Although facing allegations of illegal campaign donations and an
ongoing Department of Justice investigation, Indonesian businessman
James Riady, son of billionaire Moctar Riady, says President Bill
Clinton will join the Lippo Group after he leaves office.
"Indonesian tycoon James Riady has invited U.S. President Bill
Clinton to join the board of Lippo Group when he steps down from office
early next year, according to business people who have met Riady in
Jakarta recently," states a report appearing in the Far Eastern Economic
Review.
"Riady has been telling business contacts in Jakarta that he expects
Clinton to accept, even though the U.S. president has been dogged by
allegations that Riady funneled illegal foreign donations to Clinton's
1992 and 1996 election campaigns," states the Intelligence section of
the Review's edition dated Oct. 12, 2000.
White House Press Office spokesman Mark Kitchens did not respond to
WorldNetDaily's questions about the Lippo board position being offered
to Clinton. However, outside the White House, the reaction to the report
was swift.
"It would be a continuation of Bill Clinton's employment by the
Riadys, and for Chinese army intelligence, as reported by several
congressional committees," stated Tom Fitton, president of Judicial
Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based legal watchdog group that has several
ongoing court actions against Clinton and his administration.
"The Riadys were Bill Clinton's greatest financial supporter in 1992
and a major donor in 1996. Clinton met with the Riadys inside the Oval
Office and discussed fundraising and foreign policy," noted Fitton.
"He's been working for the Riadys for eight years," echoed David
Schippers, former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, who
successfully sought Clinton's impeachment.
"At least it might get him out of the country," said Schippers, who
has since written
"Sellout: The Inside Story of President Clinton's
Impeachment."
"Who could be surprised that Bill Clinton is viewed as more interested in taking on a lucrative board position than, for example, responding to the genocidal destruction of southern Sudan," commented Eric Reeves, Sudan researcher and human rights advocate. "This is the real Bill Clinton."
The relationship between Moctar Riady and Clinton extends to the 1980s when Riady purchased the Arkansas-based Worthen Bank. Riady is accused of sending his gardener, Arief Wiriadinata, to see Clinton in the White House with an illegal campaign donation. Wiriadinata gave the president a $400,000 donation.
Another key figure in the scandal surrounding Moctar Riady is convicted fundraiser and former Lippo banker John Huang. Riady and Huang met with Clinton at the White House 10 times between June 21 and June 27, 1994. Directly after the meetings, Webster Hubbell, who was then about to be indicted by a federal grand jury, received over $400,000 from the Lippo Group.
Shortly after the Lippo money was given to Hubbell, Huang obtained a secret clearance and an executive position as assistant secretary of the Commerce Department. Huang reportedly left a six-figure salary to work at Commerce.
While there, Huang obtained 37 briefings from the CIA on encryption technology. He obtained secret materials on trade and weapons deals with Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea and the Middle East. It is also known that Huang obtained information on proposed U.S. Patriot missile sales to South Korea and mobile artillery sales to Kuwait.
Huang and his wife Jane have both taken the Fifth Amendment during testimony. According to Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman, Huang relied on the Fifth Amendment nearly two thousand times when asked if he was a spy for Beijing. Huang pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in August 1999.
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