REDWOOD CITY, Calif. , Sept. 5, 2007

Disgraced Democrat Donor On The Run Again

New Arrest Warrant Issued For Norman Hsu After He Skips Bail Hearing

  • Play CBS Video Video Fugitive Fundraiser Arrested

    Norman Hsu, who has raised millions for Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, surrendered to California authorities. He faces charges of fraud dating back to the 1990s. Sandra Hughes reports.

  • Booking photograph of Norman Hsu, from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Photo

    Booking photograph of Norman Hsu, from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.  (San Mateo County Sheriffs Office)

(AP)  Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was a wanted man again after he failed to show up for a court date Wednesday and a judge issued a new warrant for his arrest.

Hsu, whose criminal past has roiled the campaigns of top presidential candidates, was scheduled to ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted last week when he turned himself in after spending 15 years on the lam from a felony theft conviction.

Instead, San Mateo Superior Court Judge Robert Foiles ordered Hsu's bail forfeited to the county and issued a new arrest warrant. If Hsu is arrested again, he will be jailed without bail this time.

Hsu, a Hong Kong native, was also supposed to turn over his passport Wednesday. Hsu's prominent Silicon Valley criminal defense attorney Jim Brosnahan said Hsu failed to give the passport to the legal team on Monday.

"Mr. Hsu is not here and we do not know where Mr. Hsu is," Brosnahan said outside court. Brosnahan said that "there was some contact" with Hsu a few hours before the scheduled 9 a.m. court appearance, but he declined to say how and who talked to Hsu.

Hsu pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft, admitting he'd defrauded investors of $1 million after falsely claiming to have contracts to purchase and sell Latex gloves. He was facing up to three years in prison when he skipped town before his 1992 sentencing date.

Prosecutors said they suspected Hsu fled the country then. But a few years ago, Hsu re-emerged in New York as an apparel executive and a wealthy benefactor of Democratic causes and candidates. They included presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose campaign designated Hsu a "HillRaiser" — a title given to top donors.

Brosnahan said he didn't know if Hsu returned to his Manhattan condominium or stayed in California after his five-hour jail stint Friday when Hsu turned himself in. He was released from jail after posting $2 million bail, which a judge refused then to reduce to $1 million.

Prosecutors with the California Attorney General's office had agreed to the bail reduction because it would be used to reimburse the victims Hsu admitted swindling out of $1 million in the early 1990s.

"We did think that was enough," Deputy Attorney General Ralph Sivilla said outside court. Sivilla also said he was troubled that Hsu didn't turn in his passport.

Federal Election Commission records show Hsu donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004. Though a top fundraiser for Clinton, he also donated to Obama's Senate campaign in 2004 and to his political action committee. He also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to state and municipal candidates.

After reports surfaced of his fugitive status, politicians at all levels scrambled to distance themselves. On Wednesday, Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who initially said he would keep the $6,200 from Hsu, announced that he would give the money to charity.

Kennedy had originally counted $6,600 in donations, but a review of federal campaign records showed it was actually $6,200.

Obama's campaign said it would give to charity the $2,000 Hsu contributed to his 2004 Senate campaign and the $5,000 Hsu gave to his political action committee, Hopefund.

Hsu's $43,700 in donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $2,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also will go to charity, both groups said.

Clinton joined the other candidates, returning $23,000 in contributions that Hsu made to her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac. But his close association with her campaign put Clinton on the defensive.

Last week, Hsu said he thought the criminal charges had been taken care of when he completed his bankruptcy proceedings in the early 1990s.

"I have not sought to evade any of my obligations and certainly not the law," Hsu said in a prepared statement.

© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Add a Comment See all 160 Comments
by nexgen99 September 5, 2007 2:05 PM PDT
I know where he is. He is staying at the Clinton''s home as their guest since they nolonger control the Lincoln bedrom.
Reply to this comment
by infidel_us September 5, 2007 2:11 PM PDT
Uh Ohhhh......better shut down LAX. He''s leaving the country!! LOL
Reply to this comment
by rray52 September 5, 2007 2:13 PM PDT
Maybe he is off on a fundraiser somewhere and forgot.
Reply to this comment
by katg21 September 5, 2007 2:14 PM PDT
He''ll be found with a gunshot wound to the head that will be ruled a "suicide."
Reply to this comment
by processor2 September 5, 2007 2:15 PM PDT
If Hillary is dumb enough NOT to know who he is,

then Hillary''s not smart enough to be president

...
Reply to this comment
by perception5 September 5, 2007 2:16 PM PDT
The Democrats tend to hang out with all kinds of strange people. Mostly from Asia.

