Chung banned fromDNC convention

By Julie Foster

Yesterday, WorldNetDaily columnist Johnny Chung filed his

lawsuit against
Clinton-Gore Justice Department officials
for violations of his civil rights – just one day after Chung was ordered by Judge Manuel Real not to attend the Democrat National Convention in Los Angeles, where Chung has lived for more than a decade.

According to Chung, the order was given verbally by Real in the judge’s chambers during their regular meeting, which takes place every 120 days. Attorney Larry Klayman, chairman of

Judicial Watch
and Chung’s lawyer in the suit against Justice Department officials, attempted to accompany Chung to the private meeting Monday, but was not allowed to enter the judge’s chambers.

As a result, the former Democrat fund-raiser met with Real, who sentenced Chung last year to 3,000 hours of community service for campaign finance law violations, without any attorney present.

According to Chung, Real does not want the columnist to attend either convention because he doesn’t want Chung to be taken advantage of by politicians of either party.

“The order to keep Johnny Chung from performing his duties, as assigned by WorldNetDaily.com, is a First Amendment rights violation,” said Joseph Farah, chief executive officer of WorldNetDaily.com. “First he can’t travel to the RNC in Philadelphia, and now he’s being prevented from doing his job in his own city.”

Chung announced his lawsuit, which is a result of the Justice Department’s handling of his case during the Chinagate investigation, from Los Angeles today. Simultaneously, Judicial Watch officials in Washington, D.C., filed the complaint in federal court.

In the suit, Chung accuses the Clinton-Gore Justice Department and five unnamed DOJ officials of civil rights violations, which resulted in the endangerment of Chung and his family. Information about Chung’s cooperation with the government regarding the Chinagate scandal was leaked to the media, including his whereabouts while under secluded government protection.

After the leaks, FBI officials identified and stopped at least two Chinese hit squads and one gunman before they reached Chung and his family.

“Chung is one of the only figures in the Chinagate scandal to cooperate fully with investigators and directly implicate Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore in illegal fundraising,” said Klayman. “Rather than using Mr. Chung to indict this trio, the actions of the Clinton-Gore Justice Department in leaking Mr. Chung’s whereabouts at a sensitive time were calculated to silence him by subjecting he and his family to harm. This lawsuit will finally get him justice and expose fully the facts behind the Chinagate cover-up.”

Related story:


U.S. blocks Chung’s convention coverage

Julie Foster

Julie Foster is a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily. Read more of Julie Foster's articles here.