Free Republic

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said Friday that he won't keep campaign donations he received last year that have now been tied to a disgraced Democratic fundraiser if the donations are found to be improper. "If a donation to Senator Tester is shown to have been made illegally, he would obviously return it or donate it to charity," said Matt McKenna, a Tester spokesman. Tester received $3,750 last year from people linked to Norman Hsu, a New York clothing executive who helped raise more than $1 million for Democratic candidates in the past four years. Tester received no money from Hsu...

CBS/AP) A top Democratic fundraiser wanted as a fugitive in California turned himself in Friday to face a grand theft charge. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge H. James Ellis ordered Norman Hsu handcuffed and held on $2 million bond. A bail hearing was scheduled for Sept. 5, at which the judge will consider reducing his bail to $1 million. Hsu appeared in court accompanied by a lawyer and publicist, both of whom declined to say whether the New York apparel executive would immediately post bail. A warrant was issued for his arrest after he skipped the sentencing for a...

How could the senator's campaign have missed the red flags over Hsu? As Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu confronted an old criminal case and faced a new FBI investigation Friday, a fundamental question persisted: How did Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign fail to see the red flags in Hsu's contributions? Until this week, Clinton counted Hsu as one of her most prolific money bundlers. He gave her campaign $22,300, regularly appeared as a co-host for major fundraising lunches and dinners, and raised more than $100,000 from his friends for her presidential run. Obviously, we were all surprised by...

The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the fundraising activities of Norman Hsu, the man who put over a million dollars into Democratic coffers while remaining a fugitive con man. They want to find out whether more than just coincidence linked heavy donation activity between Hsu and at least two households of more modest means -- and the answers could prove very embarrassing for top Democrats: The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible campaign-finance violations by top Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, according to people familiar with the probe. On Friday, Mr. Hsu surrendered to California officials on...