Lawyer for Democratic Party Fund-Raiser Accepts Subpoena

A lawyer for John Huang, the Democratic Party fund-raiser under fire for his soliciting of foreign donations, accepted a subpoena Sunday for his client to give a deposition in a civil suit against the Commerce Department.

Amy Weiss Tobe, spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said the timing and scope of Huang’s deposition will be discussed at a court hearing today.

Huang’s deposition is sought in connection with a case filed by the conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch Inc., which is seeking to determine whether late Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown used departmental trade missions to raise money for the Democrats. Huang was an official at the Commerce Department before leaving in January to raise money for the DNC.

His attorney, John C. Keeney Jr., refused to discuss the subpoena or today’s court session other than acknowledging that he accepted the summons. Huang will not be in court, Keeney said.

Huang’s whereabouts has become a major issue in the Judicial Watch case. Despite the summons issued Thursday, which U.S. marshals were unable to serve before Sunday, he has made no public appearances or statements since his fund-raising activities among Asian Americans and abroad became a hot topic in the presidential campaign this month.

Republicans appearing on Sunday TV talk shows concentrated on Huang’s activities in stressing what they described as ethical lapses of the Clinton administration. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said the case illustrates a pro-Democratic bias in the press.

“If this was a Republican presidency, John Huang, having taken what is now over a million dollars in questionable foreign money, would have been hounded,” Gingrich said on “Fox News Sunday.” “You’d have had cameras staked outside his house, staked outside his office, 24 hours a day.”