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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OVERVIEW
January, 1993
President Clinton takes office.
Clinton signs Presidential Decision Directive 2 (PDD 2) that approved
a National Security Council (NSC) decision-making system that enlarged the membership of
the NSC. The new membership of the NSC included the Treasury Secretary, the U.S.
Representative to the U.N., the Asst. to the President for National Security Affairs, the
Asst. to the President for Economic Policy, and the Chief of Staff to the President.
Although not a member, the Attorney General would be invited to attend meetings pertaining
to his jurisdiction. The President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of
Defense are members of the NSC as prescribed by law. The CIA director and Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff also attend its meetings.
February, 1993
March, 1993
April, 1993
Former chairman of the Rose Law Firm, Joseph Giroir, incorporates the
Arkansas International Development Corporation to bring Mochtar Riady's Lippo Group
together with American companies looking to do business in Indonesia and China.
Clinton gives Mochtar Riady's son James Riady and Lippo employee John
Huang tour of White House on the same day over 80 people die at Branch Davidian compound
in Waco, Texas. This is their fifth visit in only a week. Janet Reno would later take
responsibility for the deaths.
James Riady escorts governor of Jakarta, Indonesia to East Wing of
White House. White House officials provide no details of the meeting.
May, 1993
The White House fires the Travel Office staff following a review by
White House Associate Counsel William Kennedy III, a former member of the Rose Law Firm in
Little Rock. Kennedy attempted to involve the FBI and IRS in a criminal investigation of
the Travel Office without first consulting the Justice Department.
July, 1993
Clinton fires FBI Director William Sessions at the behest of Reno.
This is the first and only time in American history that a president would fire the head
of the FBI.
The FBI obtains a warrant to search the Little Rock office of David
Hale.
White House Counsel, boyhood friend of Bill, and former Hillary Rose
Law Firm partner, Vince Foster, is found dead at Ft. Marcy Park in Virginia.
According to a Secret Service officer, White House Counsel Bernard
Nussbaum, Clinton aide Patsy Thomasson, and First Lady Hillary Clinton's chief of staff,
Maggie Williams, visit Foster's office during the night. Ms. Williams removes some of
Foster's folders.
Two days after Foster's death, Nussbaum again searches Foster's
office. He continues to deny Park police and Justice Department investigators access to
the office. In 1996, it is learned Nussbaum removed documents related to the Whitewater
investigation.
August, 1993
September, 1993
Paula Casey turns down a plea bargain attempt from the attorney for
David Hale. He had offered to share information on the "banking and borrowing
practices of some individuals in the elite political circles of the state of
Arkansas".
Hale is indicted for fraud.
Treasury Department General Counsel Jean Hanson warns Bernhard
Nussbaum that the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) plans to issue criminal referrals
asking the Justice Department to investigate Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. The
referrals are said to name the Clintons as witnesses to, and possible beneficiaries of,
illegal actions. Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker is also said to be a target of the
investigation. Nussbaum passes the information to Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey.
October, 1993
Lindsey informs Clinton about the confidential RTC referrals.
Clinton meets with Jim Guy Tucker at the White House.
Nine new criminal referrals on Madison Guaranty are forwarded to U.S.
Attorney Paula Casey. Casey rejects the first of the referrals six days later.
November, 1993
Associate Attorney General and former Rose Law Firm partner Webster
Hubbell recuses himself from the Whitewater case.
William Kennedy writes a note at a meeting between Clinton and his
lawyer, David Kendall, that said, "vacuum Rose Law files".
Paula Casey recuses herself from any more dealings with the Madison
Guaranty case.
RTC investigator Jean Lewis is removed from the probe.
Clinton meets with Jim Guy Tucker again in Seattle.
December, 1993
January, 1994
February, 1994
Acting head of the RTC, Roger Altman meets with Bernard Nussbaum and
other top White House aides to give them a "heads up" about the Madison Guaranty
probe. Washington RTC attorney April Breslaw meets with investigator Jean Lewis.
FBI arrests CIA agent Aldrich Ames for being a Russian spy.
Altman recuses himself from the Madison investigation.
March, 1994
Clinton aides Mack McLarty, Erskine Bowles, Mickey Kantor, and others
have a series of meetings to arrange financial aide for Web Hubbell who is under
investigation for bilking his Rose Law Firm partners.
Bernard Nussbaum resigns as White House counsel. Lloyd Cutler is
named to replace him.
Web Hubbell resigns as associate attorney general.
May, 1994
June, 1994
Lippo pays Web Hubbell $100,000 for unknown work. Hubbell was under
pressure to cooperate with the Whitewater investigation.
James Riady visits the White House five times throughout the month.
Ng Lap Seng also pays a visit after declaring $175,000 in cash at the San Francisco
airport two days before.
Independent counsel Robert Fiske concludes Foster's death was a
suicide and clears the White House and Treasury Department of obstruction of justice
charges over their contacts with the RTC.
