Clinton Faced With Second Donor Under Cloud

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's decision Wednesday to donate $23,000 it had received from a prominent donor to charity was not the first time this year her campaign divested itself of money received from a supporter tainted by scandal.

On March 3, 2007, Los Angeles Times Reporters Robin Fields and Chuck Neubauer wrote that Abdul Rehman Jinnah, a Pakistani native living in Southern California, was wanted by the FBI for funneling illegal contributions to Clinton's political action committee and California Sen. Barbara Boxer's reelection campaign.

Jinnah fled the country, but surrendered to authorities in Los Angeles in May. In June he was released on a $300,000 bond pending his trial in federal court in Los Angeles.

According to the indictment, Jinnah arranged for $30,000 in donations to HillPac, Clinton's political action committee. Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told the Times in March that the money would be donated to charity.

On Wednesday, Clinton's campaign said it would also give away the $23,000 it had received from Norman Hsu, a businessman from Hong Kong who now lives in New York. Fifteen years ago, Hsu pleaded no contest to defrauding investors in a California business scheme.

Hsu failed to show up for his sentencing hearing in San Mateo County, Calif., and had been considered a fugitive ever since.

This week, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times raised questions about Hsu's role in various Democratic campaigns, including Clinton's.

--Posted by Huffington Post staff writer Max Follmer

Comments

[OtayPanky]

10:28 PM on 08/30/2007

This piece from Barbara Ehrenreich's blog is worth re-posting. She's no troll, no crazed zealot, no Hillary hater.

But - she gets it:

===

In the end, the question of who Hillary is seems almost a bit anthropomorphic. Surely she has loved, laughed and suffered in the usual human ways, but what we are left with is a sleek, well-funded, power-seeking machine encased in a gleaming carapace of self-righteousness. She’s already enjoyed considerable power, both as a Senator and a “co-president,” and in the ways that counted, she blew it. What Americans need most, after fifteen years of presidential crimes high and low, is to wash their hands of all the sleaze, blood, and other bodily fluids, and find themselves a president who is neither a Clinton nor a Bush.

===

Full blog is here, otay?

http://tinyurl.com/327prq

[OtayPanky]

03:04 PM on 08/31/2007

What? No tomatoes?

[hugs4u]

08:56 PM on 08/30/2007

If hi liar is elected, the Lincoln bedroom will be for rent again. She takes all dirty money, until it is discovered. Also there will be more female intern scandal and trouble with hi liar also.

Draft Gore at the democratic convention and have a real winner.

[sottovoce]

03:36 PM on 08/30/2007

Max Follmer, see anything wrong with your lead sentence?

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's decision Wednesday to donate $23,000 it had received from a prominent donor to charity was not the first time this year her campaign divested itself of money received from a supporter tainted by scandal.

[Nyla785]

02:10 PM on 08/30/2007

Oh, thank God the Republicans found a 'counter-scandal' to help dilute their complete implosion over the Craig arrest!

[GRAYWOLF241]

12:46 PM on 08/30/2007

DUH! IT'S THE MONEY STUPID!! THE SOONER WE HAVE PUBLICLY FINANCED ELECTIONS THE BETTER OFF WE'LL BE. THEN THE LOBBYISTS WILL HAVE TO BUY THEIR POLITICIANS MORE DIRECTLY AND WILL BE EASIER TO CATCH WITH THEIR HANDS IN THE TILL.

[menes3959bc]

11:04 AM on 08/30/2007

The same old story ...bush / clinton /bush /clinton...etc....I am for Edwards ,I think he is the only decent guy , and i don't care if he paid $400 for a hair cut , i myself would do so if i can afford it.

[BobK]

12:04 PM on 08/30/2007

Ditto!

[Give Peace A Chance]

03:32 PM on 08/30/2007

I'm sure the approximate $ 50 million trial lawyers have donated to Edwards during is political career, or the hundreds of thousands from hedges funds in this cycle will not influence Saint John.

[bethinCary]

10:45 AM on 08/30/2007

What about funds from the Tan family.

[Whale]

10:00 AM on 08/30/2007

Here is the article from Wall Street Journal about Hsu donors.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118826947048110677.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

[JPHogan]

08:14 AM on 08/30/2007

Going into this Labor Day weekend the political mood in the country seems tricky.>>>

It feels almost that praising your enemy is the best strategy, so: Hillary, you and Bill are just marvelous! Hillary, your choice of Canadian music is just amazing. Keeping the proof of your contributions or not in 1990's from all of us is just smooth politicing.

