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The Timeline of Chinese espionage against the U.S. is a chronology of information relating both to the 1996 U.S. campaign finance scandal (also known as Chinagate) and the People's Republic of China's alleged nuclear espionage against the United States detailed in the Congressional reports known as the 1997 Special Investigation in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaigns and the Cox Report respectively. The timeline also includes documented information relating to relevent investigations and reactions by the White House, the U.S. Congress, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and United States Department of Justice.

Released publicly in May 1999, the Cox Report stated China had acquired information on seven of the United States' most advanced nuclear warheads. According to the report, the information was stolen via an espionage campaign that stretched from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. In addition to nuclear espionage, the Cox Report also detailed China's legal and illegal 1990s acquisition of detailed information about the United States' advanced satellite, encryption, MIRV, ICBM, anti-submarine radar, neutron bomb, and high performance computer technology. The Cox Committee was formed in 1998 after allegations arose regarding bribery charges and illegal transfers of missile technology involving an American satellite company.

Released in March of 1998, the Senate report on the campaign finance scandal detailed China's attempts to influence the U.S. elections by using conduits to donate non-American money to the Democratic National Committee and Clinton administration. The report also detailed the abilility of both a Chinese Lt. General and a well-known Chinese arms merchant to gain access to fund-raising meetings with President Clinton.

1995

May

June

July

  • President Clinton visited CIA headquarters July 14. According to a photo in the New York Times published the following day, First Lady Hillary Clinton joined him on his visit. According to a CIA press release that day, the president received intelligence briefings from CIA Director Deutch while he was there.Press Release, CIA, July 14, 1995, Retrieved: April 14, 2006 Allegedly, Deutch failed to inform the president about China's theft of America's nuclear weapons designs during the briefing.

August

September

October

November

1996

February

  • On February 2, the Clinton administration granted Wang Jun's company Poly Technologies import permits that were to allow the shipment of over 100,000 semiautomatic weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition to a Detroit company that had ties to the Chinese military.Daly, Michael, "This Prez Donor a Real Pistol", New York Daily News, March 26, 1997

March

  • On March 21, 1996, Clinton friend and DNC fund-raiser Charlie Trie delivered $460,000 to Clinton's legal defense fund. Trie's money was returned later when it was noticed that the money orders, from many different people, had sequential serial numbers and similar handwriting. It was eventually learned the money, which had supposedly been donated by followers of Buddhist Master Suma Ching Hai, was actually laundered from sources in Asia.1997 Special Investigation in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaigns, Section 20, pp 7-11, U.S. Senate, Retrieved: April 14, 2006 Immediately after the donation, Tri sent a letter to President Clinton that expressed concern about America's intervention in tensions arising from China's military exercises being conducted near Taiwan. Trie told the President in his letter that war with China was a possibility should U.S. intervention continue:

April

  • Sometime in April 1996, intelligence analyst Ronald Pandolfi wrote a report for the CIA warning about military implications of Hughes Electronics' sharing of missile expertise with the Chinese. The CIA decided not to distribute the classified report to select government officials, as is routinely done with intelligence estimates, saying it was insufficiently rigorous. The report would be kept from Congress until late 1998.Gerth, Jeff, "Old Concerns Over Data Transfer to China Get New Attention", New York Times, Dec. 7, 1998

  • Sometime in April, former President George H. W. Bush traveled to China with his former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. While there, they dined with Chinese weapons merchant and CITIC head Wang Jun. Bush claims he did not recall meeting with Wang. Scowcroft claims he thought Wang did not speak English. "My recollection is he (Wang) did not" speak English, Scowcroft stated. "Now that doesn't mean he doesn't, because a lot of them speak English and don't want to do it in front of foreigners."Jackson, David, "Chinese Official No Stranger To Vips;Fundraising Probe's Key Figure Cultivated U.S. Establishment", Chicago Tribune, March 23, 1997

  • Sometime in April, Vice President Al Gore's national security advisor Leon Fuerth was informed about China's nuclear espionage at America's weapons laboratories. Some documents showed he may have been informed as early as 1995, though Fuerth did not recall a briefing then. Fuerth failed to mention the espionage to Gore until March 1999.Gerth, Jeff, "China Stole Data, Report Concludes", New York Times, May 21, 1999

