Let me start this difficult Diary with two disclaimers:
- I’m undecided. I could see myself supporting most of the Democrats running for President is 2008. At the moment I’m leaning towards Obama or Edwards, but that could change (it has in the past). I haven’t made up my mind.
- I’ll support the Democratic Nominee. Each current candidate has pluses and minuses, but they are all superior to any GOP weasel. Once the choice is made, the Nominee will have my active support in their effort to take back the White House.
I like Senator Clinton. She is a great candidate in many ways. I really wish I didn’t have to bring up this issue, again, but I do.
Hillary Clinton is the only Democratic Candidate who accepted donations linked to the Abramoff Scandal, sweatshops and human trafficking. Worse, her Campaign knows about this tainted $10,000. They’ve been repeatedly informed, the problem has been acknowledged, but no action is ever taken.
It is a two-fold problem for her campaign (one obvious, one not) and we need to vet this in the Primary.
To the jump...
Update #2.
I decided to put this at the top. I will also make an appropriate note down the line.
This seems to have struck a nerve and I may have been unclear on two points.
First, I am not accusing Senator Clinton of intentional wrong doing.
I am pointing out the fact that her Campaign in 2005 took money from the Tan Family. And further I am pointing out that that $10,000 is tainted money. It connects her to the Tan Family and through them to sweatshops, Abramoff and the Culture of Corruption. All of that is true, but the way I told the story and connected the dots seems to have confused some readers.
Adding to that confusion is an imagined "news" report I included to illustrate how the donations can be portrayed as a negative story. In my future news story, I imagined how the Politico and others of their ilk would write about these donations if they were not vetted until the Fall of 2008.
In this projection, I conflated the donation to the Senatorial Campaign into a donation to her the Presidential Campaign. It is what they will do when they write the story.
Sure, money was transferred from the Senate war chest to the Presidential war chest, but that is not the same thing.
My lapse into channeling a MSM article has confused some readers. I thought I had placed a disclaimer on it, but it was clearly way too subtle. I assumed that readers would understand it as a cautionary tale.
I was not clear in pointing out that distortion and that seems to have been a problem for some.
My apologies.
Now, back to the Diary...
This is a difficult Diary for me to write.
I am quite used to naming Republicans tied to Jack Abramoff scandal. The list is endless. Jack put it best when he explained to Vanity Fair:
"Any important Republican who comes out and says they didn’t know me is almost certainly lying," ... "This is not an age when you can run away from facts," he declares. "I had to deal with my records, and others will have to deal with theirs."
As those who have been following my Diaries know, I have mostly written about the growing Jack Abramoff Scandal and the Republican Culture of Corruption. I have been following this story since 1999.
I would say that I am an expert on the subject.
In this scandal the most tainted funds, the dirtiest money would come from one of two sources:
- A direct donation from Jack Abramoff, his wife Pam, or his inner circle of about a dozen key lobbyist partners such as Michael Scanlon, Tony Rudy, Ed Buckam, Neil Volz, etc.
- A direct donation from family members or key employees of the Tan Family operating out of Hong Kong and the Mariana Islands.
Money from the Tan Family was an important indicator of corruption as they were (and are) the force behind the system of human trafficking and abuse that has flourished on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a US Territory in the Western Pacific some 40 miles North of Guam. Over time money from the Tan Family flowed to corrupt local officials on the CNMI, Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, George W. Bush and the Republican Party—lots and lots of money.
By December 2005 it was clear that Abramoff and others would soon plead Guilty. To muddy the waters, The GOP and their allies in the media started beating a drum that Abramoff gave money to Republicans AND Democrats.
It was bullshit. And I knew it.
I wrote the Dairy, "There are ZERO Democrats who took Abramoff money". It, along with the work of many others helped us push back that GOP talking point.
At the time, I was sure that Zero Democrats had either:
- Received any money from Jack, his wife or any member of his inner circle of Republican Lobbyists; and/or
- Received any money from a member of the Tan Family or one of their key employees.
