Article in
AOL today
They are going togive the
money to charity??? what charity???? whose charity??????
By
JIM KUHNHENN,
AP
Posted:
2007-08-30 09:51:45
Filed
Under: Elections
News - AOL news
WASHINGTON
(Aug. 30) - 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.
Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, both of
Hsu is a fundraiser for
"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."
"In light of the information regarding Mr. Hsu's outstanding warrant in
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. Feinstein received
$1,000. 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.
FEC records show that Hsu has donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and
federal candidates since 2004. Though a fundraiser for
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
Smetana said there is an outstanding warrant for Hsu's arrest. A clerk at the
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
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
While the Journal created a stir in Democratic circles, the final straw for
some candidates seemed to be Hsu's legal troubles in
"Congressman Sestak is always grateful for the
support of people who contribute to him, but in light of the new criminal
charges revealed today, the Sestak Campaign decided
to return Norman Hsu's campaign contribution."
Honda, however, planned to donate to charity $5,000 received from Hsu as well
as members of the Paw family and one other donor whom his staff could not
immediately identify.
Spokeswoman Gloria Chan said the money would go to local community
organizations but that Honda hadn't yet decided which ones. Matsui's office
said she also would return money from the Paw family.
"While there's no information that we have or evidence showing that the
contributions were illegal in any way, we have a campaign policy that if we
have information that a contributor or someone directing contributions to the
campaign has or may have committed a felony, then it's the policy to either
return the funds or make a charitable donation," said Chan.