Fund-raiser's White House Visits Raise Eyebrows

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Oct. 31) -- Secret Service logs of John Huang's visits to the White House show the former Democratic National Committee fund-raiser was there about 80 times, most recently a 2 1/2-hour visit the night of Oct. 3, after the first press disclosures of illegal contributions.

Huang visited the White House 65 times just since he began work as a top money-raiser for the Democratic National Committee last December. He also visited while he worked at the Commerce Department.

Republicans were howling. "What was a DNC fund-raiser doing at the White House all that time?" asked GOP chairman Haley Barbour. "Raising money, which is illegal?"

White House officials say Huang was not raising money but was attending several events in the White House paid for by the Democratic Party. Presumably, he was thanking contributors.

On the campaign trail in Miami, GOP nominee Bob Dole said, "This John Huang went to the White House 81 times. I haven't even been to the White House 81 times, and I've lived there (Washington) I don't know how long. And I used to go down there a lot, to see President Reagan and President Bush and other presidents. And down there a couple of times to see President Clinton. This Huang must have a revolving door in and out of there."

Testifying in a lawsuit, Huang said he met the president and the first lady many times. But there will be no more videotaped testimony from Huang, at least for a while.

Federal District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Huang has now answered nearly all questions pertinent to the Freedom of Information Act issues involved in the lawsuit. "While there is no doubt great public interest in exploring (Huang's) testimony on many issues," the judge's ruling said, those questions will have to be "posed in another forum or another case."

In Washington, Attorney General Janet Reno said the Justice Department criminal division is reviewing calls from four Republican House committee chairmen for an investigation of DNC fundraising by an independent counsel. "These are career lawyers that have handled them over time, are familiar with the statute, and they're in the process of reviewing it now," Reno said.

Barbour said he wanted answers about a former White House aide described in some news reports as soliciting campaign contributions from Taiwanese businessmen. He said, "What is Clinton doing about Mark Middleton, the former White House deputy chief of staff, who in his effort to gain foreign political contributions, handed out business cards indicating he was special assistant to the president?"

Barbour said when you call the number on Middleton's private business card, you get a recording, which he played: "Thank you for calling the White House. To reach Mac McLarty please dial 202-456-2000."

Middleton, a former aide to presidential counselor McLarty, sent a statement to CNN, part of which says, "While I was in Taiwan I never represented that I was a current White House employee ... (and) ... never directly or indirectly solicited contributions to the DNC."