Hillary Returns Almost 1 Million Dollars From Hsu (Wizbang)

The keeps going even though the media is keeping it 3rd or 4th tier.

Clinton returning $850,000 linked to Hsu
The money came from 260 donors associated with the disgraced Democratic fundraiser. The campaign had recently called him 'legit.'
By Robin Fields, Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
4:39 PM PDT, September 10, 2007
washington -- Confronted with new evidence that it had ignored warnings about fundraiser Norman Hsu, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign abruptly announced late today that it was returning $850,000 from 260 donors associated with Hsu.

The announcement was made five minutes after the Los Angeles Times asked Clinton officials to respond to mid-June campaign e-mails the newspaper obtained that dismissed concerns about Hsu and his business practices. [heh 5 minutes? that was quick -ED]

"I can tell you with 100 [sic] certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a ponzi scheme," wrote Samantha Wolf, who had the title West Coast finance director for the campaign. She has since left the campaign. "He is COMPLETELY legit." She wrote the e-mail in June to a party official who was asking questions about Hsu and his reputation in the financial world.

This has to sting the Hillary camp. As "scandals" go this is not that large, it's too far away from the election and (so far anyway) too far removed from the candidate. But $850,000 ain't chicken feed, even by today's election prices.

The big media is still pursuing this... Interestingly it seems they are doing more investigating than reporting. It's still mostly a back page story but the NYT and the LAT have both done important investigative stories in the last 24 hours. Say what you will about the legacy media, this is their story.

Updated, looks like he was running another Ponzi Scheme. To benefit Hillary?

and like everything else in this story, it just gets weirder....

FBI looks into disgraced donor's business

WASHINGTON -- The FBI has begun examining a murky business venture run by disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu that paid out hefty profits over the last several years to investors, some of whom were pressed to make contributions to Hillary Rodham Clinton and other political candidates.

Sources told The Times on Sunday that a number of participants and their associates in Southern California and elsewhere had been in contact with the FBI about an investment pool operated by Hsu.

One associate, Irvine businessman Jack Cassidy, said he had tried to warn authorities and the Clinton campaign as early as June that he feared Hsu was running an illicit enterprise, but had gotten no response.

"Nobody picked up the ball," said Cassidy, who was not an investor but heard about Hsu's business from a friend.

Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson declined to respond to Cassidy's claim, saying only that the campaign had conducted a background check of Hsu, who has emerged in the last three years as one of the Democratic Party's biggest fundraisers.

Wait. They ran a background check and didn't notice he had outstanding warrants??? I'm not buying it. I'll not mince words, they're lying.

Since Hsu's arrest, there has been much speculation about the source of his wealth and how he was able to put together a broad network of donors, many of whom had never given to political campaigns. Investigators are looking into whether several of the donors who appeared to be of modest means contributed their own money to the candidates or were reimbursed, which would violate federal campaign law. ...
Hsu, a self-described apparel executive, appears to have operated the investment business for at least four years under such names as Next Components and Components Ltd., according to sources.

His pitch for investors and his request for political donations reinforced each other, as he represented himself as a wealthy businessman and big player in Democratic politics, several investors said.

They were told their money was going into loan pools, some as large as $15 million, for businesses that needed short-term financing. Investors typically made at least a 6% profit in each 90-day period. ...

Though the details of Hsu's investment business remain unclear, campaign finance records show that his investors donated tens of thousands of dollars to candidates he supported.

One investor said she made donations solely to stay in Hsu's good graces and knew others who did so as well.

"They knew they had to do it or they were out," said the investor, who asked to remain anonymous. "There were people who maxed out every credit card they had to give the maximum $4,600 in donations."

She said she opposed Clinton's presidential bid but gave money to her campaign anyway. "I can't stand the woman," the investor said.

Their donations were among those delivered in bundles by Hsu, making him especially valuable to candidates because recent changes in campaign finance laws have sharply limited the amount individuals can contribute.

