In January of 1993 John Huang along with James Riady of the Lippo Group contributed $100,000 to President Clinton’s inaugural fund. Two months later a letter arrived at the White House marked “Personal & Confidential” where Riady spelled out his specific business concerns: he wanted the president to lift the U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam, where Lippo had extensive commercial interests.

Just a few months later John Huang was appointed a trustee of the Democratic National Committee. It wasn’t long after this that he was requesting a special meeting between Ron Brown (Commerce Secretary) and Shen Jueren (Chairman of China Resources Co. Ltd.) whose company had long been suspected by U.S. intelligence of being an intelligence front organization for the Peoples Republic of China.

This suspected link of Huang to Shen Jueren, should have more than enough to bar John Huang from any access to the White House. But the Clinton administration with careless disregard for such matters, gave John Huang interim TOP-SECRET security clearance. He was then given his position in the Commerce Department as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

Overseas security investigations are required for government employees with foreign backgrounds, yet for some reason in John Huang’s case this requirement was waived. And on 10-18-94 he was granted a permanent TOP-SECRET security clearance. As a Commerce Department official John Huang saw at least 15 classified field reports and 12 finished intelligence reports, according to the Commerce Department itself. We also know that he was privy to at least 109 intelligence briefings.

It was at this time that U.S. technology began to be shipped to China. John Huang was very much a proponent of this high tech trade. So much was shipped ($530 million in missile related technology alone) that both the State Department and the Department of Defense were alarmed.

The Justice department issued a report that...”the Department of Commerce might not be identifying or seeking interagency concurrence on all potential missile technology export license applications.”

John Huang also used the offices of a brokerage house across the street from the Commerce Department to receive and send faxes and express mail packages on a regular basis. Explanations for why he needed to access to this secret “office” across the street seem to lead to espionage as the only explanation that makes any sense.

His phone logs from within the Commerce Department show frequent calls to Lippo associates just prior to important meetings with trade officials. At the same time he made over 80 visits to the White House and was a frequent visitor at the Chinese embassy.

The sad truth is we will not know the full extent of the damage done to U.S. defense, industry and trade until many of the classified documents John Huang had access to are declassified. But the Justice Department knows, and our friend Janet Reno has decided not act at this time.

More on John Huang will be discussed in unethical act #5 as we tie #7 to the fund raising undertaken by Mr. Huang. Until then his appointment to the Commerce Department and subsequent security clearances make John Huang, President Clinton’s most obvious demonstration of his ineptitude as president or his corruption as president take your pick. He will tell you he didn’t know about any of this until he read it in the newspaper.