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WP Finds Past Shady Donors On Hillary’s List

Some surprising near-journalism from the Washington Post:


Past Clouds Candidates’ Donor Lists

Names From ’90s Scandal Among Clinton ‘Bundlers’

By John Solomon and Matthew Mosk
Thursday, September 20, 2007; A01

A list of the donors who have “bundled” large sums from dozens of individuals to give to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign includes several figures who were involved in the 1990s Democratic Party fundraising scandal that tarnished her husband’s record.

Among them is an Oklahoma oilman who testified in the mid-1990s that the firm he worked for, owned by Democratic fundraisers, sought to curry favor with Bill Clinton’s administration by providing payments and a golf club membership to a Cabinet secretary’s son…

Clinton includes on her list of “Hillraisers” — those who have committed to raising more than $100,000 for her White House bid — several financiers linked to past troubles. They include Marvin Rosen, the former Democratic National Committee finance chairman whose efforts to reward six-figure party donors with attendance at White House coffees and overnight stays in the Lincoln Bedroom became the focal point of Senate hearings into fundraising abuses…

William Stuart Price, the Oklahoma oilman also on the “Hillraiser” list, stunned a courtroom in 1995 when he detailed how his former gas company had tried to “gain influence” with the Clinton administration by providing $160,000 in money and membership in a ritzy Washington golf club to the son of a Cabinet secretary…

Price’s testimony became the focal point of a criminal investigation of Ron Brown, then commerce secretary and a former chairman of the Democratic Party. The inquiry ended with the conviction of Price’s former bosses, Nora and Gene Lum, for making illegal donations.

Also on the list is former senator Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.), who withdrew from a 2002 reelection campaign after being “severely admonished” by the Senate for taking lavish gifts from a businessman and contributor, David Chang…

“It seems like deja vu,” said Michael Madigan, a Republican lawyer who helped lead an extensive investigation into the Clinton administration’s 1996 fundraising practices by then-Sen. Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.). “It sounds like a carbon copy of the last Clinton campaign.” …

“The most important thing I learned about this issue is that all campaigns have the same problem, regardless of party or candidate: How do you know who has skeletons and who does not?” said Lanny Davis, who as special counsel to Bill Clinton handled campaign finance issues for him from 1996 to 1998. “Let’s face it: Campaign organizations are not ‘CSI’ — not even close — even if they’d like to be.” …

Well, if the moral ethicist (and Pakistan lobbyist) Lanny Davis says it’s okay, then it must be okay.

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This article was posted by Steve Gilbert on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 10:19 am. You can leave a response.

4 Responses to “WP Finds Past Shady Donors On Hillary’s List”

  1. fight_the_good_fight
    September 20th, 2007 at 1:26 pm

    “Price’s testimony became the focal point of a criminal investigation of Ron Brown, then commerce secretary and a former chairman of the Democratic Party. The inquiry ended with the conviction of Price’s former bosses, Nora and Gene Lum, for making illegal donations.”

    Either this is poorly worded or my memory is failing. I thought the investigation of Ron Brown ended in a plane crash.

  2. Lipstick on a PIAPS
    September 20th, 2007 at 1:28 pm

    What?!? The democrats have a Jack Abramoff problem? Go figure……….

  3. SG
    September 20th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

    From the Wall Street Journal:

    Donors Stir ‘Bundling’ Questions

    Clinton Campaign Vows To Check Contributions Solicited by Supporter

    By BRODY MULLINS and IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN
    September 20, 2007; Page A3

    BRISTOW, Va. — When Hillary Rodham Clinton held an intimate fund-raising event at her Washington home in late March, Pamela Layton donated $4,600, the maximum allowed by law, to Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.

    But the 37-year-old Ms. Layton says she and her husband were reimbursed by her husband’s boss for the donations. “It wasn’t personal money. It was all corporate money,” Mrs. Layton said outside her home here. “I don’t even like Hillary. I’m a Republican.”

    The boss is William Danielczyk, founder of a Washington-area private-equity firm and a major fund-raising “bundler” for Mrs. Clinton. Mrs. Layton’s gift was one of more than a dozen donations that night from people with Republican ties or no history of political giving. Mr. Danielczyk and his family, employees and friends donated a total of $120,000 to Mrs. Clinton in the days around the fund-raiser.

    In an interview, Mr. Danielczyk said he “did not and would not” reimburse employees or others for their political donations. Such reimbursement would be illegal. Mr. Danielczyk said he was a co-host for the event at Mrs. Clinton’s home. “Everybody was asked to contribute,” he said, “some said yes and some said no.” He added, “No arm was twisted.” …

    http://tinyurl.com/3cmzzl

  4. SG
    September 20th, 2007 at 1:39 pm

    From ABC News:

    Another Clinton Donor in Trouble?

    September 19, 2007 3:30 PM

    ABC News’ Rick Klein Reports: As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton copes with the fallout of a major fundraiser who’s facing a range of criminal charges, an ongoing federal trial is shedding light on another Clinton donor with a questionable past.

    Oscar Wyatt, who is on trial for fraud, conspiracy, and other charges related to Saddam Hussein’s abuse of the UN’s oil-for-food program, has given widely to candidates of both political parties. He and his wife gave nearly $5,000 to Clinton for her two Senate campaigns in New York.

    The Website Politico reported Wednesday that, unlike presidential candidates including Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. John McCain, and Gov. Bill Richardson, the Clinton campaign will not commit to returning money donated by Wyatt. Wyatt, 83, made a fortune in the oil business, and now faces up to 74 years in prison for allegedly making illegal payments to the Saddam government to receive oil contracts.

    Information that has emerged in federal courtrooms suggests a close a relationship between Wyatt and former President Bill Clinton. In a separate trial of an oil-for-food defendant last year, “prosecutors presented documents that suggested the Iraqis viewed Wyatt as their conduit to the White House after Bill Clinton became president in 1993,” the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this month.

    Wyatt has been said to have discussed Iraq with Clinton at the White House. And in Wyatt’s trial, prosecutors introduced into evidence a letter sent by President Clinton to Wyatt, asking him to “keep those ideas coming, Oscar,” the Chronicle reported last week.

    The Clinton campaign declined to comment to ABC News on Wednesday…

    http://tinyurl.com/22xtch


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