July, 1994
August, 1994
A three-judge panel removes Robert Fiske as independent counsel for
conflicts of interest and names Kenneth Starr to replace him.
Chinese Gen. Xu Huizi is secretly invited to a meeting with Defense
Secretary William Perry at the Pentagon. Gen. Xu was the tactical leader of the Tiananmen
Square massacre.
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown heads a trade mission to China. He is
joined by Joseph Giroir and Bernard Schwartz. Schwartz is president of Loral Space and
Communications.
Madison investigator Jean Lewis is placed on administrative leave.
Roger Altman resigns as Deputy Treasury Secretary.
Treasury Department General Counsel Jean Hanson resigns.
September, 1994
October, 1994
December, 1994
White House 'Task List' is written.
Web Hubbell pleads guilty to defrauding his Rose Law Firm partners
and says he will cooperate in the Whitewater investigation.
Travel Office Director Billy Dale is indicted on charges of
embezzlement.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sanctions the Riady
family's Lippo group for failing to adhere to money-laundering regulations governing large
money transactions.
February, 1995
April, 1995
May, 1995
July, 1995
Department of Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary informs CIA Director
John Deutch and White House Chief of Staff Leon Penetta of China's possible theft of
America's top nuclear weapon designs. All three neglect to inform the president.
Daniel Pearson is named independent counsel to investigate Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown for shady business dealings.
Ken Starr indicts Jim Guy Tucker and Jim and Susan McDougal for bank
fraud and conspiracy relating to Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan.
September, 1995
Reno denies accusations by Colombian government officials that U.S.
agents played role in violent attack against a lawyer who represented Colombian president
on drug charges.
Clinton, John Huang, James Riady, Bruce Lindsey, and Joseph Giroir
meet at the White House and decide Huang should be moved from the Commerce Department to
the Democratic National Committee.
James Riady escorts Indonesian minister for production to White House
lunch with former White House aide Mark Middleton.
President Clinton attends a White House meeting with Leon Panetta,
Deputy Defense Secretary John White, and Carmen Perez, the Vice President of Long Beach,
California harbor and former vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee about
plan to turn Long Beach Naval Station over to city of Long Beach free of charge. Long
Beach officials had already planned to lease the base to China's state-owned shipping
company, COSCO.
FBI arrests Intel Corporation employee and Argentine national William
Gaede for stealing Pentium chip secrets and passing information on to China, Iran, and
Cuba.
White House Counsel Abner Mikva resigns. Jack Quinn is named as his
replacement.
November, 1995
Convicted Miami drug trafficker Jose Cabrera gives $20,000 to the
DNC.
After only two hours deliberation, a jury finds former Travel Office
Director Billy Dale, not guilty of embezzlement.
CIA briefs National Security Advisor Anthony Lake about possible
theft by China of America's top nuclear weapon designs. The president is still not
informed.
December, 1995
January, 1996
Cabrera is busted in Miami smuggling three tons of cocaine.
Ron Brown, pending indictment for shady business dealings, hires
hotshot Washington lawyer Reid Weingarten to defend him.
John Huang leaves Clinton's Commerce Department to join the DNC as a
senior fund-raiser.
Web Hubbell, is questioned at Congress' Whitewater hearings about the
$700,000 payment he received from DNC donors -- including Indonesian billionaire Mochtar
Riady. Hubbell refused to explain what work he did for the money. Both the FBI and CIA
suspect Mochtar Riady (Who was born in China) and his son, James Riady, are Chinese
agents.
In late 1995 and early 1996, Department of Energy intelligence
analyst Notra Trulock discovered evidence Chinese acquired American nuclear designs. He
took his findings to the FBI. A team of FBI and DOE officials traveled to three weapons
labs (Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, and Los Alamos) and pored over travel and work records
of lab scientists who had access to the relevant technology. By February they had narrowed
its focus to five possible suspects. The main suspect, Wen Ho Lee, would be identified by
early 1997 -- but kept in his position with top-secret security clearance until March
1999.
Justice Department lawyers inform Elizabeth Mann, a recent Chinese
immigrant who is the Arizona executive of American-based Communist Chinese corporate giant
COFCO, that she is a target of a grand jury investigation for failing to report income by
using foreign bank accounts opened in the name of fictitious offshore entities. Janet
Reno's Justice Department would later have the investigation into her finances terminated.
February, 1996
FBI and DOJ announce the arrest of an army employee of the National
Security Agency for selling top secret information to the Soviet Union -- from 1965-1974.
