Posted on 05/10/2005 7:12:12 AM PDT by areafiftyone
(1010 WINS) LOS ANGELES A federal criminal trial involving a former finance director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be watched by Republicans seeking to derail her re-election next year and potential 2008 bid for the White House.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday for the trial against Clinton's former finance director, David Rosen. He is accused of filing false campaign finance statements in connection with the fundraiser for Clinton's successful 2000 senatorial campaign.
Rosen has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Monday urged a Senate panel to investigate Clinton in connection with the fundraiser.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton argued that Clinton closely monitored the Hollywood fundraiser and knew its actual cost was much greater than the $400,000 tab reported in campaign financial filings.
Prosecutors claim that Rosen knew that ``in-kind'' contributions for the event exceeded $1.1 million.
``They're false and she knows them to be false,'' Fitton said. He equated her situation with the ethics controversy surrounding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who has been criticized for privately funded travel.
Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson called Judicial Watch's complaint ``a meritless publicity stunt by a thoroughly discredited right-wing attack group.''
An FBI agent's 2002 affidavit said the costs were deliberately understated ``to increase the amount of funds available to New York Senate 2000 for federal campaign activities.''
Justice Department officials, however, recently said they do not need to prove a possible motive by Rosen. The Democratic senator has not been charged.
The trial, which is expected to last about 10 days, will include testimony from Raymond Reggie, a prominent political consultant whose sister is married to Sen. Edward Kennedy. Prosecutors have not named Reggie, but two sources familiar with the case said he is the ``cooperating witness'' identified in court documents who wore a wire on behalf of the government.
Reggie also is listed in a proposed questionnaire that will be presented to jurors to determine if they know any of the key players in the case.
Others on the questionnaire include longtime Hillary Clinton aide Kelly Craighead; comic book legend Stan Lee, who was an official host of the fundraiser and Peter Paul, who told the FBI he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars that Clintons' campaign didn't report.
I wouldn't be surprised by another "Arkancide".
Doug, Vacations only allow your competitors to catch up with you!
Back to the trial!
:-)
"discredited right-wing attack group.''
How was Judicial Watch discredited?
This is good. We need to keep heat on Hillary. Rattle her cage. She makes mistakes when she gets cornered.
Here we go again !!!
Who's gona keep score this time ?
No mention anywhere in the media but on this website. And this website is just an all news radio station on the AM dial in NYC!
The sad thing is that the left is so used to rallying around the Clintons that it's a Pavlovian response for them. Hillary could rob a bank in broad daylight, shoot the tellers on videotape, run over a troop of preschool kids in her getaway car and the idiots on the left would scream it was all a right wing plot to set her up. The simple fact is they just don't care what the Clintons do.
Written like a true Democrat lackey...
Orrrrrrrrrrrrr, maybe the Republicans have some better motive, like seeing that the law is upheld.
Suppose this guy would have written it this way if it were some Repub who was facing this?
And neither do most of the American public. They elected Clinton for a second term even after the Jennifer Flowers scandle. They kept him in office even after the Monica scandal! All the Clinton bashing did not help keep them out of office AT ALL! We need a better strategy for Hillary!
The Clintons have a way of getting their pals aquited. I'm not sure how they do it, but this whole thing could backfire on the justice deptment and actually work in Hillary's favor.
The wierd thing about it is that everytime the far left goes in the tank for the Clintons, it does serious damage to the democratic party. The left leaning center punishes them at the polls. I don't don't need to go into the laundry list of democratic defeats since the Clintons came to power.
Maybe a Hillary Presidency would be the ticket to the complete and total destcruction of the democratic party. There is only so much anyone can take, and 4 (or 8) years of the graft and corruption that follows the CLintons everywhere might be the end of the left as we know it.
There will either be an acquittal, the charges will be dropped, or David Rosen will take the fall and clam up, like the McDougals did. In any case, nothing will come of it that will hurt Hillary. Bet on that. It may in fact end up helping her, as you suggest. The lamestream, lying scumbag media will race to Hillary's defense with the tired old victim-sympathy angle ("Aw, those wasscally Weepublicans are picking on that poor wittle woman!").
David Rosen may fall on his sword and lose his freedom for a short time as a result, but he knows better than to cross the Clintons, and what happens to those who do. Better a little jail time than six feet under.
There is no competition here. We are all wanting to share in the prize --- keeping her away from the White House.
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