Look who’s minding the store

William Reinsch is the under secretary for export administration (BXA) from the U.S. Commerce Department. Mr. Reinsch has been with the Commerce Department since 1994, starting his service under Ron Brown. As head of BXA, Reinsch is charged with administering and enforcing American high-tech export control policies and anti-boycott laws.

Reinsch controls billions of dollars in American technology exports from his position at BXA. For example, Reinsch controls high-speed computers, advanced secure communications systems and encryption software. According to the Commerce Department, Reinsch’s job also includes helping “Russia and other newly emerging nations develop effective export controls systems and convert their defense industries to civilian production.”

Interestingly, Mr. Reinsch has zero experience in either technical matters or military affairs. Reinsch’s only qualification is that he was an aide to Sen. Jay Rockefeller and former Senator John Heinz. This is quite unusual for a person charged with such an export job involving the international “defense” industry.

According to the Commerce Department, Reinsch’s only business experience consists of “president of the Saint Mark Elderly Housing Corporation.” It is certain that Reinsch’s business experience running rental housing for the aged has little application toward the export of advanced defense related equipment to Russia and China such as super-computers. Yet, during Mr. Reinsch’s tenure, a wide range of advanced technology has been shipped outright to China, India and Russia.

I once had the opportunity to ask Mr. Reinsch about one specific transfer he worked on in 1995 for Loral. According to Commerce documentation, Mr. Reinsch exchanged a series of highly classified memos with Commerce lawyer Bettie Baca on the export of Loral GLOBALSTAR satellites to be launched by the Russians. President Clinton signed the waiver for Loral to launch from the former Soviet Union in July 1996. Clinton’s waiver included the transfer of encrypted telemetry control systems to China for the GLOBALSTAR satellites.

I cornered Bill Reinsch in April 1998 at the Rayburn congressional office building after a conference on President Clinton’s encryption policy. At first, Mr. Reinsch claimed he did not author the documents on Loral satellite exports. I then presented an official list of items from the U.S. Commerce Department that showed he indeed did author the 1995 Loral memos. At this point Reinsch’s face went pale and he ran from the room.

I gave chase, demanding answers with tape recorder in hand, attracting the attention of several dozen congressional staffers and a select few from the press as witnesses. Reinsch, however, was faster. He pushed past the crowded entrance and dashed down the congressional hallway, running in full stride in his three-piece suit. Since then, Mr. Reinsch has refused all requests for an interview.

Until recently, Reinsch controlled commercial satellite exports. President Clinton passed the authority to control satellite exports to the Commerce Department by executive order in 1996. Republican legislation signed by President Clinton in October 1998 puts that authority back to the State Department and the Defense Department.

Another example of Mr. Reinsch’s experience with the defense industry through elderly housing is the export of high speed computers to Russian and Chinese nuclear weapons labs. In 1995 Bill Reinsch wrote a memo to Ron Brown detailing a secret meeting with a group of computer CEOs, consisting of Apple, AT&T, Compaq, Cray, Silicon Graphics, Digital Equipment Corporation, Tandem, Sun and Unisys. The group is called the CSPP or Computer Systems Policy Project.

CSPP computer executives have backed Clinton since 1992 with big bucks. For example, Apple’s chairman John Scully is a major donor to the Clinton campaigns and a long time supporter.

In 1995 the CSPP lobby group was led by Ken Kay, an employee of Tony Podesta, the brother of White House adviser John Podesta. John Podesta is now Clinton’s chief of staff. In 1995, John Podesta worked at the White House running encryption and super computer policy. During the same period of time, the CSPP and Clinton officials began a series of classified briefings on encryption and super computer export policy.

In 1995 IBM and Silicon Graphics sold super-computers directly to Russian atomic weapon labs. IBM has since been fined $8.5 million on the $7 million sale. In fact, Commerce spokesman Eugene Cotilli pointed out in October 1998 that the Commerce Department investigation led to the conviction.

Of course, Commerce did not start investigating until the Russian minister in charge of MINATOM (Ministry of Atomics) announced publicly the U.S. computers would be used for nuclear weapons research. Cotilli also did not deny that there is no investigation of CSPP member Silicon Graphics and their sale of four super computers to Russian nuclear engineers at the Chelyabinsk-70 weapons lab in the fall of 1996. Thus, while IBM is convicted, Clinton supporter and Podesta associate client Silicon Graphics remains uninvestigated.

In 1998, White House special counsel to the president, Michael B. Waitzkin wrote, “In January 1997, Mr. Podesta resigned his part-time position at Podesta Associates and returned to the White House as deputy chief of staff. Mr. Podesta was requested by senior administration officials to undertake certain responsibilities with respect to encryption policy. He did not, however, undertake these responsibilities until he received specific approval from the White House counsel’s office with respect to his involvement in these matters.”

Thus, Mr. Podesta sought and obtained approval for his conflict of interest in 1997. Whether John and Tony Podesta shared a conflict of interest in 1995 has so far remained unresolved but not uninvestigated. House investigators in the Cox/Dix committee and on the House National Security Committee have sought information on the CSPP and John Podesta. John Podesta refuses to be interviewed.

The fact is, Podesta associate employee Ken Kay made thousands of dollars in donations to the DNC in 1994 and 1995. Yet, according to CSPP lawyer C. Boyden Gray, Ken Kay only donated $2,500 of which $1,250 was returned by the DNC in the form of a painting. According to official Federal Election Commission records, none of Mr. Kay’s donations totaled to $2,500 or $1,250. Mr. Kay also will not respond to interview requests.

The CSPP is, in part, still funded by the taxpayer. The CSPP is now helping the Clinton administration design the next generation Internet and getting paid to do it. Obviously, many of the CSPP members will benefit financially as each new Internet contract is offered and they sell more equipment.

In 1998 CSPP lawyer C. Boyden Gray claimed that official Clinton secret meetings began in November 1995. Reinsch, however, clearly wrote to Ron Brown about an earlier secret meeting in June of 1995, when Tony Podesta employed Ken Kay and John Podesta was charged with computer oversight policy.

The materials given to CSPP members at the White House on encryption are considered so sensitive that they have no public classification level such as secret or top secret. The true secrets of Clinton’s encryption policy involve hidden back doors and exploitable features built into computer products. The secrets given to CSPP members involved classified means of electronic surveillance to be built inside domestic products by the manufacturers.

The Clinton administration offered billions of tax dollars as incentive to bug every fax, phone and computer built. Clinton offered military chip designs backed by decades of Cold War research. The CSPP was given access to military algorithms and taxpayer funded programs as incentives to adopt a secret “back-door” concept for computers and communications. William Reinsch, John Podesta, Ken Kay and the DNC all refuse to comment on Bill Clinton’s secret project to bug America and the world.

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SOURCE DOCUMENT INDEX:
William Reinsch & CSPP
http://www.softwar.net/reinsch.html