A followup to Hillary’s Little Green House is entitled, “Democrats Race To Return Cash From Big Donor” appearing in The Wall Street Journal. [Subscription]

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats scrambled to unload thousands of dollars of contributions from one of the party’s leading fund-raisers, amid questions about his fund-raising techniques and news that a warrant for his arrest has been languishing in California since the early 1990s.

The Clinton’s have a knack for finding folks of Asian decent with lurid criminal backgrounds, attending their fundraisors, accepting their money and then going into denial that they never knew the background of the generous felon. We suppose Bill Clinton didn’t know Marc Rich was a fugitive on the run when he pardoned him.

[Norman Hsu] went beyond his $23,000 in personal contributions to Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Hsu had raised well over $1 million for the New York senator’s presidential campaign, making him one of her top 20 “bundlers.” His reach extended well beyond the presidential race, as he has also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for House and Senate Democrats and governors across the country.

Is this the “Culture of Corruption” Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton frequently discuss? Is this the ”Culture of Corruption” Charles Schumer smirks about on the Senate steps and Sunday talk shows?

Earlier this week, Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson responded to questions about Mr. Hsu by saying,

“There has been no question about his [Norman Hsu] integrity or his commitment to playing by the rules, and we have absolutely no reason to call his contributions into question.”

I bet Mr. Wolfson is wearing Hillary teeth marks in his arse from that unsubstantiated statement. The Los Angeles Times reported that Mr. Hsu had legal troubles in his past, and that he faces arrest in California after failing to appear for sentencing more than a decade ago on charges stemming from a business deal.

We find it odd that Mr. Hsu could travel to California for well-publicized fundraisers and never face arrest. What about Mr. Hsu’s lawyers, are they too in denial? Until yesterday, Mr. Hsu had a California fundraiser scheduled for the Clinton campaign late next month.

Mr. Smetana, currently a deputy attorney general in California, said that without the help of the Internet, it was difficult to track him down.

“You could look through phone books, but which phone books?”

How did Brody Mullins at The Wall Street Journal connect the dots? Try public records Mr. Smetana!

Speaking of denial, here is Mr. Hsu’s latest statement on the subject of charges:

I believe I properly resolved all of the legal issues related to my bankruptcy in the early 1990s.  Therefore, I was surprised to learn that there appears to be an outstanding warrant — as demonstrated by the fact that I have and do live a public life.  I have not sought to evade any of my obligations and certainly not the law.

After pleading no contest to state theft charges, Mr. Hsu faced a penalty of three years in prison, and was responsible for paying restitution of the entire amount to investors, Mr. Smetana said in an interview.

“He was supposed to be sentenced, but he didn’t appear,” Mr. Smetana recalled. “He faxed a letter, saying he had an emergency. And he never came back.”

Life Imitates Seinfeld

Mr. Hsu’s legal troubles come from allegations that he raised money from a group of investors, but failed to deliver on his promises. The business plan, essentially, was to buy latex gloves cheaply in Asia and sell them for a profit. More than a dozen people lost more than $1 million, according to Ronald Smetana, who handled the case for the California attorney general’s office in the early 1990s.

This wasn’t Vandalay Industries, makers of latex gloves who George Costanza had an alleged interview with for a salesman’s position, was it? Comedy and satire, beyond Al Franken, meet the Democrats “Culture of Corruption.” 

Return to Sender

• California Rep. Doris Matsui, said that she would return the $7,500 she received from Mr. Hsu.
• Democratic presidential candidate, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, said he’d donate to charity the $37,000 he received from Mr. Hsu.
• Hillary Clinton will donate the $23,000 Hsu personal contribution to charity, but nothing was said about over $1 million Mr. Hsu has raised for the New York senator’s presidential campaign.
• Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell said that he plans to keep the $40,000 he has received from Mr. Hsu’s fund-raising network.

Other Willing Participants

Others who said they would return donations from Mr. Hsu include Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak, New York Rep. Kristen Gillibrand, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and comedian Al Franken, who is running for a Senate seat in Minnesota.

“We regularly review contributions as we receive them,” Mr. Wolfson said yesterday. “We will continue our practice of scrutinizing contributions and, should we have a basis to return a contribution, we will do so.”

Seems the Democrats haven’t been scrutinizing very much, The Wall Street Journal had to help them out. “Culture of Corruption”, Indeed!