September 6, 2000
Loral CEO a donor to Democrats
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A top Democratic fund-raiser targeted by the Justice
Department's campaign finance task force on possible criminal
charges in the sale of missile-related expertise to China has
donated $734,500 to Democrats for the 2000 campaign.
Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and chief executive officer of
Loral Space & Communications Ltd., was recommended in 1998 as the
focus of an independent counsel investigation to determine if
questionable technology transfers his firm made with the White
House's assistance were related to the $1.5 million in donations
he gave Democrats in 1996.
Federal Election Commission records show that between
February 1999 and June 2000, Mr. Schwartz gave Democrats an
average of about $40,000 a month �almost exclusively in
unrestricted, soft-money donations.
The soft-money donations went to the Democratic National
Committee ($245,000), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee ($235,000) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Coordinating Committee ($177,500). Another $77,000 went to
individual candidates, including $45,000 to the New York
senatorial race of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In addition, Loral employees have given more than $61,000 to
Democrats, records show.
The FEC records, which reflect contributions only through
June 2000, show no donations by Mr. Schwartz to the Republican
Party, which vigorously questioned Loral's role in the transfer
of missile technology to the Chinese.
Last year, a House committee chaired by Rep. Christopher
Cox, California Republican, said key missile-related expertise
supplied by Loral to China had damaged U.S. national security and
that the firm had assisted the Chinese government in improving
the reliability of its long-range missiles � 20 of which are now
aimed at the United States.
Task force chief Charles G. LaBella, who later was removed
from office, had questioned Mr. Schwartz's White House ties in a
July 1998 memo to Attorney General Janet Reno. He wanted an
outside counsel to investigate the Loral executive and also to
examine President Clinton's relationship with Mr. Schwartz and
the firm.
Miss Reno later rejected the recommendation.
Mr. Schwartz, the Democratic Party's largest single donor in
the 1996 elections, has denied his contributions were meant to
influence Mr. Clinton's policies on satellite exports. The White
House also has denied any wrongdoing.
DNC spokeswoman Jenny Backus did not return calls to her
office for comment.
Loral is a high-technology firm based in New York
specializing in satellite manufacturing and satellite-based
services. It manages and is the largest equity owner of both
Globalstar and Space Systems/Loral, which build large,
high-powered satellites for telecommunications and environmental
applications.
In his July 1998 memo, Mr. LaBella described Mr. Clinton and
Vice President Al Gore as key players in a 1996 fund-raising plan
designed to "raise money by whatever means and from whomever
would give it, without meaningful attention to the lawfulness of
the contributions."
He said abuse was "rampant" and that the campaign was "so
corrupted by bloated fundraising and questionable contributions
that the system became a caricature of itself."
Mr. LaBella also described Mr. Gore as "an active
participant in the core group fundraising efforts" and told a
Senate committee in May that the Loral-White House connection was
a legitimate topic for an independent counsel probe.
He said prosecutors also were concerned that if "someone had
given contributions and as a result of the contributions had
received some benefit," an inquiry should be aimed at "the person
who gave the contribution" and "the person who received the
contribution." He identified the proposed targets as Mr. Schwartz
and Mr. Clinton.
In his memo, Mr. LaBella noted that former White House
Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes played a key role in 1996 as
coordinator of the DNC's fund-raising efforts. He said Mr. Ickes
urged Mr. Clinton in two memos to pressure officials at Loral to
help raise $3 million in soft-money donations for the Democratic
Party.
Those memos document efforts by Mr. Ickes, who left the
administration in 1997, to put Mr. Clinton and Mr. Schwartz
together to discuss the urgent need for political donations:
� In September 1994, Mr. Ickes told Mr. Clinton that Mr.
Schwartz could play a role in generating donations "in order to
raise an additional $3,000,000 to permit the Democratic National
Committee to produce and air generic TV/radio spots as soon as
Congress adjourns." He encouraged Mr. Clinton to invite Mr.
Schwartz to a White House breakfast to discuss the need "to raise
$3,000,000 within the next two weeks."
� In October 1994, Mr. Ickes advised Mr. Clinton that Mr.
Schwartz was "prepared to do anything he can for the
administration." Mr. Ickes called on the president to personally
solicit the longtime Democratic Party loyalist for a donation.
The October 1994 memo came while Loral was looking for the
White House to switch licensing authority for satellite exports,
which were included on a State Department banned "munitions
list," to the Commerce Department, which sought to sell U.S.
goods. Mr. Clinton later authorized the switch by executive
order.
In his 1998 memo, Mr. LaBella also noted that Mr. Gore
received a series of memos from Mr. Ickes and attended weekly
meetings concerning hard- and soft-money donations to the DNC's
hard-money accounts.
He described Mr. Ickes, who now runs Mrs. Clinton's New York
campaign, as a "Svengali, assuming power � with the imprimatur of
the president � to authorize DNC and Clinton/Gore '96
expenditures."
Last year, the House Select Committee on U.S. National
Security and Military/Commercial Concerns With the People's
Republic of China singled out Loral for supplying missile-related
expertise it said damaged national security.
The panel said the technology transfers allowed China to
improve the reliability of its long-range missiles and that Loral
had assisted China without obtaining the proper licenses required
for the transfer of militarily useful technology.
Loral sought the transfers after investigating the cause of
a 1996 explosion that destroyed a Chinese rocket shortly after
liftoff. The vehicle carried a $200 million Loral satellite.
The firm, in a report, determined the crash was caused by a
flaw in the rocket's flight-control system. Loral later shared
the findings with the Chinese, who used them to make improvements
in the guidance and control systems of China's rockets.
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FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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