Say What You Will About Norman Hsu...

Suitably flip:

Disgraced political donor Norman Hsu wasn't hiding from anyone over the past few years, his lawyers say. If California authorities really wanted to find him, they could have asked Hillary Rodham Clinton or one of the other prominent Democrats he showered with cash donation.

Hsu is asking a judge to toss his 15-year-old felony fraud conviction, arguing that his right to a speedy trial was violated because authorities weren't actively pursuing him.

Yes, Hsu is arguing that his due process rights were trampled because he'd undertaken the life of a fugitive and the state wasn't holding up its end of the bargain by chasing him diligently enough.

This has to be a joke ....

Oh wait, it's the law we're talking about.

Hsu's Secrets Revealed

"Suitably Flip" has some of the key questions we need answered about Norman Hsu

Two of the biggest open questions were always 1) where is Hsu - a convicted con man and fugitive with no documented ability to turn a legitimate buck - getting these gobs of money, and 2) why is he squandering it on all these Democrats?

These specific Democrats.

[...]

There are still a lot of details yet to emerge that will undoubtedly shed additional light on these linkages, but it seems quite clear that Norman Hsu and Fred Hochberg are and have for some time been closely associated. It's abundantly clear that the Clintons and Hochberg are quite intimately associated. This seems to draw Hsu and Clinton uncomfortably close to one another.

And while the complexity and duplicity that saturates this whole affair may offer Hillary a bit of confusion cover that she can use to equivocate when pressed, it's now becoming increasingly far-fetched that Hillary took Norman Hsu for no more than a kindly, deep-pocketed fan

[...]
The grand total is now over $2.5 million and counting.

The Norman Hsu Post - Updated Daily

The amount of money Norman Hsu raised for the Democrats continues to be a mystery. Just like the source of all this political cash and the reasons behind his purchase of access to the top Democrats in the country.

I will try to update the information as it comes in.

Originally, reports put Hsu’s contributions to all campaigns at something like $600,000. Originally Hillary’s campaign decided to give about $23,000 to charity, this being the amount they claim that Hsu gave directly. They have now upped the ante to $850,000.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign said Monday it will return $850,000 in donations raised by Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who is under federal investigation for allegedly violating election laws.
Clinton, D-N.Y., previously had planned only to give to charity $23,000 she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.

The FBI is investigating whether Hsu paid so-called straw donors to send campaign contributions to Clinton and other candidates, a law enforcement official said Monday.

All of a sudden the Clinton camp blows past the $600,000 discussed by the media. And then of course there are the contributions to the dozens of other prominent Democrats.

Before this is over the “hundreds of thousands” figure that is frequently quoted will have grown to millions.

From the WSJ:

A Wall Street Journal analysis of campaign finance reform records has linked Mr. Hsu with at least $1.8 million in donations to Democrats since 2004.

I confidently predict that number will go much higher.

Which bring us back to the question, where did Hsu get the money and why did he give it to the Democrats? Why is it important to this Chinese swindler to have Hillary in the White House and Democrats running the country?

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal reports that a Joel Rosenman, a figure from the 1960's Woodstock nation gave Hsu $40 million which is now missing.

Where did Norman Hsu get his money?

That has been one of the big questions hanging over the prominent Democratic fund-raiser, as reports have surfaced about hundreds of thousands of dollars he made in political donations, plus lavish parties, fancy apartments and a $2 million bond he posted to get out of jail earlier this month.

New documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal may help point to an answer: A company controlled by Mr. Hsu recently received $40 million from a Madison Avenue investment fund run by Joel Rosenman, who was one of the creators of the Woodstock rock festival in 1969. That money, Mr. Rosenman told investors this week, is missing.


Mr. Hsu told Mr. Rosenman the money would be used to manufacture apparel in China for Gucci, Prada and other private labels, yielding a 40% profit on each deal, according to a business plan obtained by the Journal. Now the investment fund, Source Financing Investors, says Mr. Hsu's company owes it the $40 million, which represents 37 separate deals with Mr. Hsu's company. When Source Financing recently attempted to cash checks from the company, Components Ltd., the investors say they were told the account held insufficient funds.

UPDATE: More from Fox News:

The mystery of where a dirty Democratic fundraiser got the money to lead a lavish lifestyle, fund political campaigns and post a $2 million bond to get out of jail appears to have a Woodstock connection, according to a report published in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports that a company run by Norman Hsu, who donated nearly $2 million to Democratic candidates since 2004 — including presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton — recently received $40 million from a Madison Avenue investment fund run by Joel Rosenman, one of the creators of the fabled Woodstock rock festival in 1969.

Now, that $40 million is missing, Rosenman reportedly told investors this week.

UPDATE: Hsu suicide note via the Wall Street Journal

Before Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu skipped a court hearing and temporarily vanished last week, he typed out a suicide note and sent copies to several acquaintances and charitable organizations, according to people who received it.

Ever the thoughtful gentleman he

apologized for putting anybody "through inconvenience or trouble," the recipient said.

This is the sort of thing that ingratiated him to so many people whom he defrauded out of millions.

