Disgraced Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu raised big money for Hillary Clinton supporters

Of all places, would you believe I found this at the Boston Globe?!

Disgraced fund-raiser Norman Hsu did a lot more than just pump $850,000 into Hillary Clinton's campaign bank account: He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local, state, and federal candidates who have endorsed Clinton or whose support she courted.

A major fund-raiser for Democrats since 2003, Hsu became one of Clinton's biggest bundlers - gathering scores of individual checks and sending them to her campaign. But since revelations last month that Hsu was a fugitive in a 15-year-old California fraud case, Clinton has said she would return the $850,000 she has taken from him and his associates.

In at least some cases, Clinton or her aides directly channeled contributions from Hsu and his network to other politicians supportive of her presidential campaign, according to interviews and campaign finance records. There is nothing illegal about one politician steering wealthy contributors to another, but the New York senator's close ties to Hsu have become an embarrassment for her and her campaign.

Last fall, as the Nevada governor's race was heating up, Clinton agreed to help raise money for Democrat Dina Titus, a prominent party leader in a state that holds a key early presidential caucus. Clinton arranged for Hsu, at the time a little-known New York apparel executive with no apparent reason to take interest in Nevada politics, to give Titus $5,000 on Nov. 3, according to a person with knowledge of Clinton's fund-raising.

And in February, when former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack ended his own White House bid, he was about $450,000 in the red. A month after dropping out, Vilsack endorsed Clinton, and Clinton agreed to help him retire his debts. (Both insisted there was no quid pro quo.)

Over the next few months, some of Clinton's biggest fund-raisers gave Vilsack checks, including Hsu, who kicked in the maximum allowable contribution, $2,300, on May 3 after attending an event organized by Clinton's campaign, Newsweek reported this month. An associate of Hsu's, Paul Su, chipped in $1,000 on the same day.

In other cases, Clinton helped direct Hsu's money to influential politicians who have yet to endorse her but hail from key presidential primary states. Clinton raised at least $6,000 from Hsu and his network last year for Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire, according to Lynch aides. Lynch has no plans to endorse anyone before the state's crucial January primary, aides said.

And at least some of the $17,000 that Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan collected from Hsu and his associates in 2005 and 2006 stems from a Nov. 29, 2005, fund-raising reception for her hosted by Steven Rattner, a New York investment firm executive and major Clinton donor seen as a candidate for US Treasury secretary if Clinton wins. Granholm's office said she has not made an endorsement decision.

Clinton's campaign acknowledged that they urged Hsu to give to fellow Democrats.

"We frequently encourage supporters of ours to donate to other Democrats - Mr. Hsu was no exception," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said in an e-mail.

Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a separate criminal complaint against Hsu on Thursday, charging him with breaking campaign finance laws by giving to Clinton and other candidates in other people's names and with running a "massive" Ponzi scheme to defraud investors out of more than $60 million.

Clinton's critics have said that her relationship to Hsu dredges up memories of the fund-raising scandals that dogged her husband, Bill, in the White House in the 1990s. Hillary Clinton has sought to limit the damage by vowing more thorough background checks on major donors.
A spokesman for Hsu, Robert Emmers, declined to comment.

Campaign finance records show numerous contributions from Hsu and his associates to Clinton supporters.

In New Hampshire, Senate President Sylvia Larsen's Democratic Caucus committee received $5,000 from Hsu in September 2006; Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan collected more than $20,000 from Hsu and his associates; Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas took in about $11,000; and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California received at least $17,000.

Hsu and his network also gave nearly $50,000 to Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. Harkin has not endorsed anyone, but his wife, Ruth, is a major Clinton backer.

In addition, Hsu and his associates have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to state and local Democratic Party organizations and candidates around the country, including more than $100,000 to Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York, both of whom have endorsed Clinton. On Feb. 21, Hsu dipped into Chicago city politics, giving $3,500 to Alderman Danny Solis, the brother of Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's campaign manager.

Hsu is hardly the only "Hillraiser" - donors who raise at least $100,000 for Clinton - to have spread his or her largesse in key primary states. For example, Elaine Schuster of Chestnut Hill, one of Clinton's biggest supporters in Massachusetts, gave $5,000 in October 2006 to Chet Culver, then a Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa. Culver is now governor but has not endorsed anyone in the presidential race.

Clinton said in a National Public Radio interview last week that Hsu's past was "a rude awakening to all of us - I mean, not only in my campaign, but the dozens of campaigns going back to, I guess, 2003 and '04 who, you know, took contributions. None of us caught this and we all ran searches."

But the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month that a California businessman had warned the campaign about Hsu in June and that a Clinton aide dismissed the concerns. "I can tell you with 100 [percent] certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a ponzi scheme. He is COMPLETELY legit," Samantha Wolf, Clinton's former West Coast campaign finance director, wrote in an e-mail to a California Democratic Party official, the Times reported.

Other Democratic presidential hopefuls have collected money from Hsu and his network, including Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. But Clinton has been by far the biggest beneficiary of Hsu, who was reportedly trying to establish himself as one of her elite fund-raisers by pulling in more than $1 million.

Most recipients of his contributions have said they will return the money or donate it to charity.

Commentary:

Yeah, sure they'll give it back or donate it. I'll believe that when I see the charity receipts!