Secret FBI Documents Reveal Kerry Accepted Laundered Contributions

[question]

taken from > Judicial Watch <

Secret FBI Documents Reveal Kerry Accepted Laundered Contributions

Senator Also May Have Set Up Meetings Between Chinese Firms, U.S. Officials

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released recently declassified documents showing that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry accepted laundered contributions for his 1996 re-election campaign from the Communist Chinese government and that, in exchange, he may have arranged meetings between Chinese aerospace executives and U.S. government officials.

Obtained from the FBI through Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests, the documents are related to the FBI’s “Chinagate” investigation into the Clinton campaign’s acceptance of contributions from Communist Chinese government sources. Among the documents released is an investigative outline dated March 27, 1998, that details the FBI’s “proposed areas of inquiry” into the actions of Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung, including questioning him about meetings Sen. Kerry set up with China Aerospace executives and about a fund-raising event for the senator in Los Angeles. The other document, dated Aug. 24, 1998, requests a polygraph of Chung, mentioning that he laundered contributions for the Clinton/Gore ’96 election campaign and for Sen. Kerry. The documents are heavily redacted, and Judicial Watch is appealing the FBI’s decision to keep secret portions of the documents.

Chung pled guilty in March 1998 to election law violations and, in a plea bargain, began cooperating with the FBI. Judicial Watch represents Chung in a lawsuit against Justice Department officials who, during the Clinton administration, leaked information about Chung’s cooperation with the department’s Campaign Finance Task Force. The unauthorized and illegal release from a sealed plea agreement of information, including the fact that he and his family were in protective custody in California, put the lives of Chung and his family in jeopardy.

“These disturbing FBI documents raise further questions about Sen. Kerry’s involvement in what looks like a quid pro quo (cash for meetings) with the Communist Chinese,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

To view the documents see the links below (Adobe Acrobat Reader Required):

> document 1 <

> document 2 <

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[proghouse]

What will Bush's staff think of next

[transparentaura]

Since the charge being made is fairly serious, I thought it warranted checking out the source. On the surface this article has all the identifying marks of another right wing hatchett job. The title, "Kerry accepted laundered contributions" implies that he personally accepted laundered money. For example Bush claims he had no knowledge of his campaign staff members working for the swift boat group, which is somewhat believable since a candidate can't possibly keep track of every member of his organization, however it is implied here that Kerry must have been personnally performing the job of treasurer of his own campaign. The story offers no further information on how these funds were "laundered" or the amount. The Chinese are repeatedly referred to as Communist Chinese as if that is an official name. Of course China has a communist govt.,but generally most respected journalists simply use the name of a nation and its people without tacking on descriptors. The tactic of constantly repeating a negative term in the same sentence as the opponents name is an old campaign tactic, again, not generally employed by respected journalists.The story further states “These disturbing FBI documents raise further questions about Sen. Kerry’s involvement in what looks like a quid pro quo (cash for meetings) with the Communist Chinese,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Quite possible, however this unsavory little practice is usually described by both parties as "access" for "contributors". The story states that Kerry set up meetings between Government officials and Chinese aerospace execs. I'm not sure why this would suprise anyone. The US has long been trying to work with the Chinese to open their markets for trade,US officials meeting with Chinese execs is not an unheard of event. This again is phrased in a way that gives it a sinister cast, almost like Kerry was selling aerospace secrets. There isn't a whole lot to this story, it's obvious campaign spin. This is too bad, since Judicial watch, long dismissed as partisan muscle backed by Richard Mellon Scaife, has by all accounts been gaining credibility for its claims of non-partisanship by taking on Cheney's secret energy policy panel. But this piece is just one more example that the right's message consists of misleading
accusations repeated ad nauseum until people start to believe it. They have not yet abandoned the playbook of the late Lee Atwater (may he roast in peace)

[proghouse]

Originally Posted by transparentaura

Since the charge being made is fairly serious, I thought it warranted checking out the source. On the surface this article has all the identifying marks of another right wing hatchett job. The title, "Kerry accepted laundered contributions" implies that he personally accepted laundered money. For example Bush claims he had no knowledge of his campaign staff members working for the swift boat group, which is somewhat believable since a candidate can't possibly keep track of every member of his organization, however it is implied here that Kerry must have been personnally performing the job of treasurer of his own campaign. The story offers no further information on how these funds were "laundered" or the amount. The Chinese are repeatedly referred to as Communist Chinese as if that is an official name. Of course China has a communist govt.,but generally most respected journalists simply use the name of a nation and its people without tacking on descriptors. The tactic of constantly repeating a negative term in the same sentence as the opponents name is an old campaign tactic, again, not generally employed by respected journalists.The story further states “These disturbing FBI documents raise further questions about Sen. Kerry’s involvement in what looks like a quid pro quo (cash for meetings) with the Communist Chinese,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Quite possible, however this unsavory little practice is usually described by both parties as "access" for "contributors". The story states that Kerry set up meetings between Government officials and Chinese aerospace execs. I'm not sure why this would suprise anyone. The US has long been trying to work with the Chinese to open their markets for trade,US officials meeting with Chinese execs is not an unheard of event. This again is phrased in a way that gives it a sinister cast, almost like Kerry was selling aerospace secrets. There isn't a whole lot to this story, it's obvious campaign spin. This is too bad, since Judicial watch, long dismissed as partisan muscle backed by Richard Mellon Scaife, has by all accounts been gaining credibility for its claims of non-partisanship by taking on Cheney's secret energy policy panel. But this piece is just one more example that the right's message consists of misleading
accusations repeated ad nauseum until people start to believe it. They have not yet abandoned the playbook of the late Lee Atwater (may he roast in peace)

= What will Bush's staff think of next

Bush will use any tactic, even lying, to gain what he wants.

[Ryan]

I heard John Kerry eats babies too. It was on Newsmax.