May

  • Arrest warrants were issued by a United States Attorney May 22 in regards to Poly Technologies' attempt to smuggle 2,000 AK-47s into the United States aboard a COSCO ship for sale to drug gangs. During the sting operation, the smugglers also offered agents access to shoulder launched missiles and tanks. The sting operation was sprung earlier than planned due to a leak to the press from an unknown person."Chinese Gun Ring Busted In Bay Area 2,000 smuggled AK-47s seized in sting, U.S. says", San Francisco Chronicle, May 23, 1996

  • On May 30, the FBI formally opened a criminal investigation into the theft of the W-88 nuclear design. Originally only 1 or 2 agents were assigned to the case and the inquiry made little progress over the rest of the year.Risen, James and Gerth, Jeff, "U.S. Is Said to Have Known Of China Spy Link in 1995", New York Times, June 27, 1999

June

  • On June 3, 1996, the FBI warned White House National Security Council aide Rand Beers that China might be trying to funnel money into Congressional campaigns. Beers later claimed he did not report the information to President Clinton or his National Security Advisor because FBI agents asked that he not share information from the briefing with them. The FBI denied the claim. The FBI notified members of Congress during the same time period.Mitchell, Alison, "Warning on China Never Got to Him, Clinton Contends", New York Times, March 11, 1997

  • In late June or early July, the CIA issued an internal government statement that declared they may have misread their original analysis of the documents delivered by the double agent to their Taiwan offices and that China may not have America's weapons designs after all. The FBI, in turn, suspended their investigation of the matter (which had just started) for about six weeks.Risen, James and Gerth, Jeff, "U.S. Is Said to Have Known Of China Spy Link in 1995", New York Times, June 27, 1999

July

August

  • On August 11, China's general in charge of military intelligence, Ji Shengde, gave DNC fund-raiser Johnny Chung $300,000 to funnel into the Clinton/Gore re-election campaign. According to Chung, Ji said at the time: "We like your president".Johnston, David, "Committee Told Of Beijing Cash For Democrats ", New York Times, May 12, 1999

September

October

November

December

  • On December 5, It was reported that Commerce Department official Melinda Yee (a friend of John Huang) threw away documents concerning the department's trade missions to China after a judge ordered they be turned over to the Judicial Watch group. According to the court: "No adequate explanation has been given as to why these documents were destroyed". Furthermore, the judge said: "Department's misconduct in this case is so egregious and so extensive that... the agency be held fully accountable for the serious violations that it appears to have deliberately committed".Memorandum Opinion Judicial Watch vs. Department of Commerce, page 14, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Retrieved: April 14, 2006 (PDF file)

1997

  • Sometime in early 1997, Energy Department intelligence analyst Notra Trulock learned of new nuclear espionage evidence. He attempted to contact newly appointed Energy Secretary Peña about the information but was not given an appointment to see him until July.Gerth, Jeff and Risen, James, "China Stole Nuclear Secrets From Los Alamos, U.S. Officials Say", New York Times, March 6, 1999

February

  • On February 13, 1997, President Clinton allegedly learned about China's plot to influence America's elections for the first time. The American people learned for the first time as well as the Washington Post published a story that day stating a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the fund-raising activities had discovered evidence that the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. was used for coordinating contributions to the DNC in violation of U.S. law forbidding non-American citizens from giving monetary donations to U.S. politicians and political parties.Woodward, Bob and Duffy, Brian, "Chinese Embassy Role In Contributions Probed", Washington Post, Feb. 13, 1997

March

  • On March 13, Attorney General Janet Reno claimed she tried to inform Clinton's National Security Advisor Anthony Lake about the FBI's information concerning China's attempt to influence America's elections back in May 1996, but did not because she "could not find him" (she only attempted to call Lake once). Reno also said she did not tell President Clinton herself because she felt it was the job of the National Security Council.Wines, Michael, "Reno Says Her Warning on China Failed", New York Times, May 14, 1997

  • FBI Director Freeh told Congress on March 20 his investigation into campaign finance irregularities was not focusing on individual criminal acts, but on a possible conspiracy involving China.Suro, Roberto, "FBI Head Confirms China Probe Underway", Washington Post, March 21, 1997

  • Vice President Gore visited China March 24-28, 1997. He met with China's President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng while there. Gore did not bring up China's theft of the United States' nuclear weapons designs during his discussions because he still had not been informed by anyone in the Clinton administration.

