Donor Letter Sought New Asia Policy

The White House provided new evidence Monday acknowledging that Indonesian financier Mochtar Riady, whose family and employees have been major contributors to the Democratic Party, sought to influence President Clinton’s policy in Asia.

In a three-page letter dated March 9, 1993, Riady urged Clinton to normalize relations with Vietnam and to pursue expanded trade ties with the developing nations of Asia, including China, despite human rights abuses.

The White House provided details of the letter, along with 16 other pieces of correspondence between Clinton or senior officials in his administration and members of the Riady family or individuals who had ties to them.

White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the White House had identified Riady’s letter before the Nov. 5 election but withheld it because officials had not located all of the correspondence involving Riady or individuals associated with his family and did not want to release it “piecemeal.”

Before the election, the administration had characterized Clinton’s White House meetings with James Riady, Mochtar’s eldest son, as purely social but has since disclosed that U.S. trade policy in Asia was discussed. Mochtar Riady’s letter advocates some of the same positions voiced by his son in his Oval Office sessions with Clinton.

The Riady family and its associates are at the center of continuing controversy over foreign-linked contributions to the Democratic National Committee and over whether the Riadys improperly influenced any administration actions.

McCurry said Monday that the correspondence is of the kind that would be expected between friends. He said that Clinton valued Mochtar Riady’s advice on policy but that Riady’s impact “was not disproportionate.”

McCurry said that Clinton’s decision to normalize relations with Vietnam in 1995 “was one of the most heavily debated foreign policy topics of the first term” and that U.S. businesses criticized the president for not moving faster.

Riady, whose company, the Lippo Group, has extensive interests in China and elsewhere, noted in his 1993 letter that two of his managers were exploring investment opportunities in Vietnam. In another of the 17 letters, Clinton told Riady that his letter had been forwarded to Robert E. Rubin, then the White House’s National Economic Council chairman.

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The file also includes a letter from a U.S. business partner of Riady to Vice President Al Gore seeking the administration’s support to sell insurance in China.

A representative of Protective Life Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., wrote Gore on Jan. 5, 1994, asking for a letter to Riady and his two sons supporting a joint venture between the U.S. company and Lippo in China. He also requested introductions to administration officials who could aid in this effort.

Gore subsequently sent a letter to James Riady congratulating him on the joint venture.