WASHINGTON-Independent Counsel Ralph Lancaster last week cleared Labor Secretary Alexis Herman of using her political clout and soliciting illegal campaign contributions as a former White House aide to help Mobile Communications Satellite Corp. win a mobile satellite license from the Federal Communications Commission in 1997.
At the same time, Lancaster will seek an indictment of Singapore businessman Abdul Rahman for allegedly making $200,000 in illegal political donations to the Democratic Party through Venessa Weaver, a friend and former business partner of Herman’s, and Weaver’s sister, Caryliss.
Lancaster declined to comment on the two-year probe, which reportedly cost taxpayers more than $3 million.
Rahman, who met Herman through Venessa Weaver, was introduced to President Clinton during the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign.
The two Weaver sisters, implicated in an alleged scheme to solicit campaign contributions and gave kickbacks to Herman in exchange for helping their business clients, were not indicted. Before becoming labor secretary, Herman was a Clinton aide.
Cameroon businessman Laurent Yene made allegations against Herman and others in 1997, when Herman’s Senate confirmation was pending. Before making the accusations, Yene had a professional and personal falling out with Vanessa Weaver.
Vanessa Weaver, who had exceptional White House contacts, and Yene were hired by Rahman to seek financing for MCHI’s $1.1 billion Ellipso project.
“I am gratified personally and for my family that the independent counsel has terminated his investigation,” said Herman in a written statement.
President Clinton said Herman “did not deserve what she has had to endure over the past many months.”
The investigation had the potential to further damage Clinton’s legacy and hurt Vice President Gore’s presidential run.
It was former Gore domestic policy adviser, Greg Simon, who asked Herman in 1996 to meet with MCHI representatives.
Simon told RCR in a 1998 telephone interview that he did not try to pressure or influence the FCC on the MCHI application.
After the FCC rejected its big low-earth-orbit satellite on financial grounds in 1995 (but gave MCHI a year to shore up its financing), MCHI began complaining on Capital Hill and elsewhere that it was being forced to meet stiffer financial qualifications that those required of larger firms-like Motorola Inc., TRW Inc. and Loral Corp.-that were awarded big LEO satellite licenses.
In fact, the Small Business Administration in 1996 wrote FCC Commissioner Susan Ness to urge the agency to grant a big LEO satellite license to MCHI.
In 1997, the FCC decided to waive financial qualifications for MCHI and granted it a global satellite phone license. The agency at that time justified the waiver by saying spectrum had become available after another applicant withdrew its application.
MCHI did not return a call for comment.
