Clinton Gives Up Fugitive's Donations

Democrats To Divest Donations From Fundraiser With Outstanding Arrest Warrant

(AP)  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton will give to charity the $23,000 in donations she has received from a Hong Kong-born fundraiser who is wanted in California for failing to appear for sentencing on a 1991 grand theft charge.

The decision came Wednesday as other Democrats began distancing themselves from Norman Hsu, whose legal encounters and links to other Democratic donors have drawn public scrutiny in the past two days.

Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, both of Massachusetts, also planned to turn over Hsu's contributions to charity. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California; Al Franken, a Senate candidate in Minnesota; Reps. Michael Honda and Doris Matsui of California; and Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania also said they would divest Hsu's contributions.

Hsu is a fundraiser for Clinton and is described as a devoted fan of the presidential candidate and New York senator. He had planned to co-host a money event for Clinton on Sept. 30. In a statement Wednesday, Hsu said he believed he had resolved his legal issues, but said he would halt his work raising political money.

"I would not consciously subject any of the candidates and causes in which I believe to any harm through my actions," he said. "Therefore, until this matter is resolved, I intend to refrain from all fundraising activities on behalf of all candidates and causes."

Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said the $23,000 included contributions from Hsu to Clinton's presidential campaign, her Senate re-election and her political action committee. The campaign did not plan to return any money Hsu raised from other donors, Singer said.

"In light of the information regarding Mr. Hsu's outstanding warrant in California, we will be giving his contribution to charity," Singer said.

Reports in The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times this week caused numerous Democratic candidates and organizations that have benefited from Hsu's contributions to reconsider the donations.

Hsu gave Kennedy $4,000 in 2004 and gave his political action committee $5,000 this year, according to Federal Election Commission records. He also gave Kerry's presidential campaign $4,000 and donated $2,000 to a separate Kerry legal compliance fund. Boxer's campaign received $2,000 from Hsu in 2004, and her political action committee received $2,000 in 2005. Franken received $2,300 this year from Hsu, Matsui received $6,100 since 2004 and Sestak and Honda each received $1,000 for their re-election efforts.

Federal Election Commission records show that Hsu has donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004. Though a fundraiser for Clinton, he also donated to Sen. Barack Obama's Senate campaign in 2004 and to Obama's political action committee.

In 1991, Hsu pleaded no contest to a single felony count of grand theft but failed to appear in court for sentencing, according to Ronald Smetana, a California deputy attorney general who prosecuted the case.

Smetana said there is an outstanding warrant for Hsu's arrest. A clerk at the San Mateo County courthouse where Hsu was prosecuted said the warrant was issued in 1992 and orders were for $2 million bail for Hsu if he were arrested.

Smetana said Hsu collected about $1 million from investors by falsely claiming he had a contract to import latex gloves. Smetana said he planned to ask a judge to sentence Hsu to prison.

"We would obviously like Mr. Hsu to return and face justice," said Smetana, who said he had assumed Hsu, a Hong Kong native, had fled the country.

In a statement Wednesday, Hsu said:

"I believe I properly resolved all of the legal issues related to my bankruptcy in the early 1990s. Therefore, I was surprised to learn that there appears to be an outstanding warrant - as demonstrated by the fact that I have and do live a public life. I have not sought to evade any of my obligations and certainly not the law."

On Tuesday, Hsu's Washington attorney, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., disputed any suggestion that Hsu had any hand in improperly directing contributions from other donors. The Journal reported that six members of the family of William Paw, a San Francisco mail carrier, donated a total of $45,000 to Clinton since 2005. The Journal reported that the donations closely track Hsu's contributions.

By Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn. The AP's Paul Elias, Fred Frommer, Erica Werner and Kimberly Hefling contributed to this report.

[actornaught]

Not really a Clinton story.

Just another odd looking set of circumstances that have no direct relationship and no legitimate bearing on Clinton. But that doesn''t stop neocon comedians from manufacturing something from this nothing, and get their simian fans yipping...

[tcoleman12]

Man, almost missed this story...a few minutes later and it would have been gone all together.

Brief, too. Seem to have taken the easy road and not bothered with too much "investigation" into this matter, such as, who this Hsu has raised money from, how much has been raised for Hilary and how long he has been working for the Democrats...

[infidel_us]

I''ll bet by 6:30EDT, this story falls off CBS''s website altogether. Just can''t help thinking what a BIG DEAL this would be if she was a republican.