I was certain that I was accurate. We pushed back on the "everybody does it" myth and the Republican Culture of Corruption became a BIG part of why and how Democrats took the House and the Senate in 2006.
In the course of my research, I keep checking certain sources. One is donations from the Tan Family, their key employees and their shell companies. As I expected, it kept flowing to Republicans.
That all changed when I checked into Tan Family Donations in March of 2006. I was stunned to discover that a Democrat, Senator Hillary Clinton, had received $10,000 from the family in September and October of 2005. Take a look:
KIM LAM, PEK, Homemaker; 9/30/2005; $2,000
TAN, JOISE, N/A/Homemaker; 10/2/2005; $2,000
TAN, RAYMOND, Luen Thai/President; 9/30/2005; $2,000
TAN, SIU L, Tan Holdings Corp./Chairman; 9/30/2005; $2,000
TAN, WILLIE, Luen Thai/COO; 9/30/2005; $2,000
Suddenly my formulation that Zero Democrats took Abramoff Money had a big hole in it. A donation from Abramoff was bad, but in my book a donation from the Tan Family is far, far worse.
Jack was only a bag-man. He moved money around to help the Republican effort to establish one-Party rule in the United States. He took it from some nice people and some very bad people. The Tan Family would be in the latter group.
I have written a lot lately, about the system of abuse on the CNMI. It is an economic system based on human trafficking and exploiting foreign contract workers. We could call it by many names, but Modern Slavery would be accurate.
For those who do not get why I make a big deal about this $10,000 in donations Hillary Clinton has accepted from the Tan Family, I suggest you review these Diaries as a quick tutorial:
I could have added many, many more posts. The point is that the economic system on the CNMI is a corrupt failure. It is un-American in every way you can imagine.
It is a system that went off the rails of morality back in the early 1980s—when the Tan Family arrived to exploit a loop-hole and make clothes in sweatshop that could enter the Mainland duty free and wear a "Made in the USA" label.
In 1992 the US Department of Labor would file a lawsuit against the Family for running sweatshops. The case was settled by the Tan Family and it resulted in the largest fine in US Labor Department history. You can download a copy of the agreement here.
Tan Siu-lin is the patriarch of the family. Lam Kim-pek is his wife. His son, Willie Tan, took the lead in running the operation on the CNMI. Another brother, Jerry, lent a hand.
The father and his sons were named as plaintiffs in DOL lawsuit. All three signed the consent degree agreeing to pay $9.2 million in restitution to the victims of the sweatshops they ran. Two of them, Willie and his Father gave Hillary Clinton $2,000 each. Willie’s mom, kicked in another two grand.
While Willie was building a garment manufacturing and supply-chain company monetized with stolen labor, his eldest brother, Henry, took the lead running the family business in Hong Kong and mainland China. Even in the Eighties, the family always planned to move most of their manufacturing to China. Henry led that effort in a partnership with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). His younger brother Raymond lent a hand.
Luen Thai is the Tan Family’s global supply-chain corporation traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Many name brand clothes are made by this polished company built of stolen labor and sweatshops.
The focus of the Tan Family was never just the economic system of the CNMI—that was (and is) small potatoes for the Family. They used it as a stepping stone and now that it is used up, they have very little use for it at all. They have closed most of their garment factories there, shut down their poker machines and moved to maintain those business, like Tourism, that support their new "clean" image. The big focus now is on tourism from China. The Tan Family and their PRC partners get a piece of the action from every flight between China and the CNMI.
And according the Hong Kong Standard, both Henry and Raymond are Chinese Nationals (emphasis added):
Sometimes Tan family members recorded a Hong Kong address on their donations, sometimes one in Saipan. Federal campaign regulations mandate that only US citizens or permanent residents can legally donate. Luen Thai's IPO prospectus says that Henry and brother Raymond are Chinese nationals living in Hong Kong.
Both brothers gave money to George W. Bush. Raymond gave $2,000 to Hillary as well. Another family member, Josie kicked in the final two for Hillary’s $10,000 total.
