Report: FBI Warned Lawmakers About China Contributions (3/9)

WashingtonPost.com

More Calls For A Special Prosecutor On Campaign Finance

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 10) -- As Republican calls for a special prosecutor intensified, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she already has taken steps to assure that only U.S. citizens make political contributions to her.

Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported that Feinstein was among at least six members of Congress who were warned by the FBI about a possible Chinese government plan to funnel money to their campaigns. ABC News reported that as many as 30 members of Congress were warned that they might be offered illegal contributions.

The disclosures prompted a new round of calls by Republicans for a special prosecutor to look into campaign finance abuses.

"I thought maybe we had seen the worst part some time ago, but I think it could get worse," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told The Associated Press.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who also wants a special prosecutor appointed, suggested that if members of Congress were warned, the White House "certainly had to be warned, too. And if that's true, that makes these charges or these allegations even more serious than before."

But Leon Panetta, the former White House chief of staff, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that neither he nor President Bill Clinton were advised of any FBI investigation.

Feinstein, the only lawmaker named in the Post's story, said she wants more specifics from the FBI than she got in a 10-minute briefing last June. "Since my name is out there, I believe I deserve to know," Feinstein said Sunday night.

Feinstein said she had already taken some steps, even before the FBI briefing and being contacted for the Post story, to return questionable contributions and require that her donors certify they are U.S. citizens. She said she has returned $12,000 in donations from six people who work for the Lippo Group, the Indonesian conglomerate at the center of the fund-raising controversy.

"Frankly, I don't know what else to do," Feinstein said. "Does this mean I check every Asian name? I find that repugnant."