In a way this explains everything in a nice neat bundle... but it still makes no sense.

This suggests he "blackmailed" his investors to write checks to Hillary or they could not invest in his Ponzi scheme... (ironic ain't it?) It appears from this article he was running a Ponzi scheme not to make money himself but to give the money to Hillary and other Democrats. That's odd enough but gets odder considering the reports he did not vote himself.

The other thing I don't understand is why it is taking the FBI so long to run this down. This sort of money doesn't just leave a tail, it leaves a superhighway behind it, especially in the era of the Patriot Act.

There's still more than a few pieces of the puzzle we're missing.

Update 2 Finally, what we've all been waiting for... details about the bizarre train ride. Well, OK, some of us where waiting for it.

Comments (32)

Crap! It's Al Gore's Incon... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Jim Addison | September 10, 2007 8:10 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

Jim Addison:

Crap! It's Al Gore's Inconvenient Scenario . . . Hillary sidetracked by scandals, the party in disarray, the other candidates lacking in appeal, the party turns its lonely eyes to him, Koo-koo-ka-choo.

Al Gore flies in on his Gulfstream to save the day, as well as the world.

He's gonna put all our fossil fuels in a looooock boooox. We're doomed! - doomed, I say, doomed!

Or maybe not . . .

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:10

Jim, lket's get it straight... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by wavemaker | September 10, 2007 8:18 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

wavemaker:

Jim, lket's get it straight, you dork.

It's Goo-goo-ga-JOOB

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:18

A small drop in the bucket ... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by marc | September 10, 2007 8:31 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

marc:

A small drop in the bucket financially, too bad it isn't 50 times that figure.

I have to cue in on this one quote:

"I can tell you with 100 [sic] certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a ponzi scheme," wrote Samantha Wolf, who had the title West Coast finance director for the campaign. She has since left the campaign. "He is COMPLETELY legit.

Obviously it's good she's left the campaign but you have to wonder just how much she checked given Hsu being a Fed fugitive was a matter of public record.

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:31

SHE MUST RESIGN HER SENAT... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by RobLACal | September 10, 2007 8:32 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)

RobLACal:

SHE MUST RESIGN HER SENATE SEAT IMMEDIATELY!

She owns the "CULTURE OF CORRUPTION" title , her and her partner Slick Willie. She is bringing the party down , she must go. LOL

Oh ya , they are already as low down as one can go. She is right at home in the pit with the rest of her miscreants.

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:32

No controlling legal author... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Kevin | September 10, 2007 8:35 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)

Kevin

No controlling legal authority! No controlling legal authority! No controlling legal authority!

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:35

marc, read the update... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by Paul | September 10, 2007 8:42 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Paul:

marc, read the update

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:42

She should resign.... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by HughS | September 10, 2007 8:45 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

HughS:

She should resign.

This has Craig Livingstone, REFCO Cattle Futures, Whitewater land speculation; did I mention I did not have sex with that woman ?; Chinese campaign contributions, White House Travel Office firings, the termination of every sitting United States Attorney and Janet Reno written in bold all over it.

To say nothing of the non response to WTC Bombing I, African Embassy bombings in Tangier, Khobar Towers and The USS Cole.

Ummm, just what are Obama's problems?...Let me think for a minute.....

Posted on September 10, 2007 20:45

I wanta know what he said o... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by kim | September 10, 2007 9:00 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

kim:

I wanta know what he said on the train.
======================================

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:00

"This has to sting the Hill... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by jp2 | September 10, 2007 9:09 PM | Score: -9 (9 votes cast)

jp2:

"This has to sting the Hillary camp. As "scandals" go this is not that large..."

That's odd. I thought I saw about 10 articles here about it. Weird.

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:09

I wanta know what he ... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by HughS | September 10, 2007 9:09 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

I wanta know what he said on the train.

Let's guess...
I killed Jon Bonet?
Kevin is not the father?
I mowed the grassy noll in November 63?

