Reverse re-gifting

The Clinton campaign tried to cut their exposure to scandal with the Hsu donations by giving back the money, a whopping amount close to $900,000. But it turns out that they're leaving themselves open to getting back some of the money that they had to return.

The campaign is refunding $850,000 to these donors, viewing the money as tainted. Yet the campaign is also risking another public relations mess by saying that it would take back the money if it clearly came from the donor’s bank account, not from Mr. Hsu or another source. The risk is that Mrs. Clinton will appear to want more cash no matter whether it was once colored by a disgraced donor.

The suspicion is that Hsu gave money to straw donors who then put it in their bank accounts so they could draw on it to then give donations to a list of Democratic politicians. So, of course, the money would have come from their own bank accounts. It is the source of the money before it reached that account that is the question. But the Clinton campaign is so hungry for the cash that they're willing to have the money re-gifted back to them. As Michelle Malkin says "un-freaking-believable." And the Clinton campaign is delaying releasing the names of those donors.

Advisers say Mrs. Clinton is not so much furious about the scandal, as she is worried about containing the political damage.

To that end, Clinton campaign aides refused yesterday to release the names of the 260 donors whom Mr. Hsu recruited to the campaign, preferring to wait until they finish their own research on the individuals. Mrs. Clinton and her advisers are concerned that rival campaigns or the news media will dig into the background of each donor, and they want to be prepared if some of the donors end up having money funneled to them from Mr. Hsu or have shady backgrounds.

Malkin also posts a message from a law official who wonders why the Clintons