As early as 1991, the F.B.I. knew about Chinese government contributions to U.S. campaigns. In late 1991/early 1992, warnings about such contributions were brought to my attention in San Francisco by the F.B.I.. Following up on this issue, I questioned then-Attorney General Barr about this possibility during a hearing of the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Committee, on which I then served. A copy of the relevant portions of the hearing transcript from February 26, 1992 is attached.
On June 11, 1996, I met with representatives of the F.B.I. at their request to discuss concerns they had about outreach efforts by the Chinese government to influence Congress on U.S.-China policy. To the best of my recollection, the discussion was on the broad topic of avenues the Chinese government may be applying in their efforts to influence Congress and on possible overtures to be made to me on behalf of the Chinese government. These efforts included possible Chinese government efforts to funnel money to Congressional campaigns through intermediaries. The F.B.I. also stated that the Ministry of State Security (Chinese intelligence service) indicated its support to influence campaigns.