Wouldn't it be great if Hsu... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by Wayne | September 10, 2007 9:12 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Wayne:

Wouldn't it be great if Hsu had some video or tape implicating Clinton? Maybe then the MSM would go after her as hard as they did against some Republicans. Then again the MSM probably would just claim it was no longer important.

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:12

Updated, looks like he w... (Below threshold)

12. Posted by DSkinner | September 10, 2007 9:28 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

DSkinner:

Updated, looks like he was running another Ponzi Scheme.

He was in charge of Social Security?

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:28

Just substitute the name Hi... (Below threshold)

13. Posted by HughS | September 10, 2007 9:29 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Just substitute the name Hillary for Cheney.

Then substitute the name Hsu for some Halliburton donor. Any Halliburton donor. Anyone who knew a Halliburton donor. Anyone in the oil and gas business. Anyone who...well, is a Republican.

The silence is deafening.

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:29

>That's odd. I thought I sa... (Below threshold)

14. Posted by Paul | September 10, 2007 9:30 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

>That's odd. I thought I saw about 10 articles here about it. Weird.

Of course you have... The "NEWS STORY" continues to grow and we cover it. But the "scandal" side of it is still limited. -- The fact people tried to warn Hillary and she ignored them ratchets up the "scandal meter" a bit, but frankly the political damage so far is minimal.

Now if she encouraged him to break the law or something like that the scandal side goes thru the roof.

But you know all this so stop being a jerk.

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:30

Sounded like there was a re... (Below threshold)

15. Posted by jpm100 | September 10, 2007 9:30 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

jpm100:

Sounded like there was a relatively large network behind Hsu. Something tells me that network didn't work exclusively through Hsu.

There's probably more than one Hsu that conduits money to Hillary and other Democrats. But this administration's Justice Department and/or FBI likely won't pursue this.

No controlling legal au... (Below threshold)

16. Posted by Jo | September 10, 2007 9:30 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Jo:

Almost said as many times as:

I don't recall! I don't recall! I don't recall! I don't recall!

3rd or 4th tier? Barely. ... (Below threshold)

17. Posted by Falze | September 10, 2007 9:35 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Falze:

3rd or 4th tier? Barely. The Albany NY major paper has yet to run anything since he fled the police (the 2nd time). Not a word. "whatever, a lot of papers are ignoring or downplaying it" I hear you say. Yet remember, along with NY Senator Clinton he gave mucho bucks to NY Rep Kirsten Gillibrand (represents the district just north of Albany, the race was covered heavily in the Albany paper and she was heartily and heavily endorsed by the paper) as well as to NY Governor Eliot Spitzer and NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as well as (this list is getting pretty long, isn't it?) the NY State Democrat Party. All are discussed DAILY in the Albany paper, but not a word on this scandal. I can't imagine they're going to be able to continue to ignore it with Hillary returning "Hillraiser" Hsu's nearly-million dollars.

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:35

Just substitute th... (Below threshold)

18. Posted by Steve of Norway | September 10, 2007 9:51 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Steve of Norway:

Just substitute the name Hillary for Cheney.
Then substitute the name Hsu for some Halliburton donor. Any Halliburton donor. Anyone who knew a Halliburton donor. Anyone in the oil and gas business

I like how you throw out Halliburton in your scenario, yet you have no proof or a specific name. Is Halliburton ALWAYS the bane of your pathetic little existence on the left?

Posted on September 10, 2007 21:51

Steve, I think you missed t... (Below threshold)

19. Posted by SPQR | September 10, 2007 10:03 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

SPQR:

Steve, I think you missed the point of Hugh's post. I think he is saying that if it had been Cheney and Halliburton, the story would have been 24 hour continuous repeat on the MSM.

Posted on September 10, 2007 22:03

SteveThere was some ... (Below threshold)

20. Posted by HughS | September 10, 2007 10:07 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Steve
There was some snark there...

