Clinton to give to charity money donated by Hsu

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton will give to charity the $23,000 she 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 Massachusetts, also planned to give Hsu's contributions to charity. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California; Al Franken, a Senate candidate in Minnesota, Reps. Michael Honda and Doris Matsui, of California, and Rep. Joe Sestak, of Pennsylvania, said they also would divest their campaigns of Hsu's donations.

Hsu is a fundraiser for Clinton and is described as a devoted fan of New York senator. He had planned to co-host a fundraiser for Clinton on Sept. 30.

On Wednesday, Hsu said he would halt his work raising political money "until this matter is resolved."

Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said the $23,000 included contributions from Hsu to Clinton's presidential campaign, her Senate re-election and her political-action committee. The campaign did not plan to return money Hsu raised from other donors, Singer said.

Reports in The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times 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 (FEC) 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.

FEC records show Hsu has donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004. He also donated to Sen. Barack Obama's Illinois Senate campaign in 2004 and to Obama's political-action committee.

In 1991, Hsu pleaded no contest to a single felony count of grand theft but failed to appear in court for sentencing, said Ronald Smetana, a California deputy attorney general who prosecuted the case.

Smetana said there is an outstanding warrant for Hsu's arrest. A clerk at the San Mateo County courthouse where Hsu was prosecuted said the warrant was issued in 1992 and orders were for $2 million bail if Hsu were arrested.

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.

Smetana said he had assumed Hsu, a Hong Kong native, had fled the country.

On Tuesday, Hsu's Washington attorney, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., disputed any suggestion that Hsu had any hand in improperly directing contributions from other donors.

The Journal reported that six members of the family of William Paw, a San Francisco mail carrier, donated a total of $45,000 to Clinton since 2005. The Journal reported that the donations closely track Hsu's contributions.

In all, the six Paws donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, The Journal reported.

While The Journal article created a stir in Democratic circles, the final straw for some candidates seemed to be Hsu's legal troubles in California, reported by the Los Angeles Times.