It would have been so convenient for so many people if he had been able to carry out his "suicide." Apparently, he failed. But you can be sure that he'll try again; it would help the Democrats cause. And if we know one thing very well by now, he was a Liberal Democrat: big-time.

UPDATE: Hsu claims his troubles cause by Obama. From the LA Times:

Hsu's undoing began two weeks ago with articles raising questions about his fundraising activities in the Wall Street Journal and about a criminal case in his past in The Times. In his letter, said a person familiar with its contents who asked to remain anonymous, Hsu contended that those articles were planted "by a politician who pledged 'hope and change' " -- an apparent reference to Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton's main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

UPDATE: University of Arkansas Returns Hsu's Cash. Will the New School?

UPDATE: From Dan Collins at Protein Wisdom

1. Hsu told Source Financial the money was to manufacture clothes for Gucci & Prada in China. Neither company manufactures any items in China, ever.
2. Source Financial never noticed that Hsu’s businesses didn’t exist before loaning him money. They also failed to check his background, or look for a factory in China connected to Hsu.
3. Source Financial was accepting checks post dated by 135 days as payment on their huge loans to Hsu.
4. Source Financial employees are also big Hillary donors.
5. Hillary set aside 1 million dollars of taxpayer money for a “Woodstock” museum. The head of Source Financial was a major Woodstock promoter and also a long time Clinton friend.
6. It took 2 weeks for the head of Source Financial to realize there might be some kind of connection between his company, Clinton, and Hsu.
7. One of the recipients of Hsu’s suicide note googled the term “Hsu Suicide” BEFORE anyone knew where he was or what he was doing - according to Michelle Malkin.

UPDATE: From the Washington Post: Hsu Cast Wide Net For Clinton Donors

To raise $850,000 for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign in just eight months, Norman Hsu tapped an eclectic group of donors that included wealthy investors in his apparel ventures, hotel shopkeepers, a 96-year-old in a Florida retirement home and an auto-body worker who mistakenly thought he would get a tax break for his political generosity.
[...]
His intensive fundraising brought him close to their campaigns, which showered him with dinner invitations and opportunities to get his picture snapped with the politicians -- contacts that some businessmen said lent credibility to Hsu's efforts to sell investors on his clothing ventures.

But his pursuit of political and business funds at the same time -- from many of the same people -- leaves unclear which was the end and which was the means. Was Hsu hoping to leverage his political affiliations to boost the credibility of his business? Or did he intend the more than $2 million he bundled in political donations in four years to curry favor for some as-yet-undetermined goal?

So, the Wash. Post now says the contribution numbers now top $2 million. The number will rise.

UPDATE: From Captain's Quarters:

The Washington Post asks the question at the base of the Hsustock scandal, but comes up with few answers. What did Norman Hsu hope to gain by flooding the zone with millions in contributions to Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton? Where did he get the money at the beginning, before apparently fleecing Woodstock founder Joel Rosenman of $40 million?

Hsu began his contributions to Hillary and the Democrats way before getting $40 million from the Woodstock Nation. The questions keep coming and the answers don't.

The Most Important Question About Norman Hsu

Norman Hsu has been lost and found for well over 15 years. For a large part of that time he was bilking friends and even his girlfriend out of money. After being convicted of fraud, he skipped the country for China, only to re-appear and become a major contributor and “bundler” for prominent Democrats.

There is a great deal of suspicion that a lot of the money that he “bundled” was not really a contribution from third parties, but was money that he laundered through others to avoid the campaign finance limits on political contributions. One couple he used was headed by a mail carrier who earned less than $50,000 per year yet claimed to have contributed over $200,000. Shades of the Al Gore Buddhist temple scam, where Buddhist priests and nuns were reimbursed for their contributions to Gore’s campaign, in violation of campaign finance laws.

While early reports on Hsu indicated that he was a wealthy business man who was an active supporter of Democrats and their causes, efforts to investigate his financial dealings invariably led to blind alleys. Except for frauds and scams, no one seems to have discovered the source of Hsu’s wealth. Where did he get the money to live his lavish lifestyle which included a Manhattan loft, limousines, charitable contributions to places the “The New School,” lavish fund raising parties and private jets? Were these all the results of crooked business dealings and Ponzi schemes? No one seems to know.

The latest bizarre turn came last week when, after posting $2 million bail, Hsu was allowed to go free to find his passport. His return to the California via private jet led from the Oakland airport to Emeryville and Amtrak’s California Zephyr and a ticket to Colorado.

Checking Hsu’s strange journey it appears to be deliberately planned. One can catch the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system at the Oakland Airport and be deposited in a short period of time at the Mac Arthur station which is near the terminus for the California Zephyr. This, by the way, avoids the Bay Area’s morning commuting traffic.

Having once gotten on the train, Hsu is next observed to have shed some of his clothes and appears distraught. What would make him appear "worried/disoriented?

Well, it may be instructive to see who he was in communication with. His cell phone records should shed some light on this issue.

Did he perceive any threats? Well, some comments may be interpreted as concern for his well being, or they may have a more sinister implication. When Tony Soprano tells you: “… you don’t look so good; watch out for your health,” that may be a sign that you need a long vacation.

