To: Janice Shell who wrote (12868 ) 4/4/1998 11:56:00 AM From: Catfish Respond to of 20981
Clinton quietly approved ICBM technology transfer to PRC at same time he was getting illegal campaign contributions! The Amazing Drudge From NY Times 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." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cry for the Beloved Country