April

  • FBI Director Louis Freeh met with recently promoted National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and briefed him about national security matters on April 28. According to Press Secretary Mike McCurry: "White House was ...satisfied that the Attorney General and the Director have taken steps to make sure the President has the information he needs to conduct foreign policy and deal with national security questions." White House Press Briefing, April 30, 1997, Retrieved: May 28, 2006

  • Also on April 28, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen at the Pentagon. Qian met with then Defense Secretary Bill Cohen April 29 and with President Clinton April 30. China's theft of America's nuetron and nuclear weapons designs wasn't discussed as both Clinton and Albright were still not informed.State Department Press Briefing, April 28, 1997, Retrieved: May 28, 2006

May

  • Former Sandia and Los Alamos laboratory employee Peter Lee (no relation to Wen Ho Lee) gave top secret information on antisubmarine radar technology away to Chinese nuclear-weapons experts during a May 11 lecture at the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics in Beijing, China. Attorney General Reno and Clinton's Navy Department later refused FBI requests to allow open-court testimony about the technology even though doing so would kill the FBI's espionage case against him. Lee ended up pleading guilty to filing a false statement about his 1997 trip to China and to giving classified laser data to Chinese scientists during an earlier trip to China in 1985.Gerth, Jeff and Risen, James, "Reports Show Scientist Gave U.S. Radar Secrets to Chinese", New York Times, May 10, 1999

July

  • Sen. Fred Thompson (Republican-Tennessee) opened his hearings on China's influence of America's 1996 presidential and congressional elections on July 8, 1997.

  • Federal examiners gave evidence China's Central Bank funneled upwards of $90 million into a California bank owned by Nan Nan Xu to the Justice Department sometime in July. The Justice Department never followed up on the information. No publicly known investigation was ever conducted.Golden, Tim and Gerth, Jeff, "China Sent Cash to U.S. Bank, With Suspicions Slow to Rise", New York Times, May 12, 1999

August

  • On August 4, FBI agent Ivian Smith wrote a letter to FBI Director Freeh that expressed "a lack of confidence" in the Justice Department's attorneys regarding the fund-raising investigation. He wrote: "I am convinced the team at DOJ leading this investigation is, at best, simply not up to the task... The impression left is the emphasis on how not to prosecute matters, not how to aggressively conduct investigations leading to prosecutions." Smith and three other FBI agents later testified before Congress in late 1999 that prosecutors at Reno's Justice Department impeded their campaign fund-raising inquiry. FBI agent Daniel Wehr told Congress that the first head U.S. attorney in the investigation, Laura Ingersoll, told the agents they should "not pursue any matter related to solicitation of funds for access to the president. The reason given was, 'That's the way the American political process works.' I was scandalized by that," Wehr said. The four FBI agents also said that Ingersoll prevented them from executing search warrants to stop destruction of evidence and micromanaged the case beyond all reason."FBI agents criticize Justice Department", Associated Press via USA Today, Sep. 22, 1999

September

  • Also in September, Attorney General Reno opened a criminal investigation into Loral Space & Communications and Hughes Electronics' illegal transfer of ballistic missile technology to China.

October

  • On October 28, China's President Jiang Zemin had a private 90-minute meeting with Clinton, Berger, and Albright in the White House residence quarters. This was the first state visit by a high-ranking Chinese official in over ten years.Broder, John M., "Summit in Washington: At The White House", New York Times, Oct. 29, 1997 They could not have discussed China's espionage against America's nuclear weapons laboratories because Albright still had not been told of the information.Gerth, Jeff, "A Look at the 94 Who Aren't Talking", New York Times, May 21, 1999

  • On October 29, President Clinton certified that China was not engaging in the export of nuclear technology to non-nuclear nations. The move allowed a 1985 Sino-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement to go into effect in 1998. The agreement allowed for the shipping of nuclear power plant technology to China.Diamond, Howard, "Clinton Moves to Implement Sino-U.S. Nuclear Agreement", Arms Control Today, January/February 1998 "This agreement is a win-win," Clinton said. "It serves America's national security, environmental and economic interests… It is the right thing to do for America.""Clinton OKs Nuclear Power Sales To China", CNN.com, Oct. 29, 1997

November

  • On November 7, 1998, Energy Secretary Federico Peña announced the department had taken actions to strengthen the safeguards and security at the department's defense nuclear facilities. In announcing the actions, Peña released two reports he said he had ordered earlier in the year on safeguards and security. "Several months ago when security concerns were first brought to my attention, I ordered these reports. Today, I am publicly releasing them because I think we have a responsibility to the American people to address these challenges as openly and directly as possible. More importantly, we are taking actions to further secure our facilities," Peña said."Peña Takes Action to Boost Security at DOE Defense Nuclear Facilities", DOE Press Release, Nov. 7, 1998, Retrieved June 8, 2006