A People's Liberation Army (PLA) space launch vehicle crashes
destroying the Loral Space and Communication satellite it was carrying. The satellite
launch had been previously approved by Bill Clinton in a special order. Chinese officials
keep American investigators away from crash scene. When they are finally allowed access,
they find the highly militarily sensitive encryption chips are missing even though their
encasing is intact. (Encryption technology denies outsiders access to, or control over,
American satellites in space). Loral and Hughes Electronics' engineers give away missile
secrets to China in the ensuing investigation. Loral executive Bernard Schwartz is top
contributor to Clinton 1996 re-election campaign and joined Ron Brown on numerous trade
flights to China. He was also on Clinton's short list of potential nominees for the
defense secretary position being vacated by William Perry. A Justice Department
investigation into the illegal transfer of missile technology is thwarted in early 1998
after President Clinton signs a waiver legally allowing the same type of technology
transfer the companies had been accused of doing illegally.
March, 1996
Reno's Justice Department requests a wiretap on computer network at
Harvard University which later led to charges against Argentine resident Julio Caesar
Ardita for breaking into Harvard computers and sensitive U.S. government files.
Deal to turn Long Beach Naval Station over to COSCO is finalized. The
deal eventually falls through in late 1998 after Congress passes a bill forbidding the
transfer.
Reno extends Ken Starr's mandate to include investigating the Travel
Office firings.
Alleged Chinese spy and friend of Bill since late-1970s Arkansas
Charlie Trie attends meeting with Buddhist Master Suma Ching Hai and followers in New
York. Sect members donate money for Clinton's defense fund.
Energy Department learns China stole U.S. neutron bomb technology.
April, 1996
Ron Brown dies in a plane crash en route from Bosnia to Croatia. 34
others perish as well. Many are Commerce Department employees. Commerce oversaw the
satellite launches in China. Brown's body would later be discovered to have a suspiciously
round hole in his head. No autopsy would be performed. The plane did not have a
"black box". No safety investigation would be performed over the accident. Calls
for an independent counsel to investigate Brown's death are ignored by Janet Reno.
Mickey Kanter is named as Brown's replacement.
FBI arrests Navy enlistee Kurt Lessenthien for attempting to sell top
secret information to an unnamed foreign government. Lessenthien was a machinist mate on
nuclear submarines.
Deputy National Security Advisor Sandy Berger is informed about
Chinese nuclear and neutron bomb espionage at U.S. weapons labs.
Al Gore attends a fundraiser with John Huang and Maria Hsia at a
Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles.
Charlie Trie donates $640,000 to Clinton legal defense fund.
Former CIA Director William Colby goes missing.
May, 1996
William Colby found dead only 20 yards from his canoe, which had been
discovered eight days prior.
Chinese company Poly Technologies, headed by Clinton coffee guest
Wang Jun, is busted trying to smuggle 2,000 machine guns and shoulder launched missiles
into U.S. The equipment was to be sold to drug gangs. The weapons were shipped into
Berkeley, California harbor by way of a COSCO ship.
Navy Adm. Jeremy "Mike" Boorda commits suicide by shooting
himself in the chest.
FBI office in Laredo, Texas is bombed.
June, 1996
The FBI briefs Janet Reno and representatives of the NSC about
Chinese attempts to influence the 1996 presidential elections.
In late spring 1996, federal examiners discover the Central Bank of
China funneled tens of millions of dollars into a maze of accounts controlled by Nan Nan
Xu (Pronounced Shoo), a Chinese executive of Far East National Bank in California.
Filegate surfaces. At first, the White House claims only 34 FBI files
of Republicans ended up in their hands. Later it is learned close to 1000 did. Travel
Office documents reveal former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum requested FBI report
on ousted Travel Office Director Billy Dale -- seven months after his dismissal.
The FBI formally opens a criminal investigation into the theft of the
W-88 design. The inquiry makes little progress over the rest of the year.
Janet Reno extends Ken Starr's mandate again. This time to
investigate Filegate.
A senator sends a note to FBI Director Louis Freeh saying his staff
discovered IRS documents were included in the FBI files that found their way into the
White House. Recently released report by FBI General Counsel Howard Shapiro made no
mention of IRS documents. Shapiro would later give the White House "the heads
up" about information pertaining to the Filegate investigation and an advanced copy
of former-FBI agent Gary Aldrich's book, Unlimited Access, that detailed drug use and
loose security in the first years of the Clinton administration. After leaving the FBI,
Shapiro would become the attorney for Terry Lenzner, a private investigator hired by the
Clintons, and Charles Bakaly, spokesman for independent counsel Ken Starr. Bakaly resigned
from Starr's office in March 1999 after leaking information.
U.S. barracks in Dharan, Saudi Arabia are bombed.
July, 1996
TWA flight 800 explodes after take-off in New York. Shortly after,
Senator Orin Hatch tells the press he is almost 100% certain the plane was blown up by
sabotage days after receiving a briefing by Louis Freeh.
White House aide Anthony Marceca pleaded the Fifth before Congress
over questions about FBI files.
An unnamed White House official tells press a second series of tests
by FBI showed no trace of explosives in TWA crash. Prior test did show explosives residue.