Can we get just one of America''s corrupt liberal MSM wolfpack press members to investigate this whole issue?

Do you think the NYTimes and CBS News would be interested?

Fat chance! (Does everyone remember Sandy Berger)
Reply to this comment
by infidel_us September 5, 2007 2:21 PM PDT
If Hillary is dumb enough NOT to know who he is,
then Hillary''''s not smart enough to be president
Posted by processor2 at 02:15 PM : Sep 05, 2007

Well said!
Reply to this comment
by katg21 September 5, 2007 2:22 PM PDT
Fat chance! (Does everyone remember Sandy Berger)
Posted by perception5 at 02:16 PM : Sep 05, 2007

OMG! There is not one democrap that will comment on Sandy Berger. Dems don''t want to know who he is because it would force them to accept that the Clinton''s are corrupt.
Reply to this comment
by rray52 September 5, 2007 2:23 PM PDT
"HillRaiser" They may want to run that one by the focus group again. Too many similarities to the horror movie.
Reply to this comment
by rwassel September 5, 2007 2:30 PM PDT
So, if you folks are keeping score over the last few months, that is:

Democratic Scandals: 1
Republican Scandals: Too friggin many to count!

Notice that this scandal does not invovle a politician, whereas the Repukicons all do...oh well, the right wing bloggers on here need something to distract them from their crumbling party!
Reply to this comment
by nexgen99 September 5, 2007 2:34 PM PDT
rwassel Your count is all wrong try again.
Barney Franks,
Jeffery Stubs,
Ted Kennedy,
Al hastings,
William Jefferson

Should I go on.
Reply to this comment
by perception5 September 5, 2007 2:36 PM PDT
Notice that this scandal does not invovle a politician, whereas the Repukicons all do...oh well, the right wing bloggers on here need something to distract them from their crumbling party!
Posted by rwassel at 02:30 PM : Sep 05, 2007

...... ever heard of

Sandy Berger

Mr. Hasings

Harry, $1 million land scandel, Reid

Congressman, 90K cold cash, Jefferson
Reply to this comment
by vastr-wcon September 5, 2007 2:37 PM PDT

.
Hsu has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Conniving Calculating Clinton through third parties, including the residents of the infamous Daly City house. Hsu is just the tip of the stench iceberg supporting Conniving.

Wake up Dems - don''t let your LOSER faction give the nomination to somebody who has more than 50% DISAPPROVAL in every poll! You can and must do better.

.
Reply to this comment
by nexgen99 September 5, 2007 2:37 PM PDT
He''s been found he was *** Hillary who was wearing Monica''s blue dress while Bill was watching from behind the curtain.
Reply to this comment
by rafterman1 September 5, 2007 2:45 PM PDT
Hey perception5,

Lots of accusations, but where are the charges for all these supposed Dem criminals? Jefferson and...? And Harry Reid was cleared by the ethics committee. Nice try. None of that still compares with the hypocracy and actual charges against a host of Repubs over the last few years. Repubs are being outcharged by Dems 10-1.


Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 2:53 PM PDT
Federal Election Commission records show Hsu donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004. He also donated to Obama''''s Senate campaign in 2004 and to Obama''''s political action committee.

Libos Faith Based Initiatives, along with Gore Buddhist Temple contributions and Fat Billy''''s Chinese donors.

Libos the party of integrity.
Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 2:57 PM PDT
Should I go on.
Posted by nexgen99

I want to know more about the party of murderers, philanderers, extortionists and thieves, aka respectable, presidential, jeffersonian, etc.
Reply to this comment
by realpatriot1 September 5, 2007 2:59 PM PDT
Katg21,

Get a grip, we Democrats know that the Clinton''s are corrupt and we admit it daily while you repubs defend anything Bush does.

Both parties have a mess to clean up, let''s stop whining and complaining and get busy and see who finishes the job first.
Reply to this comment
by socrates392 September 5, 2007 2:59 PM PDT
If Hillary is dumb enough NOT to know who he is,
then Hillary''''''''s not smart enough to be president
Posted by processor2 at 02:15 PM : Sep 05, 2007

Well said!
Posted by infidel_us at 02:21 PM : Sep 05, 2007

Following the same logic, GWB shouldn''t be president because he associated with Jack Abramoff!

You Republican hacks aren''t too good at basic logic are you!
Reply to this comment
by drputt45 September 5, 2007 3:15 PM PDT
Have they checked Hillary''s closet''s yet, besides Bill hanging out (sic) no telling what might be found.
Reply to this comment
by resqdiver4 September 5, 2007 3:16 PM PDT
Time to send out "The DOG and his crew, they will find him and have a real "come to Jesus" meeting with him.

