Charlie Trie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie | |
|---|---|
 Democratic Party fundraiser
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| Born | August 15, 1949 (age 57) Republic of China |
| Occupation | Restaurant co-owner, international trade |
Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie (b. August 15, 1949), a major figure in the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, was convicted and sentenced to three years probation and four months home detention for violating federal campaign finance laws by making political contributions in someone else's name and by causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).[1]
Born in Taiwan, Trie emigrated to the United States in 1974 where he started off as a busboy in a Washington, D.C. restaurant. Eventually, Trie became an American citizen and co-owner of a restaurant named Fu Lin (in Chinese the name can mean "enrich your neighbor") in Little Rock, Arkansas where he became friend with then-Governor Bill Clinton. Clinton later named Trie to the Arkansas State fire extinguisher board in 1988. After Clinton was elected President, Trie rented a suite at the Watergate complex in Washington and began work as a fundraiser for the Democratic Party where he met and began working with fellow scandal figure John Huang. His suite was also used as the mailing address for Daihatsu International Trading Company, an import-export business he started that mainly conducted business with the People's Republic of China (PRC).[2]
Immediately after donating $460,000 to President Clinton's legal defense fund in March 1996[3], Trie 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:
| “ | ...[O]nce the hard parties of the Chinese military incline to grasp U.S. involvement as foreign intervention, is [sic] U.S. ready to face such [a] challenge[?]... [I]t is highly possible for China to launch [sic] real war based on its past behavior in [sic] Sino-Vietnam war and Zhen Bao Tao war with Russia — Charlie Trie in a letter to President Clinton, March 21, 1996[4] | ” |
The money donated to Clinton's defense fund originated from followers of Suma Ching Hai International Association, a Taiwan-based Buddhist sect. All of the money was eventually returned.[2]
A month earlier, Trie had invited Wang Jun, chairman of CITIC and Poly Technologies (a "front company for the Chinese military" [5][6]) to a White House "coffee" with President Clinton.[7][8]
When questions first arose regarding Charlie Trie's fundraising activities during Congressional investigations in late 1996, he fled the country for the PRC. He returned to the United States in 1998.[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Fund-raiser Charlie Trie pleads guilty under plea agreement", CNN.com, May 21, 1999
- ^ a b Duffy, Michael,"A Friend In Need", TIME, December 30, 1996
- ^ "The Exploits of Charlie Trie", The Washington Post, Aug. 3, 1997
- ^ 1997 Special Investigation in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaigns: Section 20, page 13, U.S. Senate, Retrieved: April 14, 2006 (PDF file)
- ^ Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Retrieved: Feb. 10, 2006
- ^ Russell, Richard L., "China's WMD Foot in the Greater Middle East's Door", Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 9, No. 3, Article 6, Sep. 2005
- ^ Jackson, Brooks, "Clinton's Re-election Road Paved With Money", CNN.com, Feb. 24, 1997
- ^ "Highlights of U.S. report on alleged China spying", CNN.com, May 25, 1999
- ^ 1997 Special Investigation in Connection with 1996 Federal Election Campaigns: Section 3, pp. 11-14, U.S. Senate (PDF file)
