PrintSeptember 12, 2007
Hsu's $40 Million Windfall
The Wall Street Journal (Subscription required) has partially solved the mystery of where the mysterious Norman Hsu's funds for donating to Democratic candidates came from:
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.It seems that Mr. Rosenman recently sent a letter to investors with his Source Financing group, telling them not to expect any payback on their $40 million given to one of Mr. Hsu's false front companies, Components Ltd - a business that apparently makes nothing, sells nothing, and buys nothing, only moving money from its ledgers into the coffers of Democratic candidates.
Forty million dollars is an extraordinary sum to be investing with someone who a cursory glance at the public record would show shady dealings in his past. What it proves is that we have underestimated Mr. Hsu's abilities. This is not some run of the mill grifter. Norman Hsu is a first class, top of the line, first team all-American (immigrant division) crook.
The revelations open up one more avenue for the investigation by the Justice Department to pursue. Even as Mrs. Clinton returns a record $850,000, the questions that will dog her campaign could actually hurt her chances for the nomination -- even if she herself escapes scrutiny.
This may be the biggest campaign finance scandal in history -- surpassing the Nixon lawbreaking that occurred during the 1972 campaign. And as more information is revealed, the effect on the Democratic Party nationally could be significant.
