Loral CEO a Donor to Democrats

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A top Democratic fund-raiser targeted by the Justice Department's campaign finance task force on possible criminal charges in the sale of missile-related expertise to China has donated $734,500 to Democrats for the 2000 campaign.

Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and chief executive officer of Loral Space & Communications Ltd., was recommended in 1998 as the focus of an independent counsel investigation to determine if questionable technology transfers his firm made with the White House's assistance were related to the $1.5 million in donations he gave Democrats in 1996.

Federal Election Commission records show that between February 1999 and June 2000, Mr. Schwartz gave Democrats an average of about $40,000 a month - almost exclusively in unrestricted, soft-money donations.

The soft-money donations went to the Democratic National Committee ($245,000), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($235,000) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Coordinating Committee …