In an apparent breach of national security, the Central Intelligence
Agency provided convicted Chinagate figure John Huang with information
on corrupt trade deals with Indonesia, according to documents obtained
from Huang's files, which included the names and phone numbers of four
CIA agents.
The original documents that identified the CIA agents were heavily
blacked out and marked as being withheld for "national security"
reasons. However, Clinton administration officials accidentally
included a second un-blacked-out copy, revealing the CIA contacts, with
documents for Huang.
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Judicial Watch, a
Washington-based legal watchdog group, obtained documentation on the CIA
meetings with Huang as part of a cache of over 200 boxes of materials
from the U.S. Commerce Department through a Freedom of Information Act
lawsuit.
Huang, who pled guilty in 1999 to federal charges of making illegal
political contributions to the Clinton/Gore campaign, had joined the
U.S. Commerce Department after leaving a much higher paying job with the
Lippo Group, a firm owned by Indonesian billionaire Moctar Riady, a
close supporter of President Suharto. During his stay at Commerce, Huang
obtained a secret clearance and attended more than 37 classified
briefings with the CIA.
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"Huang clearly had access to commercial information that would have
been of keen interest to the Riadys," said Asian defense specialist, and
co-author of "Year of the Rat," William Triplett. "That very night Huang
called Lippo in Jakarta."
"Huang took the Fifth Amendment more than two thousand times when
asked by Judicial Watch if he had ties to Chinese intelligence," added
Triplett.
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The newly-released documents from the Commerce Department show that
agents from the Central Intelligence Agency met with Huang and
representatives from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation.
According to the documents, four CIA agents attended an August 1994
"Trade Policy Coordinating Committee" meeting with Huang on Indonesia.
(Editor's note: WorldNetDaily has the names of the CIA personnel but
is not publishing them.) The subject of the meeting was U.S.
government-financed trade deals that contained "first family
involvement" -- a euphemism for kickbacks to relatives of
then-Indonesian dictator Suharto.
The Huang documents could not have come at a worse time for the
newly-declared Hillary Clinton Senate campaign in New York. It was Mrs.
Clinton who reportedly had insisted that Huang be given a position at
the Commerce Department under Ron Brown. And she has not made any
public comment regarding her relationship with Riady, Huang's former
employer. A Hillary 2000 spokesperson refused to answer questions on
the newly-discovered documents.
In addition, Riady has been accused of having passed illegal monies
to the 1992 and 1996 Clinton/Gore campaigns. Ominously, the CIA has
also accused Riady of working for Chinese military intelligence.
According to a 1998 CIA report presented to Sen. Fred Thompson,
R.-Tenn., "James and Moctar Riady have had a long-term relationship with
a Chinese intelligence agency. The relationship is based on mutual
benefit, with the Riadys receiving assistance in finding business
opportunities in exchange for large sums of money and other help."
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"The Chinese intelligence agency seeks to locate and develop
relationships with information collectors, particularly with close
association to the U.S. government," states the CIA report on Riady.
The accidental release of the identity of CIA agents also comes at a
time when the intelligence agency is under intense fire for lax
security. Former CIA Director John Deutch admitted that he left
classified materials on an unsecure home computer. In addition, CIA
investigators revealed that someone used Deutch's home computer to scan
the Internet and tour pornographic sites. As a result of the reports,
Deutch has lost his security clearances but no charges have been filed.
The 1994 meeting between the CIA and Huang included detailed
information on a $2.6 billion U.S.-sponsored electric power plant for
Indonesia. A 1994 Commerce Department report found in Huang's files
noted that the Indonesian "Paiton" power plant had encountered
difficulties with financing because the Asian Development Bank knew it
contained money for a Suharto family member.
"ADB had raised concern about first family involvement during its
consideration of the $50 million financial portion," states the Paiton
Project document found in Huang's files.
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"Ambassador Barry stated that the project is facing two problems (i)
the ADB financing may cave in and (ii) EXIM financing. Regarding ADB,
technical questions have been satisfied, but ADB is skittish about
involvement of Indonesia's first family (a minority shareholder is
married to Pres. Suharto's daughter)."
Kickbacks for the president's family were becoming a stumbling block.
In addition, 1994 documents provided by the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation noted that Suharto's daughter Prabowo and her
brother-in-law Hashim Djojohadikusumo were given a total "2.5%"
ownership in the U.S.-sponsored power project, through their local
company BHP.
"ADB is still considering this, b/c of very minimal involvement of
Indo ruling family in the Mission project ... ADB's delay revolves
around concern for projects in Indonesia involving the first family.
.75% ownership of the Mission project by daughter of Indo pres."
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On top of the concerns about paying off the Indonesian first family
to get the contract, in 1999 an Indonesian government audit revealed
that the Paiton power plant has accumulated losses of over $280
million. PLN, the Indonesian power company, estimated that it had lost
over $18 billion in total to Suharto corruption inside various power
plant contracts.
"It happened because there were so many people that 'used' Suharto's
power when he was still in charge," stated former president/director of
PLN, Adhi Satriya.
"The Paiton project by itself is the largest loss for PLN. Corruption
occurred in all parts of the project," said Adhi.
PLN also obtained similar documents to those found in Huang's files.
In 1999, PLN acquired documents that stated Clinton administration
officials were aware of "corruption, collusion and nepotism" inside the
electric power trade deals made with Indonesia.
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PLN used the documents to win a lawsuit against the Clinton
administration, charging that U.S. officials knew the Paiton power plant
contract was "corrupt from the beginning." In December 1999, an
Indonesian court ruled that the entire $2.6 billion Paiton power plant
contract was illegal.
In a related story, Indonesian authorities announced that they are
now seeking the testimony of former President Suharto. Indonesian law
enforcement officials have charged that Suharto and his relatives
illegally acquired billions of dollars from various corrupt schemes
during his term in office.
A spokesman for the former dictator asserted that President Suharto
was "too sick" to appear for questioning.