Norman Hsu

Norman Who?

Let me guess how Hillary Clinton will react to the revelations about Norman Hsu:

"I could hardly breathe. Gulping for air, I started crying and yelling at him, 'What do you mean? What are you saying? Why did you lie to me?' I was furious and getting more so by the second."

Actually, I think the anger act would be her last resort.

For now, her campaign is acting clueless, standing by Hsu's integrity.

From the Los Angeles Times:

For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish.

"He is a fugitive," Ronald Smetana, who handled the case for the state attorney general, said in an interview. "Do you know where he is?"

Hsu, it seems, has been hiding in plain sight, at least for the last three years.

Since 2004, one Norman Hsu has been carving out a prominent place of honor among Democratic fundraisers. He has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into party coffers, much of it earmarked for presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

In addition to making his own contributions, Hsu has honed the practice of assembling packets of checks from contributors who bear little resemblance to the usual Democratic deep pockets: A self-described apparel executive with a variety of business interests, Hsu has focused on delivering hefty contributions from citizens who live modest lives and are neophytes in the world of campaign giving.

On Tuesday, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. -- a Washington lawyer who represents the Democratic fundraiser -- confirmed that Hsu was the same man who was involved in the California case. Barcella said his client did not remember pleading to a criminal charge and facing the prospect of jail time. Hsu remembers the episode as part of a settlement with creditors when he also went through bankruptcy, Barcella said.

...As a Democratic rainmaker, Hsu -- who graduated from UC Berkeley and the Wharton School of Business -- is credited with donating nearly $500,000 to national and local party candidates and their political committees in the last three years. He earned a place in the Clinton campaign's "HillRaiser" group by pledging to raise more than $100,000 for her presidential bid.

Records show that Hsu helped raise an additional $500,000 from other sources for Clinton and other Democrats.

"Norman Hsu is a longtime and generous supporter of the Democratic Party and its candidates, including Sen. Clinton," Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the campaign, said Tuesday.

"During Mr. Hsu's many years of active participation in the political process, there has been no question about his integrity or his commitment to playing by the rules, and we have absolutely no reason to call his contributions into question or to return them."

It's clear that Hillary is going to play the "I'm clueless" card -- AGAIN.

Her supporters don't seem to care when Hillary claims to be a victim.

Does the name David Rosen ring a bell?

If Hillary and her people are so stupid when it comes to fundraising, can she really be trusted to run the country?

If she's so willing to tolerate corruption in her campaign, what does that say about the sort of leadership we can expect from Hillary?

I guess it's says that she's a lot like Bill.

To quote Michelle Obama:

"If you can't run your own house, you can't run the White House."

My question for Hillary's supporters:

Is it worse for presidential candidate Hillary to be a liar, or to be so stupid that she doesn't realize people are lying?
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UPDATE: Change of plans at Hillary headquarters--

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton will give to charity the $23,000 in donations she has received from a 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.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also planned to turn over Hsu contributions to his 2004 presidential campaign to charity. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Al Franken, a Senate candidate in Minnesota, Reps. Michael Honda and Doris Matsui of California and Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania said they would divest their campaigns of Hsu's donations as well.

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.

Yesterday, campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said there was no plan to return any money.

Today, Hillary camp's is giving up some money. The decision to hand over $23,000 of the donations from Hsu to charity is a poor attempt to distance Hillary from the impropriety.

That sum is just a drop in her bucket.

Given how many candidates are connected to Hsu's dirty money, I think this story should be far more significant in terms of the 2008 political landscape than Larry Craig's airport bathroom behavior.

It should be but it won't be. The media are having way too much fun playing up Craig's case.
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More on the mysterious Mr. Hsu:

Money has brought both trappings and trouble for Norman Hsu. Major contributions to the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other candidates have made the apparel executive an insider in elite political circles. He shows up in cozy pictures with politicians, at lavish fundraising events, and on the boards of prestigious organizations.

But Hsu's history includes more unsavory episodes and associations. In 1990, he allegedly was kidnapped by Chinese gang members in San Francisco as part of an apparent effort to collect a debt. A year and a half later, he pleaded no contest to a charge of fleecing investors in what authorities called a Ponzi scheme of fraud. Along the way, he left a bankruptcy filing and bitter investors who accused him of making off with their savings.

...Court documents and interviews with close associates of Hsu have shed considerable light on his unlikely emergence as a major Democratic fundraiser. But much of Hsu's story remains a mystery -- including how to account for significant gaps on his resume and record, and where he got all the money that he has showered on Democratic candidates and causes.

Clinton and other candidates have scrambled to distance themselves from Hsu's money. At a New York event Thursday, Clinton said: "I wish Mr. Hsu well in dealing with the problems he's confronting."

But he has powerful defenders. Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) said in an interview that Hsu was being pilloried unfairly.

"This isn't Osama bin Laden or some drug kingpin," Kerrey said. "What he's done is he's volunteered to help people raise money for their campaigns. That doesn't make him either unique or bad."

...Records indicate that he didn't make his first federal campaign contribution until 2003, when he gave $2,000 to the presidential campaign of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). Hsu rapidly established himself as a major donor, contributing to an array of Democrats -- including California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Louisiana Sen. Mary L. Landrieu and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

All have said in recent days that they plan to divest their campaigns of Hsu's donations.

Hsu has donated or raised more than $1 million for Democrats and their causes, often delivering large donations from multiple individuals. Some of these "bundled" contributions have raised suspicions. In particular, Hsu has worked closely with a family in Daly City, Calif., headed by William Paw, a mail carrier, and his wife, Alice, who is listed as a homemaker.

The Paws apparently never donated to national candidates until 2004. Since then, they have given $213,000, including $55,000 to Clinton. Barcella denies Hsu provided money for the contributions, which would violate federal law. The Paws, Barcella said, "have the financial wherewithal to make their own donations."

Who is Hsu?

Very strange. Very mysterious. Probably very corrupt.
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