Defense Seetary William Perry, Nicholson said.
Then, on Dec. 4, 1996, the Associated Press reported that Schwartz was under consideration for Pentagon chief to replace Perry.
