On Memorial Day, my family was invited to my good friend Bob
Abernethy’s house along with a third family. Together, we all have kids
ranging in age from 6 to 20. Like any other American family, we had a
barbecue by the swimming pool.
Bob wanted to make sure the kids understood the meaning of Memorial
Day. They need to know it is not about the opening day for the public
swimming pool. To accomplish this, he read the Gettysburg Address,
written by Abraham Lincoln, which ends with these words: “… we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that
government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish
from the earth.”
Bob also read a letter a Rhode Island soldier, Maj. Sullivan Ballou,
wrote to his wife during the Civil War. As you read the letter you can
tell that he senses his impending death one week later. Yet he said that
he was willing to lay down his life to help maintain “this government.”
Bob also read an article sharing the reflections of a U.S. Marine who
was shipped off to officer training school just before many of his
friends fought and died on Iwo Jima.
We just wanted to make sure our kids know the freedom we have in this
nation exists because of those good, fine American soldiers who died to
preserve it. We are not getting that for free — it comes at a high
price.
Ten years ago, when I became an American citizen, I had to take an
oath. It was a very proud and important moment for me, and I took it
very seriously. I was giving my loyalty to the United States by taking
that oath.
That loyalty is the reason I continue to tell people about
Chinagate. Whatever it costs me, I will continue to tell the truth. It
is much more important than Monicagate ever could be — and someday
people will realize it.
But there are those who would try to sell our freedom. President
Abraham Lincoln, whose bedroom was sold for cash by President Clinton,
did not say “government of the people who donate big money, by the
people who donate big money, and for the people who donate big money,”
but, ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly what we have today. You need
look no further than the recent $26.5 million Democratic fund-raiser,
where the bulk of the money came from donors giving $500,000 each.
How many average Americans can afford to donate $500,000? That is
what it is all about today — fat-cat donors giving and getting. They
are not as stupid as I was — I just wanted to take a picture with the
president. But do you think they are giving that kind of money without
getting anything?
Did you know that the Democrats — supposedly the party of the poor
— refuses to disclose the size of their average contribution? The
Republicans have disclosed that their average contribution is $55. Why
are the Democrats so shy about telling us theirs?
Maybe we should ask President Clinton’s pal Terry McAuliffe — a
major architect of the Clinton fund-raising machine. Every time I
talked to my point-person at the DNC, Richard Sullivan, and wanted to
have something to be done, like a private moment to take a picture with
the president, Sullivan always said his boss, Terry McAuliffe, could
make it happen. If you wanted anything, Terry was the man who would
make it happen. McAuliffe’s fame extended throughout the DNC and the
White House.
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The notorious ‘Mr. Fish Powder,’ a Chinese business associate named Mr. Lee, Johnny Chung and Terry
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I was part of that fund-raising machine for a time. I tried to do
what I thought was good for America by helping the Democrat party. In
fact, that’s why I registered as a Democrat the day I became a citizen.
I now know I was wrong, and that they use minorities for political
purposes and as convenient scapegoats.
The Democrats have become the party of corruption. Have you noticed
that the non-elected players in Chinagate that have been investigated so
far are all minority donors — not a single campaign worker, staff
member, or politician has been indicted.
It just so happens that most of these people, at least the ones I
dealt with, were Caucasians. So I have a hard time accepting the
Democrat line that it is the party of the poor and minorities. As the
judge said at my sentencing: “It is very strange that the giver pleads
guilty in front of me and the givee gets off free.”
After 10 years of living as a Democrat, I began to understand that
this White House administration and the DNC retaliate against those who
are willing to come out and tell the truth to the American people.
Recently, we heard about many women, such as Paula Jones and Juanita
Broaddrick, that have been
audited by the IRS. Of course, that’s not a coincidence. It doesn’t need to take a super computer to calculate the odds of Clinton critics being audited.
Let me tell you about my first-hand experience. The moment I decided to come out and tell the truth, I, too, became the victim of IRS harassment that still continues today, years after it began.
Not only that, but I also found myself on the defensive after the Federal Election Commission took action against me. I wonder how many people involved in Chinagate are in the same position.
But wait, there’s more! The California Franchise Tax Board tried to send a collection agency after me, even though they already knew I was broke. That’s still an ongoing saga.
No, this administration does not reflect the kind of America our soldiers have died to protect. Instead of working to ensure freedom, White House staff are busy finding places to hide from the first lady.
One day in 1995, I went to the White House to pick up some pictures to deliver to my Chinese business associates. As I was leaving the photo office, located in the basement underneath the oval office I noticed all the White House employees running away.
“Why don’t you stay inside that office,” they asked, pointing back to the photo office.
I asked them why, and was told the first lady was on the way.
“She doesn’t like people in the hallway,” they said. “She wants the hallway clear. She doesn’t want people to be face-to-face with her.”
To me, they all looked like tiny mice running from a cat, and I was a fish at the end of the hallway waiting to be devoured.
I’m the one who gave her the money, I thought to myself, so why should I run?
There were two secret service agents in front of Mrs. Clinton and one behind her. She said “Hello, Johnny,” giving me her professional politician smile, and went on her way.
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| First lady Hillary Clinton and Johnny Chung |
And let’s not forget the vice president. When the illegal fund-raising activity occurred in the Buddhist Temple, Vice President Gore initially said, “That was community outreach.”
But then his fund-raiser, Maria Hsia, was convicted, and John Huang and Charlie Trie gave testimonies that strongly suggested the event was a fund-raiser. Only then did Gore acknowledge the truth.
I think Gore has spent too much time with Clinton. It has become more and more difficult for him to decide what to say. To be an American president, we all know that you need to have honesty and integrity, but I do not find those qualities in him. President Clinton also lacks those qualities, as we all know too well.
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| Vice President Al Gore and Johnny Chung |
Mr. President, when you gave your testimony to the U.S. Grand Jury, you were supposed to tell the truth, just as I did. The way you are running our country is a disgrace, and the way you use your presidential power to attack your enemies is dishonorable.
As an American citizen, I spent Memorial Day thinking about my need to stand up as a responsible American citizen and tell the truth — not to twist and side-step the truth. And I will encourage my fellow American citizens to stand up and fight against the corruption of this administration.
Standing up against tyranny and corruption is what Memorial Day is all about. Our soldiers bled and died doing just that. The least we can do is maintain that standard of freedom by keeping our own government free of corruption.
We must also remember and be thankful for those law enforcement officers, such as career FBI agents and prosecutors, who are willing to dig deep in order to root out corruption.
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| Johnny Chung with the first couple. |
I used to be a devoted Democrat. But after all I have been through, being intimately involved in supporting the DNC and the current White House occupants, and after all I have seen them do to this country in the last eight years, I have come to the point where I can no longer call myself a Democrat.
I have a message for the DNC and the White House: My loyalty to the United States is not for sale — and neither is my silence.