Reply to this comment
by canyoutellme-2009 September 5, 2007 3:16 PM PDT
seriously, stop responding to infidel_us, mudrose, and other republican hacks... when they''re presented with FACTS, they pretend those facts don''t exist... they respond by changing the subject entirely and then go off on some crazy rant... then they just post insults and accusations (MOST of which turned out to be just that... accusations). They are all WORSHIPPERS of the guy they call GOD, Mister George Bush. BTW, most of them also believe the earth is only about 10-12,000 years old.... i have asked that question, and most stated this. They ALL believe that Bush can suspend the constitution and elections if he wants to impose martial law because HE feels the country is in harm''s way... They *ALL* responded they would...
Reply to this comment
by pepperp1 September 5, 2007 3:16 PM PDT


Hsu is an RNC operative.......likely........

The new swift boater....donor....check out ties to Fox


Friend to Jack Abramhoff ...
Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:19 PM PDT
Posted by CANYOUTELLME

Hey chimp can you spell paranoia?
Reply to this comment
by pepperp1 September 5, 2007 3:21 PM PDT

DID YOU KNOW
the Republican National Committee has been pushing this angle pretty hard, and apparently attempting to revive the %u2014 never proven %u2014 allegations of a Chinese "spy ring" buying its way into the 1996 Clinton campaign.

funny that

Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:22 PM PDT
Federal Election Commission records show Hsu donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004. He also donated to Obama''''s Senate campaign in 2004 and to Obama''''s political action committee.

Libos Faith Based Initiatives, along with Gore Buddhist Temple contributions and Fat Billy''''s Chinese donors.

Libos the party of integrity.
Reply to this comment
by rafterman1 September 5, 2007 3:23 PM PDT
Hilarious. The dude gives hmself up, gives the government two million bucks to get out of the hole, then disappears. So another words, same result (fugitive), two million bucks poorer. Dumba$$.
Reply to this comment
by socrates392 September 5, 2007 3:25 PM PDT
Hi Parrot2 and CANYOUTELLME,

I know it is futile to try to reason w/ mudrose and his crew, but I try nonetheless. I''m too much of an idealist (or perhaps a ***) to let their insane rambling go unanswered.

Best

Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:25 PM PDT
Hilarious. The dude gives hmself up, gives the government two million bucks to get out of the hole, then disappears. So another words, same result (fugitive), two million bucks poorer. Dumba$$.

Posted by Rafterman1

Yeah, he''s probably stuck in one of those airport bathrooms tapping his feet so he can get out of town.
Reply to this comment
by socrates392 September 5, 2007 3:28 PM PDT
How funny, apparently teh word "mascochist" is offensive. Who knew? Just Cheney''s first name, ***, ***, ***, ***.

LOL
Reply to this comment
by retmilspouse September 5, 2007 3:28 PM PDT
Another in a long line of Democratic party associates thrown under the bus.
Reply to this comment
by pwrslm September 5, 2007 3:28 PM PDT
A source close to the investigation says Abramoff told prosecutors that more than $30,000 in campaign contributions to Reid from Abramoff''s clients "were no accident and were in fact requested by Reid." Abramoff has reportedly claimed the Nevada senator agreed to help him on matters related to Indian gambling........The AP reported that Reid acknowledged "routine contacts" with Abramoff''s lobbying partners and intervening to block rival tribal casinos.


http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/abramoff_report_1.html

Speakin of the devil!!


Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:28 PM PDT
DID YOU KNOW
the Republican National Committee has been pushing this angle pretty hard, and apparently attempting to revive the %u2014 never proven %u2014 allegations of a Chinese "spy ring" buying its way into the 1996 Clinton campaign.

funny that
Posted by pepperp1

That''s okay the Chinese have been getting even ever since. Lead poisoned toys, poisoned dog food. But we get back at them too - poorly wrapped condoms. We now have a return exchange policy with the Chinese all because we almost caught the Clintoids giving away state secrets.
Reply to this comment
by pepperp1 September 5, 2007 3:30 PM PDT
Norman Hsu, the big Dem fundraiser who had all his contributions dumped in his lap by Dems when the news broke that he was a fugitive from fraud, has now mysteriously vanished.




I''ll bet Gonzo has him in one of those CIA prison as he was to be outed as an RNC plant, LOL to funny.............
Reply to this comment
by mbcsmith September 5, 2007 3:32 PM PDT
LIBS are so funny.
Reply to this comment
by pepperp1 September 5, 2007 3:35 PM PDT


hey dirtweed put Hsu on line there at RNC campaign head quarters.......your boring us as usual....

