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Thursday, July 17th, 1997 -- One can only imagine the White House meeting condemning John Huang to the gallows, but it happened. Yesterday's Senate campaign finance hearing demonstrated, all too clearly, that the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have wisely decided to abandon Huang, the Riadys and the Lippo group -- and in a big way.

Jeff Garten
Here's what happened: Jeff Garten, a former Undersecretary for International Trade, fingered Huang as "totally unqualified in my judgment for the kind of Commerce Department we were establishing."

Garten also claimed to have "walled off" Huang from interaction with China and said that Huang was not a policy man. Garten pretended to be surprised that Huang had visited the Chinese embassy a half-dozen times and traded calls with Chinese officials while serving at the Commerce Department.

Of course, Garten had no explanation as to why Huang was briefed by the CIA, at the top secret level, receiving classified intelligence reports during some 30-odd briefings. Huang was able to keep these reports for a time, lock them in his safe, and -- if you take the Republican line -- report their contents to China, the Riadys, or both. Huang is said to have read 300-500 pieces of CIA intelligence on trade and commerce in all.

A key allegation by Dickerson -- and one not focused on by the mainstream media -- is telling: Dickerson told the committee that Huang had never requested any of the information that Dickerson gave him. Dickerson said, "He was a relatively passive customer."

The word "customer" is one that will probably show up in the next counter-intelligence film from Hollywood. But if Huang never asked, why was he briefed?

Readers should know that millions of Americans have top secret clearances like the one Huang had. Once, while still in law school, I had one while working as a gofer in a California engineering job shop. I think it was "eyes only" in those days.

Another fellow, Paul Buskirk, the Acting Security Director for the Commerce Department, told the senators that Huang's security clearance was approved without an overseas background check saying "Senator, in hindsight there was a rock that was not turned over." -- another punch from the White House.

Abandoning Huang is a smart decision, but it might play havoc later. Huang, like thousands of other "political fundraisers" was an obvious opportunist who used friends, contacts and fellow Asian-Americans to feather his own nest -- at their great expense. Huang may very well have promised favors from the White House and Democrats, but aside from the chance to have a photo taken with the President at a very high price, Huang's givers most likely got little else in exchange.

It's the oldest trick in the book: give them a little access and they can dazzle their friends with signed pictures from the White House and Capitol Hill. A sucker's game is all it is.

What Lippo and other Huang donors got in exchange for their millions is probably little else but egg on their face. Huang himself is persona non grata -- everywhere -- and has a future in exile at best. At worst, he'll go to prison. But a guy like Huang may try to take some people with him. Playing the trump card now places the White House in the unenviable position of waiting for Huang to strike. If he does, watch out!

Senator Thompson, of course, dove in by remarking that Huang had access to information that would be interesting to Lippo, insinuating that Huang was placed at the Commerce Department as a mole for the Riadys -- a gift from the White House. Of course, what Thompson failed to add is that most everyone in the nation with a secret clearance has information that is of interest to almost everyone else in the world.

While Thompson focuses on Indonesia, China and elsewhere he'd do better to focus on Huang's US connections and friends. That's where the real story resides.

© 1998, 1997, American Politics Journal Publications Inc.