WALL STREET JOURNAL
			   October 25, 1996


 Editorial
 Trifling With the Courts--II
 
	Yesterday in this space, we reported the manhunt for John
Huang, the former Lippo Group executive and now notorious fund-raiser
for the Democratic National Committee. Once again as we went to press
last night, Mr. Huang was nowhere to be found. After holding court
sessions today and threatening DNC officials with subpoenas, federal
district Judge Royce Lamberth has given Mr. Huang's Beltway lawyer
until 9:30 this morning to produce him.

Judge Lamberth approved the subpoena for Mr.  Huang on Tuesday so that
he would answer questions about connections between his DNC
fund-raising and his former trade job at the Department of
Commerce. When U.S. marshals arrived at the DNC on Tuesday afternoon
to serve Mr. Huang, an Asian gentleman standing in the lobby ran away
from them. DNC officials then told the marshals that they didn't know
how to find Mr. Huang. Joe Sandler, the DNC's general counsel, said
the only address he had for him was in California. When the marshals
then went to his home address in suburban Washington as provided by
the Commerce Department, they were told by a relative he doesn't live
there. Later that day, Judge Lamberth's office asked Mr. Sandler to
appear in court the next morning.

However, yesterday morning Mr. Sandler sent word during the hearing
that he wasn't coming.  After Judge Lamberth threatened to send a
marshal to subpoena him, the DNC's lawyer suddenly showed up at the
court and was asked by the judge whether he was going to "continue to
play games about being served."

Mr. Sandler denied he was playing games and introduced John Keeney of
Hogan & Hartson as Mr. Huang's lawyer. Mr. Keeney is also on the board
of trustees of the DNC's Lawyers Council.  Mr. Keeney asked Judge
Lamberth to "limit the scope" of Mr. Huang's deposition. "There has
been a huge politicization of this that is totally unwarranted,"
Mr. Keeney told Judge Lamberth. He then explained that he "had not
been able to reach his client" about the subpoena. Mr. Huang's lawyer
told Judge Lamberth yesterday that his client is not in Washington,
D.C., but assured the court that Mr.  Huang would return late next
week and would answer a more narrow set of questions sometime after
that. Mr. Keeney said he couldn't compel Mr. Huang to return to
Washington, D.C.

"But, I can," Judge Lamberth interrupted him.

He then scheduled another hearing on Mr.  Huang's compliance for this
morning. Mr.  Keeney quickly left the courtroom and refused to answer
questions from the two reporters present--from the Washington Times
and this page. When asked if Mr. Huang had done anything illegal or
unethical at the DNC, Mr.  Sandler replied: "Not as far as we know."

Late yesterday afternoon, John Keeney faxed a letter to Larry Klayman
of Judicial Watch, which had sought the subpoenas, saying he had
contacted his client and "Mr. Huang has agreed that he will appear on
any of the following days: Nov. 6, 7 or 8." The election is Nov. 5,
and Judge Lamberth's schedule will have to adjust.

Meanwhile, Ira Sockowitz is hanging tough.  Judge Lamberth on Tuesday
approved a subpoena for Mr. Sockowitz, who was Ron Brown's special
counsel at Commerce. The watchdog group Judicial Watch wants to ask
him to answer questions about files that may have been taken from
Mr. Brown's office and stored.

Mr. Sockowitz's lawyer faxed a letter yesterday to the district court
requesting that the subpoena be modified "to extend the time for
required response to and including Monday, Nov. 4."

And so just as the political establishment confers re-election on
Messrs. Clinton and Gore, we have learned that John Huang was involved
in an apparently illegal $245,000 contribution from a Korean
businessman, since returned; facilitated a relationship of mutual
benefit between Bill Clinton and the Riadys of Indonesia; and set up a
shady fund-raiser at a Buddhist temple, which the featured speaker,
Vice President Al Gore, now calls a "community outreach" event.

Meanwhile, the press secretary of the Clinton White House laughingly
tells annoyed reporters Mr. Huang isn't available "because it takes
time to talk to you." But this this week, when an ongoing lawsuit
seeking information into Ron Brown's trade junket operation results in
a subpoena to force Mr. Huang's appearance, virtually the entire
Washington press corps ignores the story, not even bothering to cover
the appearance of DNC officials and Mr.  Huang's Hogan & Hartson
lawyer before a federal judge. (Though Brian Ross broadcast a good
report on ABC News last night.)

So far, Bill Clinton's use of the executive branch of government to
buffalo the others has been an extraordinary spectacle. Investigations
by the legislative branch have been turned aside, its subpoenas
flouted. The press, the fourth branch of government, has largely
quit. Some 2,500 accredited Washington reporters have transferred
their judgment and authority to the pollsters.

Now, however, in Judge Royce Lamberth, the administration will attempt
to buffalo the third branch. It may suit Mr. Clinton's purposes to
stonewall the details of the Huang operation past Nov. 5, even at the
risk of incurring obstruction of justice charges. But the larger game
is setting the stand-off terms for the much larger constitutional
struggle with the judiciary that will ensue should Mr. Clinton make it
past November 5.