Reply to this comment
by pwrslm September 5, 2007 3:35 PM PDT
and speakin of reid;

When Judge Dawson gave Bonnano crime family associate Vinny Faraci the most lenient sentence possible, Faraci was represented by David Chesnoff who is LV Mayor Oscar Goodman and Jay Brown''s law partner. Brown is also United States Senator Harry Reid''s business partner in a very questionable land deal, and Brown is currently representing Mike Signorelli who is purportedly trying to buy the Crazy Horse Too. Brown once served with Goodman as Rizzolo''s corporate agent.


Coincidentally, Senator Reid appointed Kent Dawson to the Federal Bench.

The December 26, 1999 Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial stated; "On Wednesday, Sen. Reid announced that U.S. Magistrate Roger Hunt, Henderson Justice of the Peace Kent Dawson, and attorney Eve Garcia-Mendoza were his choices to fill three federal judicial openings in Las Vegas."

See the connection?
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/1-29-07_Inside_Vegas.html


Why he isnt in jail is beyond me an alot of other folks. The corruption he is involved in is as twisted as it gets. His partner was a mafioso, got a year for tax evasion for the same thing Reid did (actually , we know Reid totally failed to report the profits he recieved, but there isnt an investigation about that, WHY?).
Reply to this comment
by kaviz September 5, 2007 3:35 PM PDT
That judge Ellis must be one of those liberal loving lefties to even offer him bail after being a 15 year fugitive to go free and support the Clintons some more, Hey Mudrose?
Reply to this comment
by donbl1 September 5, 2007 3:38 PM PDT
Isn''t this the second chinese Clinton contributor (1998?) to be found out?

Is this money coming from mainland China? Or, was the guy just doing business as usual to get a pardon from the Clintons?

Clinton associates do tend to get thrown under the bus. The Clintons maintain just enough distance to keep from getting nailed...... unless, it is next to the Oval Office and you save the dress.

"They just lie so easily".........
Reply to this comment
by pwrslm September 5, 2007 3:40 PM PDT
Actually, the trail has been blazed before. Hsu is probably dead, in what may seem to be a suicide or a mysterious accident.

The Clinton legacy is full of people like him.
Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:40 PM PDT
Thanks to Bill Clinton, China can now hit any city in the USA, using state-of-the-art solid-fueled missiles with dead-accurate, computerized guidance systems and multiple warheads.

China probably has suitcase nukes as well. These enable China to strike by proxy %u2013 equipping nuclear-armed terrorists to do its dirty work while the Chinese play innocent. Some intelligence sources claim that China maintains secret stockpiles of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons on U.S. soil, for just such contingencies.

In 1997, Clinton allowed China to take over the Panama Canal. The Chinese company Hutchison Whampoa leased the ports of Cristobal and Balboa, on the east and west openings of the canal, respectively, thus controlling access both ways.

A public outcry stopped Clinton in 1998 from leasing California''s Long Beach Naval Yard to the Chinese firm COSCO. Even so, China can now strike U.S. targets easily from its bases in Panama, Vancouver and the Bahamas.

How did the Chinese catch up so fast? Easy. We sold them all the technology they needed %u2013 or handed it over for free. Neither neglect nor carelessness is to blame. Bill Clinton did it on purpose.

Reply to this comment
by socrates392 September 5, 2007 3:44 PM PDT
Thanks to Bill Clinton, China can now hit any city in the USA, using state-of-the-art solid-fueled missiles with dead-accurate, computerized guidance systems and multiple warheads.

Posted by mudrose at 03:40 PM : Sep 05, 2007

So what? Why would China ever want to nuke us? They are totally economically dependent on the American consumer to keep their economy afloat. Why burn up all your Walmart shoppers in a nuclear holocaust?

Once again, not following your paranoid delusions . . .
Reply to this comment
by roger_inkart September 5, 2007 3:46 PM PDT
How did the Chinese catch up so fast?

Posted by mudrose at 03:40 PM : Sep 05, 2007

One reason they''ve done so well recently is the fact they''re pretty much financing the war in Iraq.

Thanks to the policies of the Bush administration the Chinese own much of the good ole USA.

But hey, that fact isn''t nearly as important as the Hsu story, is it?
Reply to this comment
by pwrslm September 5, 2007 3:46 PM PDT
So what? Why would China ever want to nuke us?
Posted by socrates392

You must have been born at night, eh?

