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Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Sphar who wrote (6325)	2/12/1998 11:58:00 PM
From: loafer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20981

For all those who thought some of the tenets in Gore's 'Earth in the Balance' smacked of socialism, you were right! For those who didn't make the connection or don't care, wake up and smell the coffee! Investors Business Daily 02/13/98 Editorial Not for commercial use... for official conspiracy use only. E D I T O R I A L S 'Grave Questions' For Al Gore Date: 2/13/98 Let everyone else wonder what Vice President Al Gore knew about that now-notorious Buddhist temple fund-raiser in April '96. We think Gore's ties to the woman behind the event are enough to cast doubt on his judgment and fitness for high office. The woman is Maria Hsia. Senate investigators have found that her dealings with Gore go back several years before the event at California's Hsi Lai Temple. Sen. Fred Thompson's Governmental Affairs Committee will soon make public its report on fund-raising abuses, covering both the Clinton-Gore campaigns and activities of Democratic and Republican party organizations. Parts of the final draft obtained by the media have raised some especially sharp questions about Gore. Reporter Bob Woodward, writing this week in The Washington Post, quotes from one section of the draft that concludes that Hsia was ''an agent of the Chinese government, that she acted knowingly in support of it, and that she has attempted to conceal her relationship with the Chinese government. The committee has also learned that Hsia has worked in direct support of a PRC diplomatic post in the U.S.'' Woodward described the language in this section as ''understated and studiously nonpartisan.'' Hsia's lawyer has denied a Chinese link to her client. A chapter of the final draft obtained by IBD traces in detail the origins of Gore's links to Hsia back to 1988. At the time, then-Sen. Gore needed money. His 1988 run for the White House drew down his campaign reserves and left him strapped for his senatorial re-election bid in 1990. Don't believe the Thompson committee? Then trust Gore's own words. The committee cites letters Gore sent to Hsia. Their relationship budded with an early 1989 trip that Gore, Hsia and others took to Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Among others apparently along for more than just a ride was one John Huang, at the time working for Lippo Bank. Later, of course, Huang was a Democratic National Committee official whose activities are at the center of the fund-raising scandal. Of five senators invited on the Far East trip, only Gore accepted. The committee's final draft cites evidence that Hsia wrote Gore that, if he went on the trip, she would persuade ''all my colleagues in the future to play a leader ic) role in your future presidential race.'' A letter from a grateful Gore said, ''Thanks so much; it will help a great deal as we move into the 1990 campaign. You are a wonderful friend.'' Afterward, Hsia vigorously aided Gore's fund-raising efforts. The 86-page section of the draft points to other curiosities. A White House meeting that led to Gore's invitation to the temple fund-raiser came only after intense scrutiny from Gore's national security staff out of fear over how it might affect relations in the Far East. But the draft report describes another Gore meeting with a person connected to China Resources, a known front for Chinese intelligence. The Thompson committee draft does not note any concerns by Gore's staff about this meeting. Unless the committee missed something, the vice president's office has even more explaining to do. The committee draft also reveals that Gore opened himself to Hsia's influence. It suggests, for instance, that Gore's book on the environment, ''Earth in the Balance,'' may reflect some of her thinking. A letter sent to Hsia by Gore's then-chief of staff Peter Knight reads in part: ''The materials you got for Al's book on the environment were perfect. Thanks so much for taking the time to do it. He would have been lost without your efforts because the chapter on religion and the environment was integral to his work.'' Referring to Hsia's reported Beijing connections, a key section of the draft report reads, ''Were such alleged intelligence reports to be true, Hsia's long relationship to the vice president of the United States would raise grave new questions about the extent to which Chinese intelligence operatives have been able to influence U.S. politics during the Clinton administration.'' Far from being a partisan rant, this issue bears directly on the integrity of Gore's office. As unpleasant as such ''grave new questions'' are to raise, they require complete answers. (C) Copyright 1998 Investors Business Daily, Inc. investors.com