Word: waiver
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...students in Tiananmen Square, Senator Al Gore sponsored legislation barring U.S.-made satellites from being launched on Chinese rockets--unless the President declared such a launch to be in the national interest. Under pressure from American corporations desperate to get their satellites into orbit, Bush issued nine such waivers between 1989 and 1992--and Gore denounced him as "an incurable patsy." But after Clinton was elected President, he came under the same pressure from business leaders, who argued that the export controls endangered America's telecommunications primacy. Clinton began signing the same waivers (there have been 11 on his watch...
Last February, another Loral waiver request landed on Clinton's desk. The State Department supported the waiver, arguing that it would promote trade with China and enhance America's position as the world telecommunications leader. But Clinton knew that Loral's technology transfer was under investigation. He also knew that Loral's chairman, Bernard Schwartz, was the largest individual donor to the D.N.C. in 1996, responsible for more than $600,000 in soft-money donations. Clinton was warned in a Feb. 18 decision memo that Justice believed that if the Loral investigation ever went to trial, "a jury likely would...
Clinton signed the waiver; he has called it "routine." But since it was first reported two weeks ago--mixed in with the sensational but apparently tangential Chung-Liu allegations--the embarrassment has mounted beyond anything Clinton could have imagined. A House G.O.P. leader confirmed to TIME that Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate majority leader Trent Lott have met with committee chairmen to discuss ways to highlight Clinton's embarrassing China dealings in advance of the President's visit to Beijing in June. The strategy appears to be working. Though the China connection may have nothing to do with Clinton...
...already decided to ignore the supposed China link and focus his investigation on one narrow point: Did the Loral waiver damage national security, and if so, how did it happen? He will sort through the contradictory advice Clinton was given--State Department in favor, Justice against--and look for signs that Loral lobbied behind the scenes. Before Clinton signed, the company bombarded the White House with calls and at least one letter, warning the Administration that delay would jeopardize Loral's contract. Schwartz says he never raised the issue with Clinton directly. The company's chief Washington lobbyist, Thomas...
...prohibited" until the flag is removed. But Army officers working for Reimer say Hale got no special protection. They say that because Reimer knew Hale was under investigation, Hale's file didn't need to be formally flagged. And it was within Reimer's power to issue a waiver allowing Hale to retire in spite of the investigation. "Is Reimer supposed to ask himself for a waiver?" a senior Army officer asks. There was nothing illegal about allowing Hale to retire, the officer argues. Besides, he contends, Hale can always be recalled to active duty to face punishment...