
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 2, 1993                   TAG: 9312300018
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

COMMERCE

U.S. SECRETARY of Commerce Ron Brown better come clean, and right away, on any information he may be holding back regarding his relationship with a Vietnamese businessman, Nguyen Van Hao.

Another Vietnamese businessman, a former associate of Hao, has alleged that Hao conspired to pay Brown $700,000 in return for Brown's help in easing restrictions on trade with Vietnam.

There may be absolutely nothing to the allegation. Or it may be that Brown rebuffed Hao in private conversations, and that was the end of that. There are, nonetheless, troubling questions that need answering.

Why did Hao twice deny ever meeting with Brown? Why did a Commerce Department spokesman also say they had not met? Now it comes out, according to Brown's attorney, that they did meet - three times.

A grand jury has been investigating to see if there's any evidence to back up the allegations. Brown shouldn't wait for the conclusion of its deliberations to explain, fully and publicly, why he has been secretive about his dealings with Hao.

Brown no longer has private clients, where discretion is the norm. His clients are American citizens, and they deserve answers.

by CNB