It could be because they have a lot of business before the United States and are trying to buy influence with Senator Clinton. But I doubt that.
A more believable reason for the $10,000 donation is that Clinton is being set-up.
The Tans did this before back in 1995 when First Lady, Hillary Clinton was on Guam for a Democratic fund raiser. The Tan Family and a corrupt Governor on Guam were trying to get the Clinton Administration to allow Guam to set up sweatshops just like the CNMI. A company tied to the Tan Family (and through them, China) donated $17,500 to the DNC. The Right Wing Noise machine went nuts. The GOP n Congress used the donations as justification for hundreds of hours of investigations and a key cornerstone of the Clinton’s took money form China meme.
It is likely that this new $10,000 to Hillary was given to set her campaign up for fresh attacks after she wins the Nomination. These attacks would draw her into the Abramoff scandal, labor abuse and re-open the entire Clinton’s take money form China meme.
This has been a talking point on Right Wing blogs for more than a year. Bryon York framed the attack in articles published in March of 2006, here and here.
Now it lies in wait to ambush the Democrats if conventional wisdom is correct and Hillary Clinton becomes our Party’s Nominee.
UPDATE NOTE. The below imagined future news story is to illustrate how these donations can (and will be) conflated in the press. This story morphs a donation made in 2005 into a donation for a Presidential Campaign yet to be announced. I made the link to illustrate how I have seen many news stories turn a thin connection into a "solid fact". I did not point out this use of a journalistic trick and it left some confuse. My Apologies.
Here is how the story might look as it breaks on the AP or on the front page of the NYTs or the Washington Post:
Clinton Donations tied to Abramoff, Sweatshops and China
Owners of a Chinese Corporation tied to a $9 million dollar fine for operating sweatshops on a US Territory and the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, have donated $10,000 to Hillary Clinton's run for the White House.
For more than twenty years Willie Tan and his family have been associated with sweatshops, labor abuse and corruption on the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, a US Territory in the Western Pacific just north of Guam. Abramoff successfully lobbied Congress to block reforms to the Marianas Islands, including an increase in the minimum wage.
Mr. Tan and his father, Tan Siu Lin signed a consent decree fifteen years ago for the largest fine in US Labor Department history. In late 2005 they each donated $2,000 to Senator Clinton. Three other Tan Family members donated $2,000 each to the Senator. One was, Raymond Tan, who is listed as a Chinese National on papers filed for a Hong Kong stock exchange IPO.
For most of the last fifteen years the Tan Family have been supporters of the Republican Party through their association with lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Majority Leader, Tom DeLay. The one notable exception came in 1995 when companies tied to the Tan Family donated $17,500 to the DNC while then First Lady Clinton was at a fund raiser on Guam.
These donations put Senator Clinton at odds with two key groups in the Democratic base, labor and women, while connecting her to the Jack Abramoff scandal and the Culture of Corruption in Washington.
I first wrote about these donations last year. Since then I have been trying to get somebody on her staff or connected with her campaign to deal with these donations.
I’ve tried for months and months. I’ve had inside and outside contacts. I’ve had no luck
For example, months ago I ran into Terry McAuliffe on the streets of DC. I explained this issue to him and placed a detailed list of the donations into his hands. Nothing has happened.
I've spoken with several levels of staffers and supports. Nothing has happen.
Letters, emails, calls, front channel, back channel—I’ve tried them all and no action.
I have been repeatedly told that the Campaign is aware of the situation and that the "lawyers" are reviewing it (whatever that means).
When I started trying to get her Campaign to deal with these donations I thought it would be a no-brainer for them. You know, somebody would go "YIKES" and return the cash.
This is obviously tainted money. It can not possibly be doing the Campaign any good to hang on to this trouble-loaded ten grand.
And yet, they can’t seem to let go of the money.
Now I do not know which is worse, that the Campaign received the donation or that the Campaign seems to be incapable of seeing past their ego and gate-keepers to deal with this dirty money.