That all said, I will try to remember it is often the people behind the people that have the real talent and power (labor day message?). Who did Hillary find to run her Senate offices so well that she doesn't even need to be there most of the time? It it you that has the resume to be our next President? Who is intervering with your plan by letting Hillary take Bill with her this weekend on the unrelated "political campaigning" for President? Will Hillary leaning on Bill's "charisma" make your job more difficult? Either from her Senate office or her Presidential Campaign office I ask both really how Hillary speaks to or avoids the old addage "behind every great man is a woman"? Is it true Hillary will not be spending any significant time this Labor Day in New York state or thus on New York business?

[mcearlgrey]

07:51 AM on 08/30/2007

Hsu also hosted several fundraisers for Hillary, and, from what it looks like, funneled his own money to other people so that they could give her even more cash, in violation of campaign finance law.

If he gave the legal limit to Obama, that money's free and clear -- I'm sure Hsu isn't the only wanted criminal who has made a political donation this year -- though as a supporter I'd like to see him give it back, the better to bludgeon Hillary with the dirty-money and lobbyist-lackey bats.

[thepilotswife]

08:54 AM on 08/30/2007

Where's your proof that he funneled money? There's innuendo he did, but there's no proof.

[mcearlgrey]

08:58 AM on 08/30/2007

Oh gee, I dunno, maybe the fact that six people living in a house Hsu used to claim as his residence all wrote checks to Hillary for the exact same amounts on the exact same day.

But I'm sure you'd exercise the same restraint in judgment if it were a Republican in a similar situation, right?

[Steamboater]

06:56 AM on 08/30/2007

As much as I dislike Hillary Clinton and Obama for their spinelessness on Iraq and refusal to really end this war, no politician can know what's in someone's background when they contribute money to their campaigns. When they found out about these two crooks who gave them money, they did the right thing and gave the money to charity etc.
My only questions are, I thought contributors to political campaigns are limited in how much they can contribute (not so to political parties) to a campaign. How could this guy contribute $30,000 to Hillary's campaign when the rest of us are limited to I think no more than $1,500? Does the law only apply to citizens?

[rbrooks]

08:06 AM on 08/30/2007

Read the article:

"Fifteen years ago, Hsu pleaded no contest to defrauding investors in a California business scheme.

Hsu failed to show up for his sentencing hearing in San Mateo County, Calif., and had been considered a fugitive ever since."

That was $23,000. Fifteen years is a long time on the lam, Does Hillary have a short memory?
Giving it to charity doesn't change the fact that until this became news the Clinton campaign was keeping the money.

How about saving your sympathy and your support for someone who has some claim to integrity?

[tedward]

08:22 AM on 08/30/2007

Regardless of how long it has been, please show us your proof that Hillary knew about his past. That would prove that you have the "integrity" you require of her.

[Give Peace A Chance]

03:29 PM on 08/30/2007

What are you talking about? Hsu didn't start contributing money to various democratic candidates as a bundler until 2004.

[kittycago]

06:50 AM on 08/30/2007

Oh what a web we weave when internet bloggers we try to deceive
http://portlandscw.trb.com/news/la-na-hsu29aug29,0,6231183.story?coll=kwbp-news-1

Semms as though Mr Hsu likes alot of dems in fact 3 of them running for president.Why is Mrs Clinton the headline?

[thepilotswife]

08:50 AM on 08/30/2007

Because this if HuffPo and Obama's their guy!!! Haven't heard a word from his campaign about it...What up with that???

[studana51]

06:27 AM on 08/30/2007

More indication that Hillary will take the doe from anyone. She is qualified to be president but increasingly it becomes obvious that her administration will be another guided by the interests of the rich lobbyists who have interests contrary to the average working American. She will bring us more NAFTAs and certainly her pals at the HMOs and pill companies will turn any attempt at universal healthcare into a contest on the shape of the table..not who comes to it (remember the vietnam Paris Peace talks). John Edwards is correct in that there will be no universal healthcare if the HMOs or pharmac co's have any say. They have alredy purchased the senator from NY.We can't afford to go from Bush to Bush-lite.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

02:20 AM on 08/30/2007

23 k $ OMFG illumojnitatixorz!!!11

[DonB]

02:20 AM on 08/30/2007

Gee, no mention of the fact that Hsu also contributed to Obama. "Get Clinton" mindset continues at Huffington Post.

[Alex&Ben.com]

02:39 AM on 08/30/2007

Maybe that's because the article right above this one has already addressed that. Seeing how this is a piece specifically on Clinton you would think they would her.

Bush-Cheney Light has dug her own grave regardless.

[MPeter]

07:43 AM on 08/30/2007

It is about HRC and her dubious connections; her warm embrace of Washington lobbyists and just about every crook who has ever walked the Washington streets. Keep Senator Obama out of the muck.