Bill Clinton and the Missing $100 Million

by J. Orlin Grabbe

	D.G. "Chip" Tatum was already familiar with Central 
America when he was asked by Oliver North to infiltrate the 
3/498th Medical Company of Ft. Steward, Georgia, as a 
MEDEVAC pilot.  He had already flown extensively in 
Central America as a Special Operations pilot.

	And it was as a Special Operations pilot operating out 
of Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, in 1983 and 1984, that Tatum 
would routinely deliver white coolers marked "medical 
supplies" to Little Rock Airforce base and to the Mena airport 
in Arkansas.  There he would be met by Dan Lasater and 
Raymond "Buddy" Young.  The coolers were similar to the 
one marked "vaccine" that had broken open at La Mesa 
airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  That container had held 
packages of cocaine, not vaccine.

	Tatum's account of his dealings with these individuals 
are recounted at length in "The Tatum Chronicles", which is 
Part II of Chip Tatum's autobiography "Life as Pegasus".  
(Part I, "Nixon's Darkest Secret:  Operation Red Rock" is 
available in manuscript form for $32.95 from Nancy Tatum, 
P.O. Box 895082, Leesburg, FL 34789).

	But it was on March 24, 1985, flying under cover as a 
MEDEVAC pilot that Tatum attended a meeting involving 
General Noriega, President of Panama; Mike Harari, a former 
Mossad agent who was Noriega's principal advisor; William 
Barr, General Counsel for the CIA airline Southern Air 
Transport, and later Attorney General of the U.S.;  the 
Honduran General Gustavo Alverez; two CIA agents (Felix 
Rodriguez and Joe Fernandez); and--via satellite link--Oliver 
North, Bill Clinton, and George Bush.

	There was $100 million missing from North's 
"Enterprise", and the purpose of the meeting was to find out 
where it went.  The meeting was held at a remote seaside 
retreat at El Ocotal, Costa Rica.  In Tatum's words:

	A communications center was set up 
	at the chopper utilizing a phone 
	provided by Mr. Fernandez.  
	Attending the meeting were the 
	following:  General Noriega-
	Panama; Felix Rodriquez-US; Joe 
	Fernandez-US; General Gustav 
	Alverez-Honduras; William Barr-
	US.  Via Sat/Com link: Oliver 
	North-US; William Clinton-
	Governor of Arkansas; George 
	Bush-US Vice President.  

	General Noriega and Mr. Barr 
	greeted the aircraft when we arrived.  
	The passengers adjourned to their 
	meeting while I secured the aircraft. . 
	. . I joined the meeting 
	approximately thirty minutes later.  
	When I arrived, the discussion was 
	concerning the loss of over $100 
	million.  The "Enterprise" was being 
	drained. . . .  It was obvious that the 
	purpose of the meeting was to 
	identify the source of the loss.  The 
	money flow was traced from 
	Panama to several destinations in the 
	US.  Their Ohio source was ruled 
	out early.  Their Colorado source 
	was also ruled out.  That left 
	Arkansas.  It was discussed by the 
	members that either [Barry] Seal or 
	[Bill] Clinton were siphoning from 
	the "Enterprise". . . .

Fernandez and Tatum returned to the aircraft to use the 
phone.

	He [Fernandez] called Mr. North.  
	The discussion pin-pointed three 
	people.  Fernandez told North that 
	the loss was definitely occurring on 
	the Arkansas drop.  He said, "That 
	means either Seal, Clinton or 
	Noriega."

Tatum summoned Barr and Rodriquez to the aircraft.

	About 15 minutes later the phone 
	activated and Barr answered. . . . "I 
	would propose that no one source 
	[among Clinton, Noreiga, and Seal] 
	would be bold enough to siphon out 
	that much money, but it is more 
	plausible that each are siphoning a 
	portion causing a drastic loss." . . .

	At that point the phone was handed 
	to me.  I answered, "Tatum".  Vice 
	President Bush asked me to ensure 
	that General Noriega and Mr. Harari 
	boarded Seal's plane and departed 
	prior to my departure.  He also 
	wanted the tail number of Seal's 
	plane.  I was told to tell no one that 
	we spoke.  He then instructed me to 
	pass the tail number to North via 
	land lines when I returned to base. . 
	. .

	Mr. Barr then made another call.  
	He asked for Governor Clinton.  He 
	must have had a direct number 
	because he didn't have to wait. . . . 
	He explained that a substantial 
	amount of "Enterprise" monies had 
	disappeared.  He further explained 
	to Governor Clinton that it was 
	suspected to be in excess of $100 
	million dollars and that it was 
	definately disappearing along the 
	Panama to Arkansas connection.  
	He suggested that Governor Clinton 
	investigate on that end, and that he 
	and Mr. North would continue 
	investigating on the Panama side and 
	that it must be resolved or it could 
	lead to problems.
		
	My sources say Chip Tatum's word is reliable, 
moreso than Terry Reed's.  So we have here the beginnings of 
a nice bipartisan scandal.  And we haven't even gotten to the 
Mena information that Jim Guy Tucker coughed up as part of 
his plea bargain.