ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 28, 1997 TAG: 9702280094
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
Ten individuals who figure prominently in the controversy over foreign-linked donations to the Democratic Party also gave at least $158,160 in campaign money to members of Congress over the past eight years, an analysis of federal election records shows.
Most of the political contributions went to Democratic lawmakers, among them Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and three prominent members of the Senate committee investigating the fund-raising matter.
The donors include embattled Democratic fund-raiser John Huang and his wife, Jane, of Glendale, Calif.; Huang's former boss at the Lippo Group, an Indonesia-based conglomerate with close ties to President Clinton; and six other contributors who have been issued subpoenas for their roles in the widening scandal.
Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate's leading critic of campaign finance reform, received $2,000 from the Huangs in 1989, and Alfonse D'Amato of New York, chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, received $1,000 from Huang.
The fallout on Capitol Hill from these contributions, which amount to significantly larger sums to more lawmakers than previously reported, comes as tensions are mounting over the scope of various congressional inquiries.
Senate Republicans want to prevent the Governmental Affairs Committee from investigating campaign practices beyond the 1996 presidential race, while Democratic leaders have objected to the proposed $6.5 million budget sought by Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., the panel's chairman. They want congressional campaigns investigated, too.
The donations raise the possibility that at least three members of the Senate committee may have a conflict of interest because they accepted money from some of the same people the panel is investigating. One, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, eventually gave his back.
LENGTH: Short : 45 linesby CNB