MediaWatch: November 1996
Table of Contents:
Ross Stands Alone
With the revelations of questionable contributions to the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party, one would assume the media would be all over the story. Not so. But ABC's Brian Ross stood apart in October for focusing on Democratic fundraising. On the October 22 World News Tonight, Ross first put Jorge Cabrera, a twice convicted drug dealer who was invited to the White House after giving $20,000 to the DNC, onto network TV: "As to how Cabrera got inside the White House, the Democratic Party said today it did not know of his criminal record and he had been referred to them as a prominent member of the Cuban-American community in Monroe County, Florida. Tom Cash, the former top drug agent in Miami, says the only thing prominent about Cabrera is his criminal record." Two days later Ross filed the first broadcast network piece detailing John Huang's flight: "A federal judge ordered Democratic Party lawyers into court and told them to produce John Huang to testify in a civil lawsuit alleging favoritism at the Commerce Department for big Democratic contributors." Ross showed how Huang could not be found and explained how he "was suspended by the Democratic Party this week as a fundraiser when some of his contributions were found to have been illegally given by people who were not U. S. citizens."
Ignored...Until Sunday
The network evening shows largely ignored Democratic financial scandal news, but two Sunday shows picked up on them. On the October 13 Meet the Press host Tim Russert put VP Al Gore off balance with his continual barrage of questions: "But isn't character a fair issue to bring up? Why can't Republicans say, `Listen Bill Clinton promised, quote, the most ethical administration in history, and it hasn't been that. Filegate, Travelgate, Whitewater.'" And, "But what about the appearance, Mr. Vice President, of a gentleman, John Huang, working for a Lippo Company, then joining the Commerce Department, where he works on their behalf, lobbies on their behalf; then goes over to the DNC and raises money for them?" Russert even noted "there's a perception the President is dangling pardons out there in order to silence people." CNN's Frank Sesno pressed White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta on the October 27 Late Edition, questioning him about Ron Brown allegedly "selling seats" on his trade missions. Sesno brought up how Huang "raises $4 to $5 milion from Asian-Americans, some of it raised illegally. Money that came from South Korean business had to be returned. A quarter of a million dollars, $400,000 from these Indonesian gardeners who since have gone away....Where's the outrage from the White House?"
