Missing Donor Still Target of Brickbats

Democratic donor Johnny Chien Chuen Chung did not attend Thursday’s House hearing on campaign fund-raising abuses, but he was the center of attention nonetheless.

Lawmakers displayed photographs of him, blown up to life-size proportions, and denounced the deep-pocketed Torrance businessman as a hustler, an opportunist, a political groupie and a wealthy Mr. Magoo.

Chung, who is expected to speak to House investigators today behind closed doors, contributed more than $360,000 to the Democratic Party and gained access to the White House about 50 times, using his ties to the first family to promote his business interests. Chung’s contributions have since been returned by the Democratic National Committee amid questions about whether the money might have originated in China.

For a behind-the-scenes look at Chung’s access to power, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee questioned a handful of White House and Democratic Party aides Thursday--including President Clinton’s secretary and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s former chief of staff.

Margaret Williams, who recently left as the first lady’s top aide, testified that she accepted a check that Chung thrust upon her while he was accompanying a group of Chinese businessmen through the White House complex on March 9, 1995. “You take, you take,” she quoted Chung as saying. But, she said, she had not solicited the check and never looked at the amount, which was $50,000.

Williams said that she helped arrange for Chung’s group to use the White House mess and pose for photographs with the first lady. She portrayed Chung as a devotee of Mrs. Clinton’s--it “bordered on worshipful,” she said--who got no special access.

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Williams’ account differed somewhat from earlier testimony by another aide to the first lady, Evan M. Ryan, who told House investigators in a deposition that Williams knew Chung was bringing a contribution and remarked to her that Chung’s money would be “helpful” in paying off Democratic Party debts.

Chung has said in media interviews that Ryan told him about those debts when he called to arrange a VIP White House tour for the businessmen, which Ryan has denied.

Whether Chung was solicited is important because the law bars such solicitations on White House property.

As it is, some GOP lawmakers believe that Williams violated the law by simply taking the check, a hotly disputed point.

To get his entourage into the Oval Office for a face-to-face meeting with Clinton, Chung called up then-DNC Chairman Donald L. Fowler. Carol Khare, an aide to Fowler, said that she took the call and referred the matter to an assistant, Ceandra Scott.

Scott said that she called the first lady’s office. Ultimately, Kelly Crawford, a White House staff member, approved the request to let Chung and his associates into the Oval Office.

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Videotapes of the March 11, 1995, radio address show Clinton warmly embracing Chung and smiling as he shakes hands with each of the Chinese businessmen. When the group left, however, the president was perturbed that the group had been allowed in, his secretary testified.

“You should not have done that,” Nancy Hernreich said Clinton told her.

Clinton’s comment prompted Hernreich to contact the National Security Council to determine whether photographs of the president meeting with the businessmen ought to be released.

That resulted in an e-mail from NSC staff member Robert L. Suettinger, who called Chung a “hustler” who should be treated with suspicion. But the photographs probably would not cause any foreign policy damage, he said.