Clinton sends Navy to assist in wreckage search. U.S.S. Oak Hill acts as command post.
Clinton also sends Federal Emergency Management Director and friend of Bill from Arkansas,
James Lee Witt, to New York to assess the situation. The FBI eventually claims a fuel tank
leak caused the explosion.
Secret Service agent Arnold Cole testifies past illicit drug use by
White House employees found during background checks.
Bomb explodes at Olympic Park in Atlanta. Two people die. Security
guard, Richard Jewell, who found the bomb, is publicly named as the FBI's main suspect.
Jewell is later cleared of any responsibility. The crime is still unsolved.
August, 1996
Chinese General Ji Shengde gives DNC moneyman Johnny Chung $300,000
to funnel in Clinton/Gore re-election campaign.
Former FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene tells Congress White House
appointees used illegal drugs as late as inauguration day in 1993.
September, 1996
Clinton and Reno announce a $1 billion anti-terrorism plan. Many of
the plan's details are kept from the public allegedly for national security reasons.
Susan McDougal refuses to answer questions about Clinton's previous
sworn testimony. She had been granted immunity to do so. Judge Susan Webber Wright holds
her in contempt of court. She eventually spends two years in jail.
October, 1996
Press reports John Huang gave illegal donations to the Democratic
National Committee. Later that same day, Huang visits the White House for two and a
half-hours.
Reno refuses to release photos of drug trafficker Jose Cabrera with
Al Gore and Hillary Clinton to ABC News citing the Privacy Act. They are finally released
when Cabrera grants permission.
CIA sends "statement of fact" report to White House and
State Department that detailed China's assistance in building a missile plant in Pakistan.
The report is ignored.
John Huang is suspended from his job as a fund-raiser for the
Democratic National Committee.
November, 1996
Clinton re-elected.
Louis Freeh goes to Saudi Arabia to continue investigation into
Dharan bombing.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher resigns. U.S. Ambassador to the
U.N. Madeleine Albright is named as his replacement.
Reno rejects calls by Senator John McCain and public interest group
Common Cause to investigate Democratic National Committee fundraising.
Reno says she'll investigate ethics complaint against independent
counsel Kenneth Starr. Connecticut judge Francis Mandanici accused Starr of being
political because he had previously worked for Republican administrations.
Congress rejects White House and Justice Department requests for
"roving wiretap" authority.
CIA agent Harold Nicholson arrested for selling secrets to Russia.
December, 1996
Reno rejects request for an independent counsel to investigate
abnormal immigration surge just prior to elections.
A White House press conference announcing the new cabinet is
interrupted by newly appointed Commerce Secretary Bill Daley after he faints and falls off
a platform.
FBI agent Earl Pitts arrested on charges of being a Russian spy.
Saudi officials refuse FBI requests to interview suspects being held
for Dharan bombing.
The Pentagon, headed by newly appointed Defense Secretary Bill Cohen,
sponsors a visit by Chinese Gen. Chi Haotion to Sandia National Laboratory. Energy
Department officials are not told in advance of the scheduled visit and Gen. Chi does not
receive a proper security clearance. Gen. Chi was in operational command of the Tiananmen
Square massacre.
Chinese immigrant Chang-Lin Tien leads Clinton short list to replace
Hazel O'Leary as head of Energy Department.
A North Carolina soldier is found not guilty of passing secret
passwords to a Chinese national living in U.S.
Jack Quinn resigns as White House Counsel. He is replaced in early
January by Charles Ruff.
Commerce Department official and DNC fund-raiser Melinda Yee throws
away government documents about U.S. trade missions after a judge ordered they be turned
over as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.
January, 1997
February, 1997
FBI Director Louis Freeh is sent to Saudi Arabia again by Clinton to
investigate bombing in Dharan. Saudi officials eventually execute the bombing suspects
without allowing Freeh the opportunity to interrogate them.
White House Counsel Charles Ruff attempts to access FBI intelligence
about Chinese attempts to influence American elections while Freeh is away. He uses Jamie
Gorelick at Justice Department as an intermediary. FBI officials warn Freeh who then
blocks Ruff's request for information. Ruff claims he wanted to inform Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright about the situation before she headed to China later in the month.
Clinton allegedly learns about the Chinese plot to influence American
elections for the first time.
Albright goes to China. Albright has yet to be told about Chinese
espionage by NSC head Anthony Lake or his deputy Sandy Berger. Clinton allegedly has yet
to be informed either.
Ken Starr decides to step down from OIC and take teaching position at
Pepperdine University. He changes his mind a few days later.
March, 1997
Notra Trulock learns of new espionage evidence. He attempts to
contact Secretary Pena but is not given an appointment to see him until July.
Clinton claims he was never briefed about FBI information on Chinese
attempts to influence 1996 election. White House officials claim FBI ordered National
Security Council aides not to allow information up the chain of command. FBI denies doing
so. Janet Reno claims she tried to inform Anthony Lake at NSC but could not find him. She
also says she did not tell Clinton herself because she felt it was the job of the NSC.