To me, this is more bumbling than intentional. I think the money is a plant, a set-up—just another favor the Tan Family is doing for their Republican allies. It is just another wet kiss from the Tans to Karl and the GOP. It is bait to muddy the corruption issue in 2008 and to tie the GOP-Owned-and-operated Abramoff scandal to Democrats.
It is bait to frame Hillary Clinton as greedy, corrupt and without principles.
And it looks like the Clinton Campaign is taking the bait.
My goal is to get her Campaign to step away from the trap and turn off this GOP line of attack before it becomes conventional wisdom.
By any measure of morality, principles or integrity, this money needs to be dealt with. Time is running out (it already looks bad and there will be some damage).
What happens with these corrupt donations is important.
We can not have a nominee connected to Jack Abramoff (IMHO).
This is not a slam on Clinton. These donations are most likely a plant to embarrass her. I'm just trying to warn my side when my research uncovers a problem. Senator Clinton and her Campaign need to deal with this money.
Please do not use this Diary or the comments to bash and slash Hillary or any of the other Democratic candidates. That is not useful. Hard criticism works for me if it is done civilly, honestly and with open ears. It is more important for us, as a community, to learn how to solve problems than it is to shout (we already know how to that).
I want us to win in 2008 and I want to enthusiastically support our candidate. Please help me make this concern about Hillary Clinton’s campaign go away.
Here is what I would like to see happen:
- Senator Clinton Returns the money.
- Senator Clinton donates $10,000 (or more) to support workers currently suffering hardship on the CNMI.
- Senator Clinton makes the time to meet personally with human rights worker Wendy Doromal (who just returned from several weeks in the Territory) and be briefed on the current conditions facing foreign contract workers on the CNMI.
- Senator Clinton comes out in favor of CNMI reform legislation (S. 1634 and H.R. 3079) with amendments to extend a clear pathway to Citizenship for long term workers and immediate Green Cards for the parents of US Citizen children.
Those four actions would redeem Hillary Clinton on this story. There is more that she could do as well. She could lead on ending the growth of neo-slavery enabled by Guest Worker schemes around the globe. She could take a firm stand to end the easy human trafficking flourishing on the CNMI. And she could come out in support of real ethics and lobbying reform (but now I’m just dreaming).
I am undecided about the Primary, but not the General Election. I would support the Democratic Party Nominee. Period. We can not afford another four years of Republican control.
I just do not want to hold my nose while I vote for the Democratic candidate. If Hillary does not return this money and lead on ending the abuse flourishing in the CNMI, I will have to hold my nose to vote for her in any election.
I think, I hope, she will do the right thing.
That is what happened that last time the Tan’s and the GOP set-up the Clintons with the 1995 Guam donation. President Clinton turned down the request to allow CNMI-like sweatshops on Guam. More than that, he tried very hard to end the abuse. It was Clinton’s DOI who sent Wendy Doromal to lead a team investigating the rogue Territory in 1998. If it wasn’t for the corruption of Tom DeLay, I think the Clinton effort would have ended the abuse.
If Hillary is looking for a tip on how to handle this Tan-GOP dirty money set-up, she might want to ask Bill.
Thanks and Cheers.
Update:
I've been at work all day and will not have time to review hundreds of comments until later this evening.
I've noticed that this seems to have set off a flying pie or two. That was not my intent, but so it goes.
I have seen where some folks who criticized me have been TR for their comments. Thanks, but unless they are off the map, I would rather we let them have their say.
Some may be helpful. For instance there seems to be some confusion because the donations were for her Senate Campaign and not her run for the White House.
I made no distinction between donations to her Senate race and the White House. I clearly put the Tan donations in the context of the 2006 Senate Race. I provided links to them.
I never claimed that they were for her run at the White House. I just claimed that the Tan Family gave her Campaign $10,000.
When I started trying to get her to deal with this money she was running for the Senate. I would still be trying to get her to deal with the money if her next race wasn't until 2012.
She is running for President. What she did as a Senator and the money she took in that office is relevant.
My apologies to those who were confused by when the money was donated.
The funds from the Tan Family are still dirty money and still a problem.
Cheers