Hsu's attorney, Jim Brosnahan, said Friday, "a great many friends of Norman Hsu have expressed concern about his mental health and physical well-being" since he disappeared. The Belmont Club asks:

Question: has Hsu asked for his attorney, Jim Brosnahan, yet? Is it possible that Hsu actually feels better now that he is "under armed guard at the hospital on federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution" in the custody of the Feds? Could it be that the Fed's stated intend to drop all flight charges and turn him over to the local authorities is actually a threat? Well, who knows.

Is this a set-up for Arkancide?

Keeping in mind that Norman Hsu was one of the Democrats’ very top fund raisers over the past few years, this kind of comment reminds you of the way the Clintons were going to discredit Monica Lewinski. Wasn't this called the "nuts and sluts" defense?

The press is finally raising questions about the source of Hsu's money. That is an important question. Once we know the source it may answer a more important question: why was a con-man trying to buy access to the most influential Democrats?

Once we know the source of the money, I think we'll also know the answer to the more important question.

UPDATE: Powerline has links to other stories. Their comment echoes mine:

Hsuicide watch
The Wall Street Journal's online Washinton Wire reports on the strange flight of fugitive political fundraiser Norman Hsu, now in custody in Colorado after falling ill on an Amtrak train last week. On Saturday the Journal asked "What made Norman Hsu run?" On Sunday the New York Times took a look at "Norman Hsu's money trail." On Monday the Los Angeles Times reported "FBI looks into disgraced donor's business." (Compare the Los Angeles Times story with our "Are you with me Mr. Hsu?") I think the pertinent questions are: Where did the money come from? And why was it so important to Norman Hsu that Hillary Clinton become president?

Democrat Kingpin Norman Hsu Update

Classical Values has a longish piece called "My Name is Hsu, How Do You Do?" after the famous Johnny Cash song.

Here is the now-infamous house of the mail carrier, Mr. Paw, and his family who contributed over $200,000 to various Democrats since 2005. Fat cats these people are not.

Kent Cooper, a former disclosure official with the Federal Election Commission, said the two-year pattern of donations justifies a probe of possible violations of campaign-finance law, which forbid one person from reimbursing another to make contributions.
"There are red lights all over this one," Mr. Cooper said.
There is no public record or indication Mr. Hsu reimbursed the Paw family for their political contributions.

I can think of no one who is not paid to say so (like the Paw family lawyer) who believes that this family has the independent ability to make that contribution.

Clayton Cramer also doubts the Paw family came up with the money from saving their pennies (or from a son's fortunate investments):

DALY CITY, Calif. -- One of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton is a tiny, lime-green bungalow that lies under the flight path from San Francisco International Airport.

Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave. as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate re-election last year and her political action committee. In all, the six Paws have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, election records show.

...


It isn't obvious how the Paw family is able to afford such political largess. Records show they own a gift shop and live in a 1,280-square-foot house that they recently refinanced for $270,000. William Paw, the 64-year-old head of the household, is a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service who earns about $49,000 a year, according to a union representative. Alice Paw, also 64, is a homemaker. The couple's grown children have jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to "attendance liaison" at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund.

The Paws' political donations closely track donations made by Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw home as his address, according to public records. Mr. Hsu is one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign. He has hosted or co-hosted some of her most prominent money-raising events.

People who answered the phone and the door at the Paws' residence declined requests for comment last week. In an email last night, one of the Paws' sons, Winkle, said he had sometimes been asked by Mr. Hsu to make contributions, and sometimes he himself had asked family members to donate. But he added: "I have been fortunate in my investments and all of my contributions have been my money."

Does this remind anyone of what happened when a bunch of Buddhist nuns gave big contributions to the Clinton/Gore campaign--and then admitted that it wasn't their money?

As people who know Mr. Hsu and invested money with him are coming forward, it appears that he is a serial fraudster. From Power Line:

It turns out that several people I know put money into a factoring company run by, I am told, Mr. Hsu. My friends and I all know the New York-based businessman who was Mr. Hsu's counterpart in New York through a club we belong to (for what it is worth, the New York guy is not Chinese). The company was established to factor clothing made in China which was then sent back to the US. The New York-based principal of this business established himself in previous years as an entertainment promoter of some note.

Over the course of the past few years, these friends of mine have placed many hundreds of thousands of dollars each into the fund -- egged on by documents reporting outsized returns. Over the past few months or so, each of the investors was pressured to contribute to HRC's campaign, as "appreciation" for the profits they were alleged to be making. Now they are told that the company is most likely wiped out -- the information is sketchy on account of the fact that the New York principal has "lawyered up" on them.

There is no question that Norman Hsu is a crook. The only question is whether he is also an agent of a foreign power. The more information comes out about fraud and Ponzi schemes, I have to ask about his connection to the Chinese government. Do foreign agents defraud investors to raise money to buy up Democrats? On the other hand, the frauds could be pin money that allowed Hsu to live large while the "buying the Democrats" money came from the Chinese.