Sandy would then replace Lake as head of NSC a day later.
Louis Freeh tells Congress his investigation into campaign finance
irregularities is not focusing on individual criminal acts, but on a possible conspiracy
involving a foreign government.
Al Gore goes to China.
The FDIC again sanctions Lippo Bank for bad loans and financial
losses.
April, 1997
Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick resigns.
Janet Reno decides against appointing an independent counsel to
investigate Chinese attempts to influence American election.
FBI issues classified report that recommends background checks on
foreign visitors to nuclear labs be reinstated. The Energy Department ignores the
recommendations for 17 months.
May, 1997
White House announces it will appeal to the Supreme Court a
previously sealed lower court ruling that government lawyers must turn over to Ken Starr
notes taken during conversations with Hillary Clinton. The White House claimed
"executive privilege" allowed them to withhold the notes.
Suspected spy Wen Ho Lee is promoted to a position at the Energy
Department that required an even higher security clearance than he already had. Lee would
also be allowed to hire an assistant. He chose a Chinese national living in the U.S..
Reno's Justice Department repeatedly refuses FBI requests to tap Wen
Ho Lee's phone and gain access to his computer over the next few months. When the FBI
finally gained access to Lee's computer in March 1999, they discovered Lee had downloaded
all of America's nuclear research information gathered over the last 50 years.
The FBI identifies DNC and RNC fund-raiser Ted Sioeng as a Chinese
spy. Sioeng is a friend of John Huang.
Former Sandia and Los Alamos lab employee Peter Lee gives top secret
information on anti-submarine radar technology away to Chinese nuclear-weapons experts.
Reno and Navy Department would later refuse FBI requests to allow open-court testimony
about the technology even though doing so would kill the FBI's espionage case against him.
The Supreme Court rules unanimously that a sitting president can be
sued for actions done prior to taking office.
June, 1997
July, 1997
Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese control. Madeleine Albright attends
ceremonies.
Sen. Fred Thompson opens hearings into Chinese influence of America's
1996 president and congressional election campaigns.
Secretary Pena finally meets with Notra Trulock who has new
information about ongoing espionage at labs. Pena sends him to Sandy Berger after their
meeting.
Trulock briefs Berger.
Berger finally briefs Clinton on China's nuclear espionage campaign.
Starr releases unsigned report claiming former White House Counsel
Vince Foster, whose corpse was found in Ft. Marcy Park in 1993, committed suicide. Three
judge panel forced Starr to attach addendum to report by D.C. resident Patrick Knowlton.
Knowlton had claimed FBI falsified his testimony in regards to whereabouts of Foster's car
on the day of his death. Knowlton said he never saw it in parking lot at Virginia park.
The FBI claimed he said he did.
Federal examiners give evidence China's Central Bank funneled upwards
of $90 million into California bank owned by Nan Nan Xu to Justice Department. Reno
ignores the information.
August, 1997
Berger goes to China. Before leaving he assigns NSC aide in charge of
proliferation, Gary Samore, to assess espionage situation. Samore would later claim that
while espionage had taken place Trulock's briefing was only a worse-case scenario.
Reno decides not to investigate Starr over ethics complaint filed by
Francis Mandanici. Justice Department Counsel Michael Shaheen denies Starr's assertion
that they found no conflict of interest, however. Shaheen said they would have
investigated Starr had he been an employee under the direct control of the Justice
Department instead being an independent counsel.
A federal grand jury indicts former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy
for illegally soliciting gifts and obstructing justice.
Ron Brown's son, Michael Brown pleads guilty to illegally giving
money to Sen. Ted Kennedy's 1994 campaign for Senate.
September, 1997
Louis Freeh concludes there is not enough evidence to arrest Wen Ho
Lee but there is no longer any reason to keep him in a position with such high security
clearance. The Energy Department ignores his recommendation and keeps Lee on the job for
another year and a half.
Eric Holder named as new Deputy Attorney General. The position had
remained vacant since April.
Janet Reno appoints Charles LaBella to head her campaign finance
investigation.
Wen Ho Lee's Chinese assistant leaves. He has since disappeared.
October, 1997
Reno decides not to appoint an independent counsel to investigate
Gore for illegal fundraising.
L.A. Times reports DNC officials traveled to Asia in 1991 to seek
campaign donations. A document by Melinda Yee, Commerce Department official and DNC
fund-raiser, said "(John) Huang offered to host event in Hong Kong" and that
"(Maria) Hsia will identify key donor during Taiwan visit".
Judge Susan Webber Wright dismisses suit brought against Starr by
Mandanici.
FBI hires Donald Kerr, a nuclear physicist who previously headed Los
Alamos National Laboratory, to run its crime lab.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin has private 90-minute meeting with
Clinton, Berger, and Albright in White House residence quarters. This is the first state
visit by a high-ranking Chinese official in over ten years. They fail to discuss China's
espionage against U.S. labs. Albright still has not been told of information by Berger or
Clinton.