  • The Justice Department separately interviewed both Clinton and Gore about campaign fund-raising on November 12. The FBI was denied the opportunity to ask questions and was only allowed to take notes. Neither Clinton nor Gore were asked a single question about John Huang, Mochtar and James Riady and the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple fundraising event led by Maria Hsia and attended by John Huang and Ted Sioeng."Justice's Clinton, Gore inquiry criticized", Associated Press, Dec. 16, 1999

December

  • That same day, FBI Director Freeh wrote a memorandum to Reno calling for an Independent Counsel to investigate the fund-raising scandal. In his memo he wrote: "It is difficult to imagine a more compelling situation for appointing an Independent Counsel."Lewis, Neil A., "Freeh Says Reno Clearly Misread Prosecutor Law", New York Times, June 16, 1998 Reno rejected the request.

1998

February

March

  • On March 5, the United States Senate released their report detailing fund-raising improprieties committed by the Democratic National Committee and Clinton administration and China's attempts to influence the 1996 election campaigns with Asian money.

June

  • On June 18, the House of Representatives voted 409-10 to allow the creation of a special committee to investigate whether technology or information was transferred to the People's Republic of China that may have contributed­ to the enhancement of their nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. The committee was named the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China.House Resolution 463, Library of Congress Thomas website, Retrieved: June 6, 2006

July

  • Justice Department campaign finance taskforce head Charles La Bella called on Attorney General Janet Reno July 16 to appoint an Independent Counsel to investigate the controversy.Thomas, Pierre, "Reno Aide Recommends Independent Campaign Finance Probe", CNN.com, July 23, 1998 In a report to Reno, La Bella said: " pattern [of events suggests a level of knowledge within the White House -- including the President's and First Lady's offices -- concerning the injection of foreign funds into the reelection effort."La Bella, Charles, La Bella Memo, Introduction, page 51, July 16, 1998, Retrieved: April 19, 2006 Additionally, La Bella wrote: "If these allegations involved anyone other than the president, vice president, senior White House or DNC and Clinton-Gore '96 officials, an appropriate investigation would have commenced months ago without hesitation."La Bella, Charles, La Bella Memo, Introduction, page 14, July 16, 1998, Retrieved: April 19, 2006 Reno rejected his recommendation.

October

  • On October 17, President Clinton signed into law recently passed legislation by Congress that reversed his 1996 Executive Order that shifted control over commercial satellite exports permits from the State Department to the Commerce Department. After signing the bill, President Clinton stated the change was: "...not necessary... and could hamper the U.S. satellite industry." The legislation would not go into effect until five months later."Congress Returns Export Control Over Satellites to State Department", Arms Control Association, October 1998, Retrieved: June 8, 2006

December

  • On December 5, The New York Times reported the Justice Department was investigating the Central Intelligence Agency for possibly obstructing justice by giving Hughes Electronics information about the House Select Committee's investigation of the company.Stout, David, "C.I.A. Is Focus of Inquiry in China Rocket Case", New York Times, Dec. 5, 1998

1999

January

  • On January 3, the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China released their classified report on their findings regarding China's espionage campaign against the United States to government officials in Congress and the White House.

March

  • On March 6, The New York Times published an article entitled "China Stole Nuclear Secrets From Los Alamos, U.S. Officials Say". The article publicly detailed for the first time the govenment's belief China had stolen classified information on the W-88 nuclear warhead. Gerth, Jeff and Risen, James, "China Stole Nuclear Secrets From Los Alamos, U.S. Officials Say", New York Times, March 6, 1999

May

  • On May 25, the United States House of Representatives released the unanimously agreed upon Cox Report (AKA Report of the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China) which detailed publicly for the first time China's espionage campaign against the United States. The report was a redacted version of a still-classified report completed almost 5 months previously. President Clinton and his CIA determined 30 percent of the original report could not be released to the public."Report: China stole U.S. nuke secrets to 'fulfill international agenda'", CNN.com, May 25, 1999

Notes and references

External links

1996 campaign finance scandal | Sino-American relations | Timelines of recent events | Bill Clinton

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Timeline of Chinese espionage against the U.S.".

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