Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 3, 1994 TAG: 9402030051
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"No further investigation is warranted," the department's criminal division wrote in a letter that Justice spokesman Carl Stern said was delivered to Brown's attorney Wednesday. "Accordingly, we are closing the investigation. We appreciate Secretary Brown's cooperation with the investigation." The letter was released by the Commerce Department.
Brown, inspecting earthquake damage in California, said he was "very pleased" by the news. He had no further comment, but his staff released a prepared statement that said Brown "is pleased that the inquiry has fully and fairly exonerated him of any wrongdoing."
The allegations were made by Binh T. Ly, a Vietnamese-American businessman. In September, Brown acknowledged meeting three times with a former Vietnamese government official, Nguyen Van Hao, whom Ly accused of arranging the $700,000 payment.
Brown denied receiving any Brown money or having any kind of business relationship with Hao. The Vietnamese government also denied the allegations.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that a federal grand jury in Miami found no wrongdoing by Brown.
The Commerce Department said Brown was advised by the Justice Department that it has concluded "a complete and thorough inquiry regarding allegations against the secretary."
President Clinton publicly defended Brown last fall after two conservative Republican lawmakers asked for appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations. The call for a special prosecutor later was joined by House Republican leaders.
Attorney General Janet Reno declined to appoint such an investigator on grounds that, as a Cabinet colleague of Brown, it might appear she had a conflict of interest.
Hao is a Vietnamese businessman and former official of the communist government in Hanoi. Ly, who is a former business partner of Hao's, alleged that Brown accepted the money - and promises of future income from Vietnamese development projects - to help lift the trade embargo.
Ly acknowledged he had no direct evidence to support his allegations, which he said were based on his conversations with Hao.
In August, Brown denied the allegations published by U.S. News & World Report magazine, which also disclosed the FBI probe. Brown, in an impromptu news conference in California during a trip with Clinton, called the accusations "absolutely ridiculous."
When news reports surfaced in late September with details about Brown's three meetings with Hao, Brown acknowledged the meetings - in November and December 1992 and in February 1993, after he became commerce secretary. But Brown continued to deny receiving any money or having any kind of business relationship with Hao.
Brown also has said he did not participate in the administration's talks on lifting the trade embargo.
by CNB