Sen. Thompson suspends his Senate hearings into the campaign finance
scandal.
November, 1997
Louis Freeh separately interviews both Clinton and Gore about
campaign fund-raising.
Reno learns FBI "overlooked" intelligence dating back to
1991 that showed Chinese government efforts to influence American politicians.
Michael Brown receives 3 years' probation and a $3,000 fine in a plea
bargain with Reno's Justice Department.
Louis Freeh writes memorandum to Reno calling for an independent
counsel to investigate campaign fundraising scandal. Reno ignores request.
Janet Reno faints while on a visit to Mexico.
December, 1997
Air Force Lt. Col. Steve Cogswell, a deputy medical examiner at the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, says an autopsy should have been performed on Ron
Brown due to a suspiciously-looking round hole found in his head. Cogswell says the hole
could have been made by a bullet from a .45 caliber gun.
White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry and other unnamed White
House officials tell the press that Louis Freeh is terrible at his job and they think he
should resign.
Reno rejects calls for an independent counsel to investigate former
Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary for accepting money from Johnny Chung and Al Gore for
fund-raising calls placed in White House.
Reno ignores Congress' requests for a copy of the Freeh memo.
Assistant FBI Director James Kallstrom retires. Kallstrom had headed
the investigation into the TWA-800 crash.
Former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Henry Cisneros
is indicted.
Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp are subpoenaed by Paula Jones'
lawyers.
DNC Chairman and Colorado Gov. Roy Romer says he will resist
subpoenas for information on campaign financing from Rep. Dan Burton's committee.
Staffer for independent counsel Smaltz criticizes Reno for slacking
in prosecution in Former Agriculture Secretary Espy inquiry.
Clinton names Chinese-American Bill Lann Lee as acting head of the
Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Acting heads of Executive Branch departments
do not require congressional approval.
L.A. Times reports DNC operative Antonio Pan laundered 10s of
thousands of dollars from China to the DNC.
Arkansas based Tyson Foods Inc. pleads guilty to giving Mike Espy
$12,000 in illegal money.
January, 1998
Monica Lewinsky files a false affidavit in the Paula Jones lawsuit
that stated she never had a sexual relationship with the president.
Reno rejects calls for an investigation into the death of Ron Brown.
Congress learns Navy Secretary John Dalton had meetings with DNC
moneyman Johnny Chung.
Reno secretly expands Ken Starr's mandate to include possible
obstruction of justice and witness tampering charges in the Paula Jones lawsuit.
Clinton denies he ever had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky
during his deposition in the Paula Jones suit.
Lewinsky story breaks in the press.
February, 1998
Charlie Trie returns from China and surrenders himself to the FBI.
Janet Reno calls for an independent counsel to investigate Clinton's
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt for his role in rejecting a Native American Indian
tribe's casino application that was opposed by major Democratic financial contributors.
Maria Hsia is indicted on charges of disguising illegal campaign
contributions given to Al Gore at the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple near Los Angeles.
March, 1998
Johnny Chung is charged with funneling illegal contributions to the
Democratic National Committee.
Jim McDougal dies of a heart attack in prison. Later it is learned he
was denied his heart medication.
Former White House volunteer Kathleen Willey appears on 60 Minutes
and alleges President Clinton sexually assaulted her in the Oval Office in 1993.
