Chinese Military Intelligence Funnels Campaign Donations Through Johnny Chung

Democratic fundraiser Johnny Chung receives $300,000 from Ji Shengde, the head of Chinese military intelligence, with instructions to funnel the money to help reelect President Clinton in 1996. Chung tells federal investigators that he passed on $35,000 of this money to the Democratic National Committee, part of a larger pattern where he donated $366,000 to the DNC between 1994 and 1996. This represents direct interference in U.S. elections by Chinese military intelligence services, raising profound national security concerns.

The scheme was part of what became known as “Chinagate,” a broader effort by the People’s Republic of China to influence domestic American politics during the Clinton administration. Chung made forty-nine separate visits to the White House between February 1994 and February 1996, often bringing Chinese business associates with him, gaining extraordinary access despite being a conduit for foreign intelligence funds. The Department of Justice investigation uncovered evidence that agents of China sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the DNC before the 1996 presidential campaign.

Chung was eventually sentenced to five years’ probation and community service after pleading guilty to bank fraud, tax evasion, and two misdemeanor counts of conspiring to violate election law. The DNC returned $366,000 in contributions linked to Chung once the truth was revealed. However, Attorney General Janet Reno controversially declined to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate whether Clinton or Gore had knowledge of the foreign contributions, preventing a more thorough investigation of potential criminal coordination at the highest levels of government.