Power Line also reminds us that the Hsu scandal is eerily reminiscent of the previous Clinton administration:

The Hsu story recalls the Clinton campaign scandals of 1996, but who can really recall them, and what were they all about? They dissolve into the Great Cloud of Unknowing whipped up by the Clinton scandal management machine. How little we remember the cast of characters: Charlie Trie, James Riady, John Huang, Maria Hsia, Ted Sioeng, Johnny Chung, Np Lap Seng et al. To paraphrase "American Pie," do you recall what was revealed the day the Clinton campaign scandals died? In Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years, Rich Lowry cuts to the chase:

[I]t is an indisputable fact that the president's fund-raising operation was infiltrated by Chinese agents, many of whom were warmly welcomed as valued contributors and given intimate audiences with the president and other senior administration officials.

But why does memory fail us on this shocking episode? Lowry writes:

The fund-raising scandal fizzled politically because most of the major witnesses cut and ran. As many as 120 individuals took the Fifth or fled the country to escape the various investigations.

Bill Clinton responded to the campaign finance scandals arising from his 1996 reelection campaign with the resourcefulness for which he had by that time become renowned. First, he categorically denied wrongdoing. Then he asserted that if he had made mistakes, Republicans had done so first. Finally he proclaimed that whatever he had done was for the good of the country. Sensing that he had not been entirely persuasive in these assertions, Clinton resorted to the favorite stratagem of presidents in need of political cover: the announcement of a bipartisan commission.

Let's see: cut and run to avoid arrest or prosecution; virtual complete memory loss; expressions of surprise and outrage. The only thing missing is the claim that Hillary made a fortune in cattle futures by reading the Wall Street Journal. I don't want to relive that sordid time, and I don't think the American people do either.

Suitably Flip does some shoe leather detective work and writes: Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Norman's Door...

On the off-chance that Hsu was still stuffing clothes in a duffle bag, I took a subway ride down to SoHo this evening and headed toward 160 Wooster Street, the address listed most frequently on the campaign disclosures documenting Hsu's bountiful political contributions over the last few years.

The blinds were closed behind all 10 sets of windows at Hsu's third floor loft (pictured) and the lights didn't seem to be on. Still, having made the trek, I strolled up and hit the buzzer for Hsu's unit. After a couple of fruitless buzzings, I went into the lobby and exchanged pleasantries with the doorman behind the desk.

"I'm trying to get in touch with Norman Hsu in 3C," I said. "Do you know if he's available?"

Only mildly less pleasantly, he responded, "You're going to need to step outside now."

He was perfectly polite about it, but unmistakably resolute, and I couldn't help but wonder whether my doorman would have my back if ever had to lam it. I'll bet Hsu is a better Christmas tipper than I...

In a more recent Classical Values commentary:

Unnatural twins, the two [Hsu and Larry Craig] nevertheless were treated as the "scandals of the week," and while Craig's got the lion's share of media attention by far, it shouldn't have. The difference is that the Hsu money not only involves a presidential election scandal, it typifies the Clintons. I was immediately reminded of the unresolved Peter Paul case, but if we think back further, there's Johnny Huang, Charlie Trie, Moktar Riaddy. The Craig scandal is pathetically simple, even sad by comparison, does not involve the presidential election, nor money corruption, and probably wouldn't be much of a scandal if it involved the Democrats. That the public perception would be that "both parties have scandals" shows only how easily manipulated the public can be.

Interestingly, before either of these stories broke, Michael Vick was the hottest news going. Anyone remember him now? Craig bumped him off the front pages, but would Hsu have? I wonder.

I think the Hsu case is bigger than Vick and Craig combined. It has a creepy, tip-of-the-iceberg feel to it, and it's a perfect reminder (as if anyone needed a reminder) of the deep, hard-core corruption which has long characterized Bill and Hillary Clinton. (I don't believe they have changed at all.) What sickens me more than seeing this corruption resurface is to see so many naive people behaving as if they're shocked and surprised. (And what will sicken me more than that, I'm sure, is the speed at which they'll forget.)

No wonder she started her campaign so early.

Yes, there will be more Hsus to tap.

According to the AP, Patrick Kennedy will keep his contribution from Norman Hsu.

And who did Norman Hsu contribute to? From SourceWatch:

Since 2004, other than Hillary Clinton, Norman Hsu has contributed to or raised funds for the following:[6][9]