Last night.
Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:47 PM PDT
As a globalist, Clinton romotes "multipolarity" %u2013the doctrine that no country (such as the USA) should be allowed to gain decisive advantage over others.

To this end, Clinton appointed anti-nuclear activist Hazel O''Leary to head the Department of Energy. O''Leary set to work "leveling the playing field," as she put it, by giving away our nuclear secrets. She declassified 11 million pages of data on U.S. nuclear weapons and loosened up security at weapons labs.

Federal investigators later concluded that China made off with the "crown jewels" of our nuclear weapons research under Clinton%u2019s open-door policy %u2013 probably including design specifications for suitcase nukes.

Meanwhile, Clinton and his corporate cronies raked in millions.

In his book "The China Threat," Washington Times correspondent Bill Gertz describes how the system worked.

Defense contractors eager to sell technology to China poured millions of dollars into Clinton''s campaign. In return, Clinton called off the dogs. Janet Reno and other counterintelligence officials stood down while Lockheed Martin, Hughes Electronics, Loral Space & Communications and other U.S. companies helped China modernize its nuclear strike force.

"We like your president. We want to see him re-elected," former Chinese intelligence chief Gen. Ji Shengde told Chinagate bagman Johnny Chung.

Indeed, Chinese intelligence organized a massive covert operation aimed at tilting the 1996 election Clinton''s way.

Reply to this comment
by socrates392 September 5, 2007 3:49 PM PDT
So what? Why would China ever want to nuke us?
Posted by socrates392

You must have been born at night, eh?

Last night.
Posted by pwrslm at 03:46 PM : Sep 05, 2007

Hey, pretty good repsonse there pwrslm. Oh, wait, no it''s not because you didn''t bother giving any sort of reason for your position. Just another lame one liner. Let''s hear your arguments, if you have any . . .
Reply to this comment
by mudrose-2009 September 5, 2007 3:49 PM PDT
Clinton''s top campaign contributors for 1992 were Chinese agents; his top donors in 1996 were U.S. defense contractors selling missile technology to China.

Clinton recieved funding directly from known or suspected Chinese intelligence agents, among them James and Mochtar Riady, who own the Indonesian Lippo Group; John Huang; Charlie Trie; Ted Sioeng; Maria Hsia; Wang Jun and others.

Commerce Secretary Ron Brown served as Clinton''s front man in many Chinagate deals. When investigators began probing Brown''s Lippo Group and Chinagate connections, Brown died suddenly in a suspicious April 1996 plane crash.

Needless to say, China does not share Clinton''s enthusiasm for globalism or multipolarity. The Chinese look out for No. 1.

"War [with the United States] is inevitable; we cannot avoid it," said Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chi Haotian in 2000. "The issue is that the Chinese armed forces must control the initiative in this war."

Bill Clinton has given them a good start. by Richard Poe

Reply to this comment
by realpatriot1 September 5, 2007 3:49 PM PDT
pwrslm,

The reason there''s no investigation of Reid is simple, both parties have skeletons in the Abramoff closet and both would be dragged through the mud if either party was investigated. There''s no partison advantage so both sides have a desire to set it aside.

The Republicans had the investigative arm of Congress and the power of subpoena to find if there was anything more to the Chang matter and they didn''t find any evidence of a connection to the Chinese government. Unless new evidence surfaces there''s no legitimate reason to tie it to the accusations being made.

mudrose,

A different perspective on all those shoddy Chinese goods coming into the country is that Bush''s first executive action was to abrogate the Clinton regulations on product and food safety and environmental protection. We''ve had nothing but problems in all 3 areas since.
Reply to this comment
by nexgen99 September 5, 2007 3:51 PM PDT
To all you DEM lovers, this is what your party is planning for you. Not more jobs, but less jobs.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nat
ionworld/nation/la-na-buffalo30jul30,1,5
022434.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ct
rack=1&cset=true
Reply to this comment
by canyoutellme-2009 September 5, 2007 3:53 PM PDT
Does anyone here find that Mudrose knows "way too much" about the clintons? One would say he''s obsessed... throwing in all kinds of crazy things... true or not; why does someone spend so much time on it? It''s quite clear... he is OBVIOUSLY not speaking as a concerned citizen. He is DEFINITELY part of a republican smear machine (probably works for Limbaugh or Hannity or even the GOP). I mean really, *NORMAL* people don''t go archiving all kinds of info on an individual unless you were PAID to do so or are psychotic. Clearly, Mudrose is not well or is a paid shill. This is quite sad because he can''t think for himself; he needs permission from his GOD (George Bush and the rest of the radical right) to speak his mind.
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