Norman Hsu has lavished $260,000 on Dems since 2004, but now many are severing their ties to this apparent scam artist as fast as they can. Senator Clinton, House Democrats Sever Ties To Shady DonorBy Cliff Montgomery – Aug. 30th, 2007Democratic presidential front-runner Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will donate to charity the $23,000 she had taken from a fundraiser who currently is wanted by California authorities for failing to show at his sentencing hearing for a 1991 grand theft prosecution.Clinton announced her decision Wednesday as more Democrats began severing their ties to Norman Hsu, whose run-ins with the law and ties to numerous Democratic power players are beginning to be a public embarrassment.Al Franken, Minnesota’s Democratic Senate hopeful, as well as Representative Michael Honda (D-CA) and Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA), also declared they would not keep the payoffs–we’re sorry, donations–they had freely accepted from Hsu.Hsu is perhaps best known in political circles as a motivated fan and fundraiser of Sen. Clinton. The California fugitive had apparently even hoped to co-host a fundraising event for Sen. Clinton on Sept. 30th.Hsu claimed in a Wednesday statement that it was all a big misunderstanding–like some kind of “Three’s Company” episode. Hsu claims he was under the impression that his old legal troubles had somehow all been worked out, and that he was innocently unaware that a warrant for his arrest had been issued in California.We at won’t directly judge Mr. Hsu, but we’ll just say that, “The California sentencing hearing for my 1991 grand theft prosecution simply slipped my mind,” is not the best defense we’ve ever heard.Ronald Smetana, a California deputy attorney general who worked as the prosecutor in the Hsu case, told Associated Press (AP) that Hsu had first been arrested for running a high-dollar scam based on his false claims of having landed a lucrative import contract for latex gloves. Hsu’s lies allowed him to collect around $1 million from would-be investors.In 1991, Hsu pled guilty to a felony count of grand theft, but did not appear in court for the sentencing. Smetana told AP that he’d hoped to get a prison sentence for Hsu.A clerk at the San Mateo County courthouse where Hsu’s prosecution took place told AP that an outstanding warrant for his arrest was issued in 1992. Bail was set at $2 million if Hsu were arrested.In a Wednesday statement, Hsu declared:”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.”There apparently was no word from Mr. Hsu if he will be returning to California, however.Recent reports in The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal on the more shady aspects of Hsu’s life have a number of Dems scrambling either to return or give to charity contributions personally received from Hsu.This Tuesday Hsu’s Washington attorney, Lawrence Barcella Jr., denied charges that Hsu also may have improperly directed contributions from numerous Democratic donors.A recent Journal article reported that six relatives of San Francisco mail carrier William Paw have given a sum of $45,000 to Sen. Clinton since 2005. The Journal adds that their contributions closely follow Hsu’s donations.Phil Singer, a Clinton campaign spokesman, told AP that the $23,000 she has received from Hsu is the total of his numerous contributions to Sen. Clinton over the years. These include donations to her political action committee, as well as to both her Senate re-election and presidential campaigns.”In light of the information regarding Mr. Hsu’s outstanding warrant in California we will be giving his contributions to charity,” Singer told AP.But the Clinton presidential campaign had no immediate plans to return money which Hsu has gathered from other donors, added Singer.Franken’s U.S. Senate campaign had taken $2,300 from Hsu. Representatives Honda and Sestak each received $1,000 from Hsu for their re-election campaigns.Federal Election Commission documents reveal that Hsu had lavished $260,000 on Democratic Party entities since 2004. But now many Dems are severing their ties to Norman Hsu as fast as they can.”The Sestak Campaign [has] decided to return Norman Hsu’s campaign contribution,” succinctly declared a statement from Representative Sestak’s re-election campaign office.But Rep. Honda appears to be handling this sticky situation better than most. Honda deftly plans to turn $5,000 of questionable contributions he received from Norman Hsu, from Paw family members and from another apparently questionable donor whom his spokespeople wouldn’t immediately identify to AP, into a series of charitable donations.Honda spokeswoman Gloria Chan told AP the $5,000 would be given to various community organizations, but she added that Rep. Honda hadn’t yet picked the ones he plans to help.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) ofe-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
How Necessary Laws Are Killed These Days
Lawmakers generally only fight to protect the things they care about – and all too often, that just doesn’t include the lives of most of their constituents.
