Here's some detail:
Democrats Tried to Obstruct Justice, Chung Tells O'Reilly on Fox
NewsMax.com
August 16, 1999
In his exclusive interview with FOX News Channel (FNC) anchor Bill O'Reilly, host of FNC's highest rated show, Johnny Chung, the central figure in the campaign finance scandal, revealed he received a package on "how to plead the Fifth" from the chief counsel for the Democrats on The Government Reform and Oversight Committee.
The package was sent to him before his testimony in front of the Burton Committee. Portions of the interview ran on FNC's The O'Reilly Factor on Monday, August 16th. The second part of O'Reilly's interview with Chung is set to air Tuesday, August 17th at 8:00-9:00 PM ET.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
CHUNG: Mr. O'Reilly, at the very beginning of 1997, the Democrat side of the Government Reform Committee sent a package to my office, to my attorney's office.
O'REILLY: The Democratic side?
CHUNG: The Democrat side.
O'REILLY: Of the -- what committee?
CHUNG: The Government Reform and Oversight.
(CROSSTALK)
You know what it said? Tried to teach me how to plead -- take the Fifth.
Later in the interview O'Reilly confirmed Chung's earlier statement for the record:
O'REILLY: When you were going to testify in front of the Burton committee, you received a package of information. From whom and what did the package of information say?
CHUNG: I don't receive personal, but my attorney's office received the package. It say how you can plea -- how you can take a Fifth in the United States Congress.
O'REILLY: Who sent you that package?
CHUNG: Government Reform Committee, Democrat side.
Chung also stated in the interview that the two faxes he received from Hazel O'Leaary inviting him to attend the Africare charity function, and were subsequently taken back from Chung, were not the faxes submitted for evidence by O'Leary to the FBI:
CHUNG: OK? And this is what happened. I got a letter later on from the attorney general, Janet Reno, and said to me, only a few words to say thank you, it's not enough.
I also like to show to you what the original letter is, and what the letter FBI showed to me. They retrieve all of them. They're different.
O'REILLY: So, when the gentleman came in and took the faxes away from you, the African-American gentleman, the faxes that the FBI asked for, they gave them different faxes?
CHUNG: That's what I say to the FBI, it's different.
Chung also clarified for Bill O'Reilly that he had not been to the White House 49 times as has been widely reported, but had actually been there 57 times:
O'REILLY: So the DNC knew that you were giving them money and they made the calls to the right people in the White House to get you in to meet the president, the first lady, the vice president, and on and on. Fine.
The president of the United States, Mr. Clinton, did he ever wonder why Johnny Chung was always in the White House, 49 times?
CHUNG: First of all, I want to correct you. It's not 49 times, this is official. Fifty-seven times.
Chung also revealed that the FBI and DOJ had him tape conversations with a Chinese National nicknamed "Fish Powder" who was an important contact person between the Chinese Government and Chung:
O'REILLY: So what you're saying is that after you were caught and after all the heat came down on Johnny Chung, you were honest, you told the investigators -- Chuck LaBella, the FBI agents -- just as you're telling me today, what happened, here's what happened. But in Washington Janet Reno's staff sat on it and didn't do anything with it. Is that accurate?
CHUNG: That's very accurate. I can say that in my part I told them everything I know in this ongoing investigation, and I didn't see any of them is really come out to the light yet.
For example, I have the agreement with the Department of Justice, I'm not going to mention the name, but we gave him a nickname, we call Fish Powder.
O'REILLY: Fish Powder?
CHUNG: Yes. We gave a nickname. And this gentlemen of Fish Powders, he is very important witness and my prosecutors put him on watch list of the immigration office. Any time he comes to the United States, they want to question him.
O'REILLY: Is he a Chinese national?
CHUNG: That's correct. And what happened is this guy call me out of the blue. And my prosecutor doesn't know that. The FBI who protect me doesn't know that. And then I was instructed by the FBI to record all of the conversation. I was instructed by my prosecutor to record all of the conversations. And I've been recording a lot under their instruction, the Department of Justice and FBI.
And this guy comes in and out to our country freely, and nobody talked to him. And he's a very important witness.
O'Reilly asked Chung if the DNC knew the money being donated was from Chinese Nationals:
CHUNG: DNC know I've been cultivated the business with those Chinese people all along.
O'REILLY: They knew you were involved with the Chinese nationals.
CHUNG: Even the documentation, we'll show it to you. They invite those people to come to certain event.
O'REILLY: OK. But they never asked you point blank, "Johnny Chung, are they giving you money that you're handing us?" Did DNC ever ask you that Fowler… any of those guys ever ask you that?
CHUNG: Don't ask, don't tell.
Chung also explained how the DNC tried to get around scrutiny by having him cut 23 separate checks for $1000, instead of one large check:
CHUNG: I used my employee -- after they told me that they cannot take that $25,000, I instruct my general manager to collect a 23 check, and I reimbursed him.
O'REILLY: And you reimbursed him, OK.
CHUNG: And that was...
O'REILLY: There's one more loose end I want to tie up on this DNC fund-raiser in L.A.
CHUNG: But I do want to point it out here is, they did know, on that two table there are Chinese national, they come to greet them.
O'REILLY: Sure.
CHUNG: And then, how come they don't take my $25,000 for DNC, and they insist to ask me to give them another 23 individual check, each one is $1,000.
JLA
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