[lars008-2009]

and stupid enough to vote for klintoon twice... lol

"Everybody in politics lies, but they [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it%u2019s troubling,%u201D Geffen said.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003548043
Hillary Clinton''s Former Campaign Finance Director Indicted
http://www.wnbc.com/politics/4063107/detail.html
hillary lies
But a Hillary Tale About Her Childhood
http://hillaryspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTE3OTBlZWUxMTI0NjVjZDhkNTExYTc3NWJiZTE4ODI=
Hillary''s "Feminist Problem"
The Nation: Feminists Rescind Their Support For Former First Lady
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/15/opinion/main2934136.shtml
Watergate reporter demolishes Hillary%u2019s career story
reveal a number of %u201Cdiscrepancies%u201D in her official story.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1719879.ece
Opponents hammer Clinton on Iraq%u2026 dance billary dance hahaha
http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/opponents-hammer-clinton-on-iraq.html

hahahaha people paying to listen to an admitted, proven, convicted, impeached, disbarred liar%u2026lol
For Clinton, New Wealth In Speeches
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/22/AR2007022202189.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022100993_pf.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17263999/

[realpatriot1]

b48151,

I find it hard to believe too that people are stupid enough to vote for her.

But then people were stupid enough to vote for Bush twice.

[infidel_us]

Wow....this is working its way down the CBS news priority scale faster than a Clinton campaign contributor leaves the country!

This MUST be Bush''s fault, right? Some, please help me connect the dots! LOL

[lars008-2009]

hmmmm china government making campaign contributions to demonic-rats...
Castro sides with demonic-rats...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chinese+campaign contributions democrat

Castro''s tip: Clinton-Obama the winning ticket
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2825114320070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Big Source of Clinton''s Cash Is an Unlikely Address
Family''s Donations Closely Track Those Of Top Fund-Raiser
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118826947048110677.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Report: Hillary Clinton Big Money Donor Wanted for Grand Theft
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Hillary Clinton Big Money Donor Wanted for Grand Theft&btnG=Search
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295031,00.html
Leading Clinton Donor Stays Below the Radar
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118835199704811801.html?mod=blog
''DIRTY CASH'' MAN FLEES
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042007/news/nationalnews/pro_clinton_dirty_cash_man_flees_nationalnews_christine_field.htm
RNC pushing the China angle
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0807/RNC_Pushing_the_China_angle.html

[lars008-2009]

viva capitalism...

U.S. Economy: Expansion Was Faster Than Estimated
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aP3CFLmKC2CQ&refer=worldwide
Deficit Falls to $205 Billion
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QAD5LG1&show_article=1
Good Thing We Cut Taxes
http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/good_thing_we_c.html
Don''t Just Cut Taxes - Cut Spending
http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed021802.cfm?RenderforPrint=1
The greatest economic boom ever
Just how red-hot is the current worldwide expansion? "This is far and away the strongest global economy I''ve seen in my business lifetime," U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson declared on a recent visit to Fortune''s offices.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/07/23/100134937/index.htm?section=money_latest

[klingon69]

If you ain''''t realised yet - Only the dems will agree with you .... to the repugs everyone else is very wrong and their nazi party leaders are just right, period ! Most (besides Infidel ) would rather die than admit that their Repug congressmen are screw-ups .......
Posted by parrot2 at 12:04 PM : Aug 30, 2007
Well, as a self-professed Independent, I agree that the entire legislation, pages, runners, lackeys...etc need to be thrown out and a completely new group brought in. Maybe a requirement that one who runs have not been in politics before. Must have worked a real job for the preceeding 5 years...

[klingon69]

I''''m guessing you know the 20year Criminal history of everyone in your Family or better yet - in your group of best friends - and if you don''''t have any of that either - in everyone you''''ve ever had dealings with .... Hope you see how retarded your line of thought really is ..... not saying i''''m correct though but just my Opinion !
Posted by parrot2 at 11:59 AM : Aug 30, 2007
Are our friends and family helping to finance our candidacy for the highest elected office in the USA? No.
When you put yourself in the limelight, so to speak, you put your past, your associates, your contributors...etc right out there with you. Therer is no way that somebody in her campaign group does not know who she is doing these fundraisers with and does a background check to make sure that their past dealings don''t negatively affect her campaign.