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Reno Denies U.S. Role In Colombian Attack - CNN Interactive - 9/29/95
Defense Complains Against FBI - CNN Interactive - 10/1/95
Ames' Damage Called 'Mind-Boggling' - CNN Interactive - 10/31/95
Whitewater Notes Galvanize GOP - CNN Interactive - 12/22/95
Ex-Intel Engineer Held For Theft - CNN Interactive - 12/25/95
First Lady In Spotlight Of Dual Controversies - CNN Interactive -
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Hillary Grilled For 4 Hours - CNN Interactive - 1/26/96
A Crucial Time For U.S. - China Relations - CNN Interactive - 2/5/96
Whitewater Testimony Sought - CNN Interactive - 2/5/96
U.S. Planning Sanctions Against China - CNN Interactive - 2/21/96
U.S. Officials Call Espionage Case Grave - CNN Interactive - 2/23/96
Democrats Block Whitewater Probe - CNN Interactive - 2/29/96
Long-Awaited Whitewater Trial Begins - CNN Interactive - 3/4/96
Taiwan Says China Fired 3 Missiles - CNN Interactive - 3/7/96
U.S. Navy Ships To Sail Near Taiwan - CNN Interactive - 3/10/96
Two U.S. Officials In Plane Crash In Balkans - CNN Interactive - 4/3/96
Commerce Secretary Among 33 Feared Lost In Crash - Associated Press -
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Crash Investigators Begin Somber Task On Croatia Hillside - San
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Navy Man Arrested On Spy Charge - CNN Interactive - 4/23/96
Colby's Body Found In River - CNN Interactive - 5/6/96
President Clinton's Whitewater Testimony - Associated Press - 5/9/96
Sanctions Averted, China Says It Upholds Nuclear Treaty - CNN
Interactive - 5/11/96
Navy's Top Officer Dies Of Gunshot, Apparently Self-Inflicted - CNN
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Explosion Damages Building Housing FBI - CNN Interactive - 5/20/96
Clinton Suggests Go-Slow Approach On Missile Defense System - CNN
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Legal Brief Stirs Up President's Critics - CNN Interactive - 5/22/96
McDougal, Tucker Guilty Of Conspiracy In Whitewater Trial - CNN
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Senator Says Aide Saw IRS Records In FBI - CNN Interactive - 6/25/96
Travel Papers Surrendered - CNN Interactive - 6/25/96
Massive Bomb Rocks U.S. Military Complex - CNN Interactive - 6/26/96
More Intrigue Over FBI Files Flap - CNN Interactive - 6/28/96
The Secret Missile Deal - CNN Interactive - 6/30/97
Who's Got Access? - CNN Interactive - 7/17/96
Questioning Marceca - CNN Interactive - 7/18/96
U.S. Senator Convinced TWA Crash Caused By Sabotage - CNN Interactive -
7/19/96
Second Test Shows No Sign Of Bomb Residue - CNN Interactive - 7/23/96
Did Hillary Help Livingstone? - CNN Interactive - 7/25/96
Clinton Appointees Used Drugs Up To Inauguration - CNN Interactive -
8/4/96
Susan McDougal Vows To Go To Jail Monday - CNN Interactive - 9/5/96
Reno Defends Billion-Dollar Anti-Terrorism Plan - CNN Interactive -
9/12/96
U.S. Navy Analyst Charged With Spying For Russia - CNN Interactive -
9/25/96
The Indonesian Connection Raises Questions - CNN Interactive - 10/11/96
Cocaine Smuggler Posed With Hillary - CNN Interactive - 10/23/96
Huang's White House Visits - CNN Interactive - 10/31/96
D'Amato Backs Down - CNN Interactive - 11/7/96
No IC Will Probe Campaign Spending - CNN Interactive - 11/8/96
Justice Rejects Request For DNC Probe - CNN Interactive - 11/12/96
New Huang-Lippo Contacts - CNN Interactive - 11/13/96
Former CIA Station Chief To Fight Charges - CNN Interactive - 11/20/96
Justice: No Again - CNN Interactive - 12/4/96
U.S. Gets New Info On Saudi Bomb - CNN Interactive - 12/6/96
Out With The Trash - CNN Interactive - 12/6/96
Gore-Huang Ties - CNN Interactive - 12/13/96
Erskine's Choices - CNN Interactive - 12/18/96
Clinton: Wang's White House Visit 'Inappropriate' - CNN Interactive -
12/20/96
Soldier Found Not Guilty Of Espionage - CNN Interactive - 12/23/96
FBI Spy Suspect Pleads Not Guilty - CNN Interactive - 12/30/96
Chinese Involvement? - CNN Interactive - 2/13/97
New Fund-Raising Questions - CNN Interactive - 2/16/97
Chinese Firm To Lease Abandoned U.S. Base - Associated Press - 3/9/97
FBI Warned 6 On Hill About China Money - Washington Post - 3/9/97
Clinton Questioned On Possible China Link - CNN Interactive - 3/10/97
White House Knew Clinton Supporters Were Hiring Hubbell - CNN
Interactive - 3/11/97
Intelligence Trail - CNN Interactive - 3/13/97
Reno On The Hot Seat - CNN Interactive - 3/13/97
Text Of Anthony Lake's Withdrawal Letter To President Clinton - CNN
Interactive - 3/18/97
FBI Confirms China Money Probe - CNN Interactive- 3/20/97
FBI Denies White House Chinese Intelligence - CNN Interactive - 3/25/97
This Prez Donor Is A Real Pistol - New York Daily News - 3/26/97
Reno Formally Rejects Independent Counsel - Washington Post - 4/15/97
