ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:97071604.TXT
DATE:07/16/97
TITLE:16-07-97  CONGRESSIONAL REPORT 7/16 -- SENATE CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING HEARINGS

TEXT:
(Garten says Huang totally unqualified)  (380)

GARTEN SAYS HUANG "WAS TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED" FOR COMMERCE JOB

John Huang's former boss at the Department of Commerce has told Senate
campaign fundraising investigators that Huang was "totally
unqualified" for the post he held there. Huang was Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy in 1994-1996.

Former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Jeffrey Garten told the Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee July 16 he felt Huang "did not have the
requisite experience for policy matters," and that he was upset when
his advice to restrict Huang's activities solely to administrative
duties was ignored.

"In my view," Garten said, "he should not have been involved with
China in any way at all."

John Dickerson, the Central Intelligence Agency officer assigned to
the Commerce Department when Huang worked there, told the committee
Huang probably had access to between 370 and 550 raw intelligence
reports, mostly on trade and economic issues during his two-year
tenure. Committee investigators say Huang made more than 400 telephone
calls to his former employer, the Lippo Group, while he worked at the
Commerce Department -- some on days when he received intelligence
briefings.

Dickerson and his CIA boss, Robert Gallagher, both said they were
unaware of Garten's desire to keep Huang away from issues relating to
China.

Paul Buskirk, acting director of security at the Commerce Department
then testified that he regrets Huang got a top-secret security
clearance without a full background investigation abroad. "In
hindsight," he said, "there was a rock that was not turned over."

Former White House associate personnel director Gary Christopherson
told the hearing that Huang was considered a "high priority" candidate
for a prominent government job, not because of his reputed fundraising
prowess, but because he was an Asian-American and would underscore the
Clinton Administration's emphasis on diversity. "Even if he had never
touched the campaign", said Christopherson, "he would still have been
recommended for the position."

After his two-year stint at Commerce, Huang joined the Democratic
National Committee as its chief fundraiser in the Asian-American
community. He was responsible for raising more than half of the $3
million in questionable political contributions the party has since
returned because of their suspect origin.
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