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)[10]
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)[10]
Sen. Robert Casey (D-Penn.)[10]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-Tenn.)[11]
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)[11][12]
Sen. Thomas Harkin (D-Iowa)[11]
Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) Donated $1,000 to charity.[13]
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)[10]
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.)[10]
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.)[10]
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)[11]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)[11]
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.)[10][14] Donated $7,500 to charity.[15]
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)[10]
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)[10]; HOPEFUND[10]
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)[11]
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.)[11]
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)[11]
Rep. Joseph Sestak (D-Penn.)[11] Donated $1,000 to chairty.[16]
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)[10][17]
Sen. Mark E. Udall (D-Co.)[11]
Former presidential candidate Tom Vilsack[11]
Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.)
Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Penn.)[18]
Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.)[19]
Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D-N.Y.)[20]
Andrew Cuomo for Attorney General (D-N.Y.)[21]
Thomas Allen (D-Me.) for Senate[11]
Al Franken (D-Minn.) for Senate[11] Donated $2,600 to charity.[22]
David Wayne Loebsack (D-Iowa) for Congress[11]
Committee for a Democratic Majority[11]
Democratic Campaign Committee of Philadelphia[23]
Democratic Executive Committee of Florida[10]
Democratic National Committee Services[10]
Democratic Party of Wisconsin[10]
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee[11][10]
New York State Committee of the Working Families Party[11]
New York State Democratic Committee[24]
New York State Democratic Party[25]
Tennessee Democratic Party[11]
EMILY's List[10]
Preschool for All[26]
Pro-Issue 2 / Ohio Citizen Action / 2006[27]
Searchlight Leadership Fund[11] (operated by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.))

And now back to Larry Craig all the time.

UPDATE: CathyF comments at the Belmont Club:

From Wednesday's news reports: California Attorney General spokesman Gareth Lacy said Hsu's lawyers told prosecutors Hsu arrived by charter jet at the Oakland airport about 5:30 a.m. PDT Wednesday and then wasn't heard from again.

The train left Emeryville at 7:10 am. It's about a half-hour drive according to rand-macnally, but I'm thinking that has to assume impossibly optimistic traffic for crossing the Bay Area during the beginning of a Wed am rush hour. This was tightly planned -- he had an hour and forty minutes to get out of the airport and completely across town and on the train -- I'm guessing it was a pretty tight connection.

From chartered jet to train. Where was Hsu going?

UPDATE: From the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Hsu's past, illuminated by documents fished out of storage at various courts and interviews with former partners and friends, is full of failed businesses, a kidnapping, lawsuits and bouts of financial ruin followed by hard-to-explain recovery. He charmed friends, relatives, and college classmates into investing in real estate, restaurant and apparel businesses, many of which failed, stranding investors.

Mr. Hsu hasn't spoken publicly since the spotlight recently fell on his fund-raising and his past. When The Wall Street Journal sought to interview him in August, he responded with an email saying he was "shocked, sad and angry that you have chosen to pick on me for NO reason." He said that he simply wanted to pay back some of the opportunities he received in America, while maintaining a private life.

Politicians and donors describe a pleasant and friendly man, though most are hard-pressed to say what he did for a living. "Everybody loved him, even the staff. He'd take them out to lunch," says Terry McAuliffe, campaign chairman for Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of he biggest recipients of Mr. Hsu's largess. Mr. McAuliffe adds, "He was very hard to understand, to tell you the truth."

Where did he get the money? Where did he get the money to charter a private jet to fly him to California just before he got on the train?

UPDATE: I have been advised by Ohio Citizen Action that:

The committee that Hsu contributed to was Ohioans for a Fair Minimum Wage. Ohio Citizen Action took no position on the minimum wage issue last year.

We take them at their word and are happy to correct the record.

Hsu Top Democrat Fund Raiser: Washington Post Spins For the Democrats

One Page A3 of the Washington Post writers Matthew Mosk and John Solomon tell a few tales that may well become the accepted narrative among the MSM despite the fact that they have already been debunked.

Last week, before his world came crashing down, Norman Hsu helped organize a breakfast meeting in San Francisco with prospective donors. The featured attraction was Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

The meeting was hardly unusual for Hsu, a New York apparel manufacturer for much of his career whose success at raising money had propelled him into the upper echelon of Democratic politics.

The legend that Hsu was an apparel manufacturer came about because of his claim that he founded a number of clothing companies. Few of those claims can be substantiated, and some are apparent fabrications.

On Wednesday, he failed to appear at a court hearing related to the warrant, forfeiting $2 million in bail. Hsu's attorney James Brosnahan told a San Mateo County judge he did not know where Hsu had gone. The office of California's attorney general said it had not expected Hsu to flee and had not collected his passport.

The fact that Hsu failed to appear for jail 15 years ago apparently did not lead the California Attorney General that HJsu may not show up this time? I question either the writers of this story or utter stupidity on the part of the AG.

Another attorney for Hsu, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., said yesterday the suggestion that Hsu raised money improperly -- including more than $290,000 from one family whose members live in a small bungalow and hold middle-class jobs -- is off base. "I have looked at financial records that clearly show they have the wherewithal to make those contributions," he said.

Really? The family in question is headed by a letter carrier who makes $48,000 per year. I understand devotion to a cause, but giving $290,000 to politicians on a $48,000 salary does not pass the test of logic. The statement by attorney Barcella does not pass the laugh test.

Facts about Hsu are hard to come by. Twenty-year-old clippings from apparel industry publications say he was born and raised in Hong Kong and arrived in the United States in 1969 to attend the University of California at Berkeley. The computer science major went to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School for an MBA. In 1982, with a group of Hong Kong-based partners, he formed Lavano Sportswear.

The business went bankrupt. Describing that time to a Bay Area newspaper, Hsu said he was young and "made a lot of stupid mistakes." But Hsu moved on to form a series of new clothing ventures before going back to Hong Kong, from 1992 to 1996, for unknown reasons. Returning to the United States, Hsu invested in several new wholesale apparel and import ventures that collectively generate about $2 million a year, according to Dun & Bradstreet estimates.

