The San Francisco Chronicle, believe it or not, labels the current Norman Hsu-Clinton campaign funding scandal a bad sequel to the scandals that rocked the last years of Bill Clinton's presidency.
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told the media the campaign returned the donations out of "an abundance of caution."
That caution was late in coming. Bill Clinton's presidency was marred by re-election campaign finance excesses that led more than 20 donors to plead guilty, be convicted or flee the country. Big donor Johnny Chung, who pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Democrats, explained, "I see the White House as like a subway – you have to put in coins to open the gates."
Clinton should have directed her team to make sure not to repeat the mistakes of 1996. But the Hsu episode has all the markings of a bad sequel.
What is going to be interesting to watch is whether Hsu, anxious to make a deal on the Federal charges he faces, turns on (or turns in) others – including Clinton or people closely connected to Clinton. Hsu is under threat of serious Federal time – which does not allow for parole. He is facing six counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud plus three counts of breaking federal election law, which means a lot of time in prison if found guilty on all counts. Makes you wonder who is sweating right now, doesn't it?
