I am confused. Exactly what has happened to the money HSU gave to Hillary?
At the top of the story it states she returned the money to Hsu——””Obviously we were all surprised by this news and we have a procedure that we follow and upon verifying it we returned his money”
Later on in the story it states she gave the money to charity——”She refused to respond as to why she had given to charity the money Hsu contributed directly to her campaign”
If, in fact, she gave the money to charity, then the obvious question for the reporters covering this story is what charity received the money?
Perhaps it went to the Harold Ickes Foundation.
It is interesting that she claimed she returned it before she said it went to charity. If I gave money to charity or returned it to the person who gave it to me, I would know about it an not misspeak.
If the money was illegal, she had no choice but to return it to the donor. That is the FEC reg.
Handling Illegal Contributions
The treasurer of a committee is responsible for ensuring that all contributions are lawful. 11 CFR 103.3(b). If the treasurer has reason to suspect that a contribution is excessive or prohibited, he or she must, within 10 days of receiving the contribution, either return the contribution to the donor or deposit the contribution. 11 CFR 103.3(a). If the contribution is deposited, the treasurer must:
Maintain sufficient funds in the account to refund the contribution should it prove to be illegal or place the contribution in a separate account for this purpose;
Keep written records noting the basis for the appearance of illegality;
Note that the legality of the contribution is in question when reporting the receipt of the contribution; and
Comply with appropriate deadlines (see sections below).
11 CFR 103.3(b)(4) and (5).