“...going back to Hong Kong, from 1992 to 1996, for unknown reasons?” Unknown reasons? Wasn’t this the time that Hsu skipped out to avoid jail? Hmmmm. Yes. 1995 was 15 years ago, the length of time that Hsu is reported to have been on the lam. Apparently our two intrepid reporter-sleuths for the Wash Post can’t connect these dots.

The Clinton campaign stood by Hsu until the Los Angeles Times reported his outstanding arrest warrant. At that point, the campaign reversed course, announcing it would donate to charity the $23,000 in direct contributions Hsu made to Clinton's presidential campaign, her Senate reelection bid and her political action committee. The campaign does not plan to return any money Hsu raised from other donors.

Hillary Clinton apparently feels free to keep the $290,000 raised by the California letter carrier whose salary totals $48,000.

But there is a much larger question: where did Norman Hsu get the money that he contributed? The ever gullible reporters for the Post claim that Hsu’s “apparel” businesses collectively had revenues of $2 million. Revenues are not profits. In fact the businesses that Hsu was involved in were either outright fraud like the rubber glove scam he ran which landed him his jail sentence, or went bankrupt. Profitable businesses don’t go bankrupt. Honest businesses don’t generate enough profit on $2 million in revenue to enable the owner to give $1.2 million in campaign contributions while living the life of a wealthy tycoon – which Hsu apparently did.

What is the source of Hsu’s money? And let’s examine the list of his contributions. All are Democrats and the list is very, very long. It looks as if someone was bankrolling Hsu and was in the process of buying the Democrats in the US, wholesale.

UPDATE: From SFGate.com:

Hsu's disappearing act seemed to be a reprise of a move he pulled 15 years ago, when he failed to show up for sentencing in the same grand theft case. Hsu was facing up to three years in state prison, a $10,000 fine and restitution payments after pleading no contest to a single count of grand theft in what prosecutors described as a $1 million fraud scheme.

But while free on bail after his plea, Hsu dropped from sight for 15 years, apparently spending time in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan, only to emerge in recent years as a seemingly wealthy New York resident who donated generously to Democratic political campaigns, regularly attended fundraisers and was photographed with party leaders.

A week ago, Hsu, 56, surrendered to San Mateo County sheriff's deputies in Redwood City after press accounts linked him to the earlier grand theft case. He spent a few hours in county jail before posting $2 million bail and agreeing to surrender his passport.

The state attorney general's office, which is prosecuting the case, initially sought bail of $1 million, but San Mateo Superior Court Judge James Ellis doubled that to $2 million - the amount specified in the arrest warrant.

After Hsu posted bail, his attorney, Jim Brosnahan, sent a legal assistant to Hsu's New York condominium Monday to retrieve the passport but was unable to find it after a 90-minute search.

WHERE IS ALL THIS MONEY COMING FROM? THE $2 MILLION FOR BAIL, WHICH HE SKIPPED AND THEREFORE FORFEITED?

Hsu is throwing around greenback like it's monopoly money and the press keeps focusing on his non-existant "apparel" businesses as if they could be the source of his riches. They are not. Like flushing a Koran down a toilet, it is a physical impossiblity. Like the snipers and the raped babies in New Orleans that the press reported, they did not exist. Where is Norman Hsu getting the money? Who is his backer? And why do they want to own the Democrats?

Top Democrat Donor Hsu Found and Arrested in Colorado

Contrary to expectations, Norman Hsu did not manage to flee back to China. Instead he was found and arrested in Colorado by the FBI.

Also setting new standards for honesty among Democrats, Chris Dodd promises that he will no longer accept contributions from criminals:

Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd to release a statement Thursday vowing "to refuse to accept or possess campaign contributions raised, solicited, or delivered by fugitives from justice."

Oops, sorry, that says he will no longer accept money from criminals WHO ARE ON THE LAM. Other criminals are welcome to send their contributions to the Chris Dodd for President Committee.

The curious largesse of Norman Hsu

From the Washington D.C. Examiner:

It is surely among the most astonishing developments of the present campaign season that Norman Hsu, a star Democratic fundraiser, has been on the lam for 15 years after pleading no contest to felony grand theft charges. He faced a three-year California prison sentence when he fled America.
[...]
Considering the many contact points between the 1996 Clinton re-election campaign and Chinese-connected donors like Johnny Chang, federal officials should get some credible answers about Hsu’s activities during those years before he landed in Manhattan rubbing elbows with the bright lights of Democratic politics.

This is doubly important because it is hard to find a leading light among the Democrats who hasn’t benefited from Hsu’s seemingly boundless largesse. New York blogger Flip Pidot of SuitablyFlip.com went beyond FEC data to the National Institute on Money in State Politics and various municipal databases to total Hsu contributions. He came up with nearly $1.6 million in donations, all to Democrats and Democratic organizations.

It now turns out that Norman Hsu has skipped out on this latest court appearance, abandoning a $2 million bond. How can he afford this unless he is an agent of a foreign government? I come back to my original question: what is the source of Hsu's money?

