Hillary Clinton Praises Disgraced Donor on Voicemail
Disgraced Dem fundraiser Norman Hsu on trial for campaign finance violations.
May 13, 2009— -- Hillary Clinton's voicemail message to disgraced top Democratic Party fundraiser Norman Hsu was played for jurors yesterday as he stands trial for alleged campaign finance violations. The message has the now-Secretary of State praising and flattering Hsu, saying, "I've never seen anybody who has been more loyal and more effective and really just having greater success supporting someone than you."
Click here to listen to the full message.
Hsu is charged with making illegal campaign contributions by breaking rules limiting the amount any single individual or group can donate. The government asserts that Hsu pressured his investors to contribute to his favorite political candidates, including then Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, with the understanding that Hsu would reimburse them.
Hsu's lawyer, Alan Seidler, said the campaign contributions were made willingly by investors eager to impress Hsu "because they were greedy and frankly dumb."
"These people were blinded by greed," Seidler told the jury, according to the Associated Press.
Hus pled guilty last Thursday to charges of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of at least $20 million, but he still faces charges of violating campaign finance laws. His criminal trial on those charges began yesterday in Manhattan.
The government asserted that Hsu intertwined his scheme with his political activity and pressured his investors to contribute to his favorite political candidates, including then Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Hsu was slated to stand trial this week on the Ponzi scheme charges in Manhattan's federal court, but according to long time court observers, Hsu was worried that fallout from the Bernard Madoff case could have resulted in a tough climate for the trial of an accused Ponzi-schemer, and the potential for a very stiff sentence.
Hsu, 58, has been in jail since his arrest in 2007. He told a federal judge that he is pleading guilty to ten counts of mail and wire fraud.
