The People

John Huang Former DNC fund-raiser Huang, at the center of the fund-raising flap, has seen about $3 million of the $4 million to $5 million he raised for the Democrats returned to the donors. Huang has so far refused to cooperate with congressional investigators. He was born in China, but grew up in Taiwan and attended the University of Connecticut, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1976. Before joining the DNC, Huang was a deputy assistant secretary for trade in the Commerce Department and before that, he headed Lippo's U.S. affiliate. A longtime associate of Bill Clinton's, Huang's banking career also included a stint as vice president at the Worthen Bank in Little Rock, Ark. Records show that Huang has been a frequent visitor at the White House and has pressed Clinton on matters related to Indonesia. Huang arranged for a Chinese weapons dealer to attend a White House coffee, and his records show he also attended policy meetings at the Chinese Embassy in 1995.

Webster Hubbell Whitewater figure Webster Hubbell got work from the Riady empire just before he went to prison. Hubbell testified on those connections at a Senate Whitewater hearing last February. "The Lippo Group itself was not my client, but a representative of that group -- one of their affiliates -- was a client of mine," he said. Republican investigators suggested that the job was meant to provide Hubbell with money to keep him quiet about Whitewater, which Hubbell denies.

Harold Ickes -- Former Deputy White House Chief Of Staff Ickes is being investigated after a memo surfaced indicating he coordinated a million-dollar loan from Democratic contributor Warren Meddoff. Once a close advisor to the president, Ickes was unceremoniously dumped from the administration on the urging of incoming Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. On Feb. 12, Clinton appointed Ickes to serve as director of the 1997 G-7 Summit in Denver, Colo. Thousands of documents released by Ickes to investigators painted a picture of a White House consumed by fund-raising concerns, and detailed numerous perks offered to potential donors.

Judicial Watch/Larry Klayman Run by Klayman out of his Washington, D.C. law office, Judicial Watch filed suit against the Commerce Department, charging the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown had used departmental trade missions to raise money for the DNC. Klayman sought and obtained a court order compelling John Huang, a former Commerce official, to testify about his knowledge of Brown's trade missions.

Pauline Kanchanalak -- Kanchanalak is a Thai business consultant who gave $253,000 to the DNC, which then gave it back when officials could not verify the source of the money.

Mickey Kantor Former Commerce Secretary Kantor announced his department would investigate Huang's Commerce tenure, after telephone logs indicated numerous contacts between Huang and Lippo executives in Los Angeles, and calls to prominent Little Rock entrepreneurs and lawyers with extensive financial interests in Asia. Kantor denied claims by Rep. Ben Gilman, (R-N.Y.) that his department had intentionally withheld Huang's telephone logs until after the Nov. 5 presidential election. Kantor left the administration at the end of President Clinton's first term.

Bruce Lindsey -- A close, behind-the-scenes advisor to the president, Lindsey reportedly insisted on depicting meetings between Clinton and Indonesian billionaire James Riady as purely social calls, although policy matters were discussed.

Michael J. Madigan -- Madigan, chief counsel for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, is responsible for the overall direction of the Senate committee's probe. He worked with Sen. Thompson on the Senate Watergate committee in 1973-74 and is a partner at Akin, Gump, a Washington, D.C., law firm.

John McCain A Republican senator from Arizona, McCain made repeated requests to Attorney General Janet Reno for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate DNC fund-raising. McCain is at the forefront of congressional efforts to reform campaign finance laws. McCain's homepage.

Mike McCurry -- The White House press secretary, McCurry's credibility came under fire for several inaccurate responses to questions about the Lippo Group's retention of Clinton associate Webster Hubbell.

Mark Middleton A former Clinton aide, Middleton has been subpoenaed by the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Middleton's meals at the White House mess hall raised suspicions he was using his access to promote his business interests. Reports also surfaced that Middleton, representing the DNC, accepted $15 million from Liu Tai-Ying, a Taiwanese official. Liu denied the account.

Jim Nicholson -- Formerly Colorado's Republican chairman, Nicholson took over the national chair from Haley Barbour last fall.

Janet Reno Attorney General Reno has turned down numerous requests for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate DNC fund-raising practices. She has referred the matter to internal Justice Department attorneys and assigned dozens of FBI agents to the case.

James Riady Son of Mochtar Riady, James met personally with President Clinton at the White House (six times, according to administration aides), meetings initially described as "social" visits, but later acknowledged as including discussions of policy issues related to Indonesia. White House logs show Riady visited the White House on at least 20 occasions, though administration officials say most occasions were for briefings, receptions and meetings with other officials. Riady met Clinton during a stint with the Worthen Bank in Little Rock, Ark. On a trip to Indonesia in 1994, Clinton stopped by a reception in Jakarta given by James Riady.

Mochtar Riady Founder and chief executive of a $5 billion Asian business empire, the Lippo Group, whose affiliates have donated heavily to the DNC. President Clinton met twice with Riady at the White House, and belatedly acknowledged receiving a detailed letter from him that pressed Clinton to establish formal relations with Vietnam and to renew most-favored-nation trading status with China, among other issues. The Lippo Group holds interests in insurance, banking, securities, real estate and electronics.

Charles Ruff -- Becoming President Clinton's fifth White House counsel in January, Ruff, a former Watergate prosecutor, took over the job from Jack Quinn who resigned in December 1996. Ruff has been threatened with a contempt of Congress citation unless he turns over certain documents under subpoena. He is also expected to argue before the Supreme Court that Hillary Clinton's Whitewater notes, taken by former White House deputy counsel Jane Sherburne, fall under the attorney-client privilege and should not be turned over to Whitewater counsel Kenneth Starr.