A Chinese Spy? - CNN Interactive - 5/12/97
The Riadys' Persistent Pursuit of Influence - Washington Post - 5/27/97
China Buying U.S. Computers, Raising Arms Fears - New York Times -
6/10/97
Mystery Woman - ABC News Primetime Live - 6/18/97
The Secret Missile Deal - TIME - 6/30/97
Lippo's Man In The Back Room - TIME - 7/21/97
Wu's White House Visits - CNN Interactive - 7/30/97
Asian Businessman Visited White House 10 Times - USA Today - 7/30/97
Investigators Told Not To Probe Trie - CNN Interactive - 7/31/97
Claims Against Air Force In Ron Brown Crash - United Press
International - 8/19/97
Donor Says Money Opened White House Door - USA Today - 9/18/97
Ex-NSC Aide Describes Pressure To Help Donor - Washington Post -
9/18/97
Suit Against Starr Dismissed - CNN Interactive - 10/3/97
Democrats Reportedly Traveled To Asia To Seek Campaign Funds - Agence
France Presse - 10/8/97
FBI Admits Overlooking Key Campaign Finance Files - Washington Post -
10/18/97
Clinton Welcomes Jiang to White House - CNN Interactive - 10/29/97
Ron Brown's Son Gets Probation - CNN Interactive - 11/21/97
FBI Hires Nuclear Physicist - CNN Interactive - 11/26/97
Reno Hospitalized In Mexico City - CNN Interactive - 11/26/97
Reno Clears O'Leary In Charity Donation - Washington Post - 12/3/97
White House Humiliates FBI's Freeh - CNN Interactive - 12/4/97
M.E.: Brown Should Have Had Autopsy - Associated Press - 12/4/97
Reno Refuses To Turn Over Memo - CNN Interactive - 12/5/97
Leader Of TWA Criminal Investigation Retiring From FBI - CNN
Interactive - 12/10/97
Cisneros Indicted - CNN Interactive - 12/11/97
DNC To Resist House Subpoenas - CNN Interactive - 12/12/97
Clinton Makes Lee Acting Civil Rights Chief - CNN Interactive -
12/15/97
Clinton Stands By Aide Ira Magaziner - CNN Interactive - 12/29/97
Justice Concludes No Evidence Of Crime In Brown Death - CNN Interactive
- 1/8/98
Findings Link Clinton Allies To Chinese Intelligence - Washington Post
- 2/10/98
Democratic Fund-Raiser Hsia Indicted - Washington Post - 2/19/98
Lawmaker Questions Chung Meeting With Navy Chief - Associated Press -
3/13/98
Witness: White House Sold Trips For Funds - Associated Press - 3/23/98
China Sent Cash To U.S. Bank, With Suspicions Slow To Rise - New York
Times - 5/12/98
James McDougal's Last Word Is A Tell-All Book - Associated Press -
5/15/98
Import Rule Aided Alleged Donor To Democrats - New York Times - 5/17/98
Loral CEO Frequent Administration Guest - Associated Press - 5/21/98
Bernard Schwartz Gave Heavily To Democrats - CNN Interactive - 5/22/98
Pakistan Explodes Nuclear Devices - CNN Interactive - 5/28/98
Clinton's $500,000 Car Ride - Associated Press - 6/9/98
House Hears About Encoded Circuit Board Missing From Chinese Rocket -
New York Times - 6/24/98
Thai Woman Pleads Innocent To Campaign Rap - Washington Post - 7/30/98
Saudi Kin Do Big Biz In U.S. - New York Daily News - 8/27/98
Attorney General Faints In Church - CNN Interactive - 9/27/98
White House Handling Of Classified Data Criticized - Associated Press -
10/8/98
Bin Laden Opens European Terror Base In Albania - The Sunday (London)
Times - 11/29/98
CIA Role In Satellite Case Spurs Probe - Washington Post - 12/5/98
Starr Aide Resigns After News-Leak Probe - CNN Interactive - 3/12/99
China Stole Nuclear Secrets From Los Alamos - New York Times - 3/6/99
Chinese Scientist Was 'FBI Suspect' - BBC Online Network - 3/24/99
China Stole Bomb Technology - Associated Press - 4/99
Businesswoman Wields Influence, Makes Contacts - Arizona Republic -
4/4/99
Testimony Links Top China Official, Funds For Clinton - Los Angeles
Times - 4/4/99
China Money Linked To Clinton Campaign - Washington Times - 4/7/99
FBI Suppressed TWA 800 Crash Cause - CNN Interactive - 5/9/99
Report Shows Scientists Gave U.S. Radar Technology Secrets To China -
New York Times - 5/10/99
Shelby Blasts Reno - Washington Post - 5/13/99
Traitor In Chief - Salon.com - 5/28/99
U.S. Is Said To Have Known Of China Spy Link In 1995 - New York Times -
6/27/99
OIC Referral to the United States House of Representatives (Starr
Report)
The United States House of Representatives Select Committee Report on
U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of
China (Cox Report)
Interim Report of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
Campaign Finance Investigation and Related Matters (Burton Report)
U.S. General Accounting Office Website: Chinese Missile and Nuclear
Proliferation: Issues for Congress, by Robert Shuey and Shirley A. Kan, Foreign Affairs
and National Defense Division, Congressional Research Service: Issue Brief, IB92056 -
7/6/95
History of the National Security Council, 1947-1997, White House
Website
A Journal Briefing: WHITEWATER, Vols. I, II, III, IV, Published by The
Wall Street Journal
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