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Posted on 09/10/2007 4:44:57 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign said Monday it will return $850,000 in donations raised by Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who is under federal investigation for violating election laws.
Clinton, D-N.Y., previously had planned only to give to charity $23,000 she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.
The FBI is investigating whether Hsu paid so-called straw donors to send campaign contributions to Clinton and other candidates, a law enforcement official said Monday.
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“Guaranteed, if Shrillery is giving up nearly $1 million this quickly then there is an incredible cesspool underlying this whole scam, waiting to be exposed and drained. WaPo and the LA Times are both referring to the feds investigating a “shady business venture” in which Hsu allegedly provided “investors” with unusual returns and then leaned on them for political contributions. That would be a much bigger scandal than a known felon “bundling” contributions — why is Shrillery already returning donations to 260 donors?? This is just the tip of the iceberg!! Did the ChiComs provide the million(s) for Hsu fake investor scam?? Who else would put that kind of money into the thing? Hsu certainly does not seem to have any evident source(s) of such income, so far as all his false-front “company” addresses can indicate! Where was he getting all this money, and how was he laundering it through to the “donors”?? Inquiring minds sure do want to know....”
That was the first thing that ran through my old mind. For Once Hill saw some FBI files that scared the hell out of her.
Hsu’s funding/bundling/bungling is probably small change compared to the ChiComs, Dr $oreA$$’s bundling and money deposited by the Opecker Princes and Thugs.
Clinton to Return $850,000 Raised by Hsu
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By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
Clinton to Return $850,000 Raised by Hsu
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign said Monday it will return $850,000 in donations raised by Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who is under federal investigation for allegedly violating election laws.
Clinton, D-N.Y., previously had planned only to give to charity $23,000 she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.
The FBI is investigating whether Hsu paid so-called straw donors to send campaign contributions to Clinton and other candidates, a law enforcement official said Monday.
"In light of recent events and allegations that Mr. Norman Hsu engaged in an illegal investment scheme, we have decided out of an abundance of caution to return the money he raised for our campaign," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said in a statement Monday night. "An estimated 260 donors this week will receive refunds totaling approximately $850,000 from the campaign."
Wolfson said the Clinton campaign also will vigorously review its fundraisers, including thorough criminal background checks, in the future. "In any instances where a source of a bundler's income is in question, the campaign will take affirmative steps to verify its origin," he said.
The amount that the campaign identified as raised by Hsu would make him one of her top fundraisers. During the first six months of this year, her presidential campaign raised $52 million from individual contributors, second to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who raised $58.5 million.
Since 2004, Hsu has donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates, and raised hundreds of thousands of additional dollars. He was regarded as a top party fundraiser until recent reports surfaced that he was wanted on a warrant in California in connection with a 1991 grand theft charge.
Federal authorities are looking into whether Hsu leaned on investors to contribute to political candidates after paying them big earnings from a shady business venture he was running, the law enforcement official said. Such a scam - using conduit contributors known as straw donors - is a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which limits how much money individuals can give to candidates and political committees.
The FBI may be looking at other potential charges as well, according to the law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
In addition to the $260,000 he contributed to federal candidates, Hsu also contributed at least $330,000 to state Democratic candidates and state party committees and ballot initiatives during the 2004 and 2006 election cycles. Among the state officials who received money were New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Both have said they would divest their campaigns of the donations.
Additionally, last week Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he would donate nearly $40,000 in contributions, and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said he had donated a $1,000 contribution to a charity that helps soldiers.
The purpose of Hsu's business venture was unclear. The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that it was an investment pool that had recently drawn the suspicion of associates who questioned its legality.
An attorney for Hsu did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Hsu remained hospitalized in Grand Junction, Colo., where he has been since last week after failing to show up for a California court hearing. It was unclear when he might be returned to California to face the felony theft case.
Hsu pleaded no contest in 1991 to a grand theft charge that accused him of defrauding investors of $1 million. He was facing up to three years in prison when he skipped town before his sentencing in 1992. He finally surrendered to the arrest warrant Aug. 31, but disappeared before last week's hearing where he was expected to turn over his passport and ask a judge to cut his $2 million bail in half.
Wolfson said the Clinton campaign was "unaware of Mr. Hsu's decade-plus old warrant," despite what he described as a thorough review of public records.
Since Thursday, Hsu has been at the Colorado hospital, when he was taken from an eastbound Amtrak train for treatment of an undisclosed ailment. He'd failed to show up for the hearing a day earlier. He is expected to be taken to the Mesa County Jail in Colorado to await extradition proceedings in state court once he is well enough to leave the hospital.
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Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
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Lol, maybe after you’ve been here a few more years you’ll enjoy that picture!
“Follow the money” BUMP!
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Don’t you love their timing re their announcements.
They had to be really scared not set on this until Friday after 6 pm or on Sat/Sun.
Thanks for this excellent and clear summary and timeline re the $itch.
Her first position: “I’m not giving any back.”
Her second position: “I will give back $23,000.”
Her third position: “I will give back $850,000.”
MSM’s consistent position: “Nothing to see here.”
During the first six months of this year, her presidential campaign raised $52 million from individual contributors, second to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who raised $58.5 million.
Actually, Jack Abramoff is the Dems' Jack Abramoff. Harry Reid received over four times more cash from Abramoff than Tom DeLay received.
More like when it is a distance memory of a time when we almost had our first female president....then I will enjoy it. Right now it disgusts me....
Return to Sender?
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You just may be onto something......
From The Prowler this morning:
Another campaign says they are looking into rumors that former President Bill Clinton might also have profited from a relationship with Hsu and some of his business partners.
“”An estimated 260 donors this week will receive refunds totaling approximately $850,000 from the campaign.”
I’m speculating that more than a few will be surprised that they gave anything at all.
The Clinton campaign is giving the money back to the donors that Hsu got the money from? Wow, isn’t that the list that the FBI wants to use to investigate this whole sorted affair? I thought Hsu was a bundler, how does the campaign know the names? Just wondering.
Oh, I was writing my #150 when you posted this - I should have come back to look at the thread before posting a similar comment, SORRY.... I have too many windows open on my monitor right now!
Hillary’s 260 strawman donors should be indicted and prosecuted as part of the racket.
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