Politics Section Special Reports

From The Post Reno Decides Against Independent Counsel To Probe Clinton, Gore (Dec. 3) News Analysis: Decision No Cause for Celebration (Dec. 3) In Bigger Picture, Letter of the Law Often Seems Gray (Dec. 3) The Probe's Path: A Timeline (Dec. 3) Reno: 'This Decision Was Mine' (Dec. 3) On washingtonpost.com Discussion: Did Reno Make the Right Decision? Reno Clears O'Leary in Charity Donation By Susan Schmidt Washington Post Staff Writer Wed., Dec. 03, 1997; Page A33 Hazel R. O'Leary, who concluded a rocky tenure as secretary of energy only to face allegations of wrongdoing growing out of the campaign finance controversy, got much of her reputation back yesterday from Attorney General Janet Reno. Reno said Justice Department investigators found "no evidence" that O'Leary was personally involved in soliciting a $25,000 donation to a favorite charity from a visiting Chinese petrochemical official who wanted an audience with her in 1995. Reno said she will not seek an independent counsel to continue the investigation. Democratic political donor Johnny Chung claimed he made the contribution to Africare, of which O'Leary was honorary chairwoman, at the behest of an O'Leary aide and a lobbyist. They asked for the donation, Chung said, after he sought to arrange a meeting between the secretary and the visiting Chinese businessman. O'Leary, in a statement released yesterday, called the meeting with the Chinese official "an expected diplomatic courtesy" and the allegations "ludicrous." "I am pleased that the system worked and that I am no longer under investigation," O'Leary said, but added, "I am nevertheless distressed by the unwarranted attack on my integrity and professional reputation." Notwithstanding the "extreme turmoil and pain" caused by the charges, O'Leary said she "will move on wiser and stronger." O'Leary won praise for her accomplishments but resigned last year under congressional criticism of her lavish, taxpayer-financed trips abroad promoting U.S. business deals. Reno said her campaign finance task force conducted more than 40 interviews into the O'Leary allegations. "The investigation developed no evidence she had anything to do with the charitable donation," Reno told reporters. A written opinion Reno filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals said that further investigation is warranted into the actions of others in connection with the donation. Chung's generosity to the Democratic National Committee and easy access to the White House made him a central figure in the campaign finance investigation. His claim about O'Leary, in a TV interview in August, forced Reno to open a review of O'Leary's actions. The law would have required Reno to seek an independent counsel had she found specific and credible evidence that O'Leary had committed a crime. Chung said that in October 1995 he contacted then-DNC Chairman Donald Fowler for help in getting a meeting with O'Leary. DNC officials, he said, put him in touch with a lobbyist, who in turn put him in touch with a senior O'Leary aide, who asked for the contribution. Chung said he wrote the check for $25,000, an O'Leary aide picked it up, and the Chinese official got his meeting with O'Leary that afternoon. Reno said yesterday that her decision not to seek an independent counsel "does not mean a person has been exonerated." It means only that no sufficient evidence to warrant one has thus far emerged, and the task force investigation is continuing. © Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company Back to the top Go to Campaign Finance Report | Go to Politics Section