and another entire table for several guests, "Woo either wire transferred or brought the money to the U.S.," said an FBI interview summary of Trie released by Burton's committee a month ago. "It occurred to Trie that people at the DNC might start to wonder where he was getting his money. Knowing it was not his money, Trie felt uncomfortable," the FBI summary said. "He started giving friends cash in return for their checks to the DNC." Alternately defiant and contrite, Trie in his prepared remarks said that "at no time ... did I want or attempt to obtain anything improper for the interests of others. He and his business associates "just wanted to go to events with important people and to get the opportunity to have our pictures taken with the president of the United States." Trie outlined his involvement in White House coffees with Clinton that resulted in millions of dollars flowing to the Democratic Party. The White House has always maintained the events weren't fund-raisers, but Trie said, "It was ... well known that it cost $50,000 to attend a coffee." Trie said he paid $50,000 to get businessman Winston Wang into a coffee, with Trie asserting he was reimbursed later by three wire transfers from associates of Wang. Trie described his role in bringing a Chinese arms dealer to another White House coffee, saying Trie's business partner at the time "was ... excited about the prospect of doing business" in areas other than arms. "In my mind" the arms dealer's company "was the General Electric of China," said Trie. According to the FBI interview summary of Trie, his fund-raising got off to a shaky start. When Clinton, then the Arkansas governor, told Trie he was going to run for president, Trie phoned the Taiwanese consulate and the Chinese Embassy to spread the word. "Because of the negative FBI and CIA attention this call generated, Trie avoided becoming politically involved at that time in spite of his pro-Clinton enthusiasm," the FBI ...