By the way, 99.94% of the recipients of his largess are Democrats.

The NY Times, of course, makes Hillary Clinton the victim. Hillary is always the victim. She's the victim of her husband's philandering. She's the victim of the Right Wing Conspiracy. Now she's the innocent victim of Norman Hsu who forced millions of dollars on poor unsuspecting Democrat office holders. We can't let anyone who is this accident prone to become President.

The Norman Hsu Story Gets More Mysterious

From Instapundit:

MAYBE WE NEED BRADY-STYLE BACKGROUND CHECKS AND WAITING PERIODS before people are allowed to donate to politicians:

From $62,000 for Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, to $10,000 for the Tennessee Democratic Party, the full extent of fund-raising by Norman Hsu came into focus yesterday, as campaigns across the country began returning his money in light of revelations that he is a fugitive in a fraud case.

Beyond the hundreds of thousands of dollars he raised from others for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Mr. Hsu personally contributed more than $600,000 to federal, state and municipal candidates in the last three years, a review of campaign finance records shows. It was a startling amount of money for someone whose sources of income remained far from obvious yesterday, as visits to addresses he has provided for his businesses found no trace of Mr. Hsu.

If it saves just one campaign it's worth it.

And from the NY Times:

People who met him said they knew only that he ran an apparel business. Efforts to learn more about his trade hit dead-ends yesterday. Visits to companies at addresses listed by Mr. Hsu on campaign finance records provided little information. There were no offices in buildings in New York’s garment district whose addresses were given for businesses with names like Components Ltd., Cool Planets, Next Components, Coopgors Ltd., NBT and Because Men’s clothing — all listed by Mr. Hsu in federal filings at different times.

At a new loft-style residential condominium in SoHo that was also listed as an address for one of his companies, an employee there said that he had never seen or heard of Mr. Hsu. Another company was listed at a condo that Mr. Hsu had sublet in an elegant residential tower in Midtown Manhattan just off Fifth Avenue, but an employee there said Mr. Hsu moved out two years ago, after having lived there for five years. The employee, who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about residents, said he recalled that Mr. Hsu had received a lot of mail from the Democratic Party.

Who is Mr. Hsu and where did he get his money? The suspicion is growing that Mr. Hsu is a conduit for others. Who are they and what do they intend to get with their money? Is China somehow behind this?

Why Is Nornal Hsu Still Free?

The influence peddling of Norman Hsu and his money laundering of political contributions in the coffers of Democrats, prominently included Hillary Clinton but also Barack Obama, Patrick Kennedy, Al Franken, Mike Honda, Doris Matsui and more Democrats to be named later. What intrigues me about this is not the fact that prominent Democrats are caught taking money from a convicted swindler. What is interesting is that a man can be convicted of swindling, become a convicted fugitive from justice and still remain free while attending high profile events like a fund-raiser for Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, given by Stephen A. Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group at the New York Yacht Club. Is the criminal justice system so inept that it not only can't it stop 12 million people from entering our borders illegally, but it can't locate and arrest a multi-millionaire swindler who attends fund raisers for prominent Democrats?

As Captain Ed says:

…the path of Norman Hsu seems rather amusing. The man convicted of fraud and wanted for fleeing his prison sentence did not seem unduly handicapped by either in his career. The famous liberal New School made him a trustee and became a trustee at its Eugene Lang College. That came after he started donating heavily to the Democratic Party in his new incarnation, and the failed businessman and convicted fraudster somehow generated large amounts of cash for these efforts, with "connections" (as the New York Times puts it) to clothing related businesses. None of these organizations ever did as much as a cursory check on the Hong Kong native.
Where did Hsu get all this money? That remains to be seen, and it may be the most interesting question yet. So far, his entire history has been one failed enterprise after another -- and yet as a fugitive on the run, he managed to manipulate millions of dollars for the Democrats. That's a pretty neat trick.

Big Source of Clinton's Cash Is an Unlikely Address

Makes you go Hmmmm?

DALY CITY, Calif. -- One of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton is a tiny, lime-green bungalow that lies under the flight path from San Francisco International Airport.

Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave. as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate re-election last year and her political action committee. In all, the six Paws have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, election records show.


It isn't obvious how the Paw family is able to afford such political largess. Records show they own a gift shop and live in a 1,280-square-foot house that they recently refinanced for $270,000. William Paw, the 64-year-old head of the household, is a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service who earns about $49,000 a year, according to a union representative. Alice Paw, also 64, is a homemaker. The couple's grown children have jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to "attendance liaison" at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund.

The Paws' political donations closely track donations made by Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw home as his address, according to public records. Mr. Hsu is one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign. He has hosted or co-hosted some of her most prominent money-raising events.


People who answered the phone and the door at the Paws' residence declined requests for comment last week. In an email last night, one of the Paws' sons, Winkle, said he had sometimes been asked by Mr. Hsu to make contributions, and sometimes he himself had asked family members to donate. But he added: "I have been fortunate in my investments and all of my contributions have been my money."

