International News Electronic Telegraph
Wednesday 20 November 1996
Issue 546

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White House lied about links with billionaire
By Stephen Robinson in Washington


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WHITE House officials lied about President Clinton's links with an Indonesian billionaire in the closing days of the presidential election campaign, it has emerged.

Robert Dole, the Republican candidate, seized on reports that Asian interests were contributing handsomely to Democratic Party coffers as further evidence of sleaze in Mr Clinton's inner circle.

As Mr Clinton's huge lead in the polls began to narrow, White House officials countered that meetings and telephone calls between Mr Clinton and James Riady, who heads one of Asia's largest conglomerates, were purely "social". In fact, trade policy and political developments in Asia were discussed. Mr Clinton has acknowledged that Mr Riady at one point congratulated him for his policy on Beijing and for uncoupling trade policy from China's human rights record.

John Huang, a former employee of Mr Riady, was given a job in the Commerce Department before transferring to the Democratic Party to be in charge of raising money from Asians. He raised about £1.6 million for the party, though £400,000 had to be returned after questions were raised about the legality of the gifts.

Republicans have argued that there might be a connection between Mr Riady's munificence and the White House's decision two years ago to reverse policy and drop an investigation of workers' rights in Indonesia.

Mark Fabiani and Jane Sherburne, two officials responsible for fielding questions about the various scandals that have dogged the White House, refused to be party to suppressing the news, and were taken off the case. Both are now leaving the White House staff, and leaked details to the New York Times yesterday.

The resulting flap was certainly a factor in Mr Clinton's victory over Mr Dole being much narrower than had seemed likely two weeks before the election.



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