Consider the source of this. I'm just posting it, not defending it:
Drudge Report:
NEW YORK TIMES: SATELLITE BLOW UP LEADS TO GRAND JURY PROBE OF U.S. FIRMS WITH POSSIBLE TIES TO CHINA MISSILE PROGRAM
The DRUDGE REPORT has learned, Saturday's NEW YORK TIMES is planning to front an exclusive report By Jeff Gerth: Did two
U.S. companies illegally give China space expertise that significantly advanced Beijing's booming ballistic missile
program?
A federal grand jury is now investigating.
The companies are Loral Space & Communications of New York and Hughes Electronics, a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of GM,
reports the paper.
The companies deny wrongdoing.
The Justice Department probe stems from a 1996 incident where "a Chinese rocket carrying aloft a satellite built by Loral
exploded shortly after liftoff." Gerth, using "Clinton administration officials," reveals that the two companies
"participated in an independent review of the failure, and reported to the Chinese on what went wrong."
It's those exchanges that may have revealed classified information, "giving the Chinese crucial assistance in improving the
guidance systems of their rockets."
The technology used to launch a commercial satellite into orbit is "similar to that which guides a long-range missile
nuclear missile to its target," reports Gerth.
Pause.
Details turn fascinating when Gerth describes how the criminal inquiry was dealt a serious blow two months ago with
President Clinton quietly approving the export to China of similar tech know-how by Loral, one of the companies under
investigation.
The decision was opposed by Justice Department officials, writes Gerth.
He also notes that Loral's CHAIR and CEO Bernard Schwartz was the biggest "personal contributor" to the Democratic National
Committee last year.
In February, with the investigation of the 1996 incident under way at Justice, Clinton "gave Loral permission to launch
another satellite on a Chinese rocket and provide the Chinese with the same expertise that is at issue in the criminal
case."
Developing...
Guess I'll have to pick up the Times tomorrow.
drudgereport.com |