Posted on September 10, 2007 22:07

Rrrrruuuummmmmmble....POP! ... (Below threshold)

21. Posted by BlacquesJacquesShellacques | September 10, 2007 10:15 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

BlacquesJacquesShellacques:

Rrrrruuuummmmmmble....POP! A Hillary Corruption Eruption. Many more to come.

Rrrrruuuummmmmmble....get ready....

Posted on September 10, 2007 22:15

NOOOO, nothing at all to th... (Below threshold)

22. Posted by Mitchell | September 10, 2007 10:16 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Mitchell:

NOOOO, nothing at all to this scandal.

Keep whistling by the graveyard, Dims. Your "scruples" leave much to be desired.

Posted on September 10, 2007 22:16

I never thought I'd be look... (Below threshold)

23. Posted by BlacquesJacquesShellacques | September 10, 2007 10:18 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

I never thought I'd be looking back fondly on Bill Clinton. A few bimbo eruptions, not a bad guy, you could drink a beer with him, fulla bullshit but good hearted, probably driven to most of his worst stupidities by that c**t he's married to.

Posted on September 10, 2007 22:18

Come on, folks. Move along.... (Below threshold)

24. Posted by Clay | September 10, 2007 10:41 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Clay:

Come on, folks. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Posted on September 10, 2007 22:41

I understand that Newsweek ... (Below threshold)

25. Posted by SPQR | September 10, 2007 11:22 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

I understand that Newsweek is reporting that Sandy Burglar is among Hillary's foreign policy advisers.

So Chinese bagmen, National Security Advisor thieves ... all the corruption of the first Clinton's with half the charm. Oh, its going to be a fun 2008 ...

Posted on September 10, 2007 23:22

Hsu, Hsu, Hsuzy bye bye. St... (Below threshold)

26. Posted by Captain Joe | September 10, 2007 11:30 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Captain Joe:

Hsu, Hsu, Hsuzy bye bye. Stay out of the park.

Posted on September 10, 2007 23:30

wavemaker #2:<br /... (Below threshold)

27. Posted by Jim Addison | September 10, 2007 11:31 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

wavemaker #2:

Jim, let's get it straight, you dork.

No, I'm referring to "Mrs. Robinson" - note the "turns its lonely eyes to you" - not "I Am The Walrus" . . . although that would be a good one for Gore, too.

Al may just have to get in now . . . he's such a Classic Rockhead.

Posted on September 10, 2007 23:31

Maybe someone should be mak... (Below threshold)

28. Posted by Bullwinkle | September 11, 2007 12:30 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Bullwinkle:

Maybe someone should be making sure the $1 mil Hsu stole in the 90s didn't end up in some Dem's campaign account.

Posted on September 11, 2007 00:30

Ho, ho, ho. Unsuccessful A... (Below threshold)

29. Posted by kim | September 11, 2007 12:54 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Ho, ho, ho. Unsuccessful Arkanicide. Pills all over the place in Little Hsuzy's boudoir.
================================================

Posted on September 11, 2007 00:54

Addison -- LOL sorry dude; ... (Below threshold)

30. Posted by wavemaker | September 11, 2007 7:58 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Addison -- LOL sorry dude; but you have to admit, the reflexive word association between Gore and the Walrus was valid!

Posted on September 11, 2007 07:58

"She said she opposed Cl... (Below threshold)

31. Posted by Oyster | September 11, 2007 9:45 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Oyster:

"She said she opposed Clinton's presidential bid but gave money to her campaign anyway. "I can't stand the woman," the investor said."

Another person willing to compromise principle for a short term gain on the allmighty dollar. Nevermind that Hillary would later gleefully "Take those profits," for the common good.

What a dumbass.

Posted on September 11, 2007 09:45

The money came from 260 ... (Below threshold)

32. Posted by Les Nessman | September 11, 2007 4:33 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Les Nessman:

The money came from 260 donors associated with the disgraced Democratic fundraiser.

Who exactly are those 260 (that we know of ) donors?

Why does Hillary refuse to fess up as to who they are?

Posted on September 11, 2007 16:33

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