Donors Probed Amid New Concerns

As a Senate panel approved a ream of subpoenas in the growing campaign fund-raising scandal, President Clinton said Thursday he considered a report that the Chinese government may have sought to direct foreign contributions to the Democratic Party “a very serious matter.”

The report in Wednesday’s Washington Post, citing unidentified sources, said that “sensitive intelligence information”--some of which was obtained through electronic eavesdropping--indicated that the Chinese Embassy in Washington was used for planning contributions to the Democratic National Committee before the 1996 presidential campaign.

“Obviously it would be a very serious matter for the United States if any country were to attempt to funnel funds to one of our political parties, for any reason whatever,” Clinton said at a news conference. “So I think we just have to let the investigation proceed. And we should all support it in every way we can. It has to be vigorous, and it has to be thorough.”

On Capitol Hill, there were renewed calls for Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to name an independent counsel to look into fund-raising improprieties. But Deputy Atty. Gen. Jamie S. Gorelick said the Justice Department, which is conducting the criminal inquiry, has not determined that there is proper cause for such a move.

The allegations about China came as the Senate committee preparing to probe fund-raising abuses agreed to issue 51 subpoenas seeking documents and phone records from most of the prominent figures and corporations tied to the growing controversy.

Although not targeting the White House itself, the requests for documents by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee focus on Democratic contributors and fund-raisers, associates of Clinton, a Hacienda Heights Buddhist temple visited by Vice President Al Gore and several government agencies. A subpoena seeking information from Clinton’s legal defense fund was temporarily withheld amid Democrats’ objections.

Illustrating the huge scope of the committee’s planned inquiry, the subpoenas--which federal marshals will begin serving today--seek corporate records from close to two dozen firms, as well as telephone company logs and personal documents from key figures such as Thai businesswoman and Democratic donor Pauline Kanchanalak; Little Rock, Ark., restaurateur and Clinton friend Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie; former White House aide Mark E. Middleton; and James C. Wood Jr., the former American envoy to Taiwan.

The list also includes a number of U.S. firms connected to the Lippo Group, the multibillion-dollar Indonesian conglomerate that once employed DNC fund-raiser John Huang.

Senate Democrats reluctantly went along with most of the subpoenas, which center on the influence of Asian contributors on the White House. But Sen. John Glenn of Ohio and other Democrats raised questions about the supposed bipartisan nature of the probe, noting that just two of the document requests focused on possible Republican wrongdoing.

In a sign of the partisan warring expected to come, Democratic aides said they would compile their own subpoena targets and suggested that they might include House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who was sanctioned by the House last month for his use of tax-exempt foundations.

“I’m aware that you can pretty much do what you want,” said Glenn, noting the Republicans’ 9-7 majority on the committee. “We’ll be out combing the bushes to see what we can find to balance what we see as an unfair representation at the start.”

Subpoenas that were not issued immediately include one aimed at the president’s legal defense fund and others targeting the Clinton and Bob Dole presidential campaigns, the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee. Aides said that some of those likely will be sent out in the coming weeks after consultations between the Republican and Democratic staffers.

Committee aides made clear that the subpoenas going out this week are just the opening salvo in an investigation that will extend at least until year’s end.