Mr. Hsu, in an email last night wrote: "I have NEVER asked a single favor from any politician or any charity group. If I am NOT asking favors, why do I have to cheat...I've asked friends and colleagues of mine to give money out of their own pockets and sometimes they have agreed."

See details on political donations5 from the Paw family, Norman Hsu and a handful of Mr. Hsu's business associates in New YorkLawrence Barcella, a Washington attorney representing Mr. Hsu, said in a separate email: "You are barking up the wrong tree. There is no factual support for this story and if Mr. Hsu's name was Smith or Jones, I don't believe it would be a story." He didn't elaborate.

A Clinton campaign spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said in an email: "Norman Hsu is a longtime and generous supporter of the Democratic party and its candidates, including Senator Clinton. 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."

Kent Cooper, a former disclosure official with the Federal Election Commission, said the two-year pattern of donations justifies a probe of possible violations of campaign-finance law, which forbid one person from reimbursing another to make contributions.

"There are red lights all over this one," Mr. Cooper said.

There is no public record or indication Mr. Hsu reimbursed the Paw family for their political contributions.

For the 2008 election, individuals can donate a maximum of $4,600 per candidate -- $2,300 for a primary election and $2,300 for a general election -- and a total of $108,200 per election to all federal candidates and national political parties.


Six members of the Paw family list this house in Daly City, Calif., as their address.
In the wake of a 2002 law that set those limits, federal and state regulators and law-enforcement officials said they have seen a spike recently in the number of cases of individuals and companies illegally reimbursing others for campaign donations. Those cases don't necessarily implicate the candidates, who sometimes don't even appear to be aware of such payments executed on their behalf.

The 2002 law also raised penalties for infractions and included the prospect of prison sentences for offenders for the first time. That increased incentives for the FEC and federal prosecutors to investigate and prosecute infractions. Since the law was enacted, the FEC has collected millions of dollars in fines for illegal donations, including its largest-ever penalty, a $3.8 million levy against Freddie Mac last year.

According to public documents, Mr. Hsu once listed his address at the Paw home in Daly City, though it isn't clear if he ever lived there. He now lives in New York, according to campaign-finance records, on which he also lists a half-dozen apparel companies as his employer. In the campaign-finance forms, Mr. Hsu lists his companies as Next Components, Dilini Management, Because Men's Clothes and others.

He is on the board of directors of the New School in New York. News stories in the mid-1980s said he criticized trade policies that made it harder to import goods from China.

Mr. Hsu is also a major fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton and other Democrats. When Democrats won control of Congress in November, he threw a party at New York City hot spot Buddakan with many prominent party leaders. Press reports said that toward the end of the night, he grabbed the microphone from the deejay and shouted: "If you are supporters of Hillary for President 2008, you can stay. Otherwise, get out."

Mr. Hsu has pledged to raise $100,000 or more for Mrs. Clinton, earning the title of "HillRaiser" along with a few hundred other top financial backers of her campaign. Earlier this year, he co-hosted a fund-raiser that raised $1 million for Mrs. Clinton at the Beverly Hills, Calif., home of billionaire Ron Burkle. He is listed as a co-host for another Clinton fund-raiser next month in northern California.

The Paw family is just one set of donors whose political donations are similar to Mr. Hsu's. Several business associates of Mr. Hsu in New York have made donations to the same candidates, on the same dates for similar amounts as Mr. Hsu.

On four separate dates this year, the Paw family, Mr. Hsu and five of his associates gave Mrs. Clinton a total of $47,500. In all, the family, Mr. Hsu and his associates have given Mrs. Clinton $133,000 since 2005 and a total of nearly $720,000 to all Democratic candidates.


The Paw's Daly City home is a one-story house in a working-class suburb of San Francisco. On a recent day, a coiled garden hose rested next to a dilapidated garden with a half-dozen dried out plants. The din of traffic from a nearby freeway was occasionally drowned out by jumbo jets departing San Francisco International Airport.

William and Alice Paw are of Chinese descent. The entire family got their Social Security cards in California in 1982, according to state records. All but one of the Paws registered to vote as "nonpartisan." A San Mateo County elections official said that members of the Paw family vote "sporadically."

No one in the Paw family had ever given a campaign contribution before the 2004 presidential election, according to campaign-finance reports. Then, in July 2004, five members of the family contributed a total of $3,600 to the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat. Five of the checks were dated July 27, 2004. About the same time, Mr. Hsu made his first donations to a political candidate, contributing the maximum amount allowed by law to Mr. Kerry in two separate checks, on July 21, 2004, and on Aug. 6.

From then on, the correlation of campaign donations between Mr. Hsu and the Paw family has continued. The first donations to Mrs. Clinton came Dec. 23, 2004, when Mr. Hsu and one Paw family member donated the then-maximum $4,000 to her Senate campaign in two $2,000 checks, campaign-finance records show. In March 2005, the individuals gave a total of $17,500 to Mrs. Clinton.

Since then, Mr. Hsu, his New York associates and the Paw family have continued to donate to Democratic candidates. This year, Alice Paw and four of the Paw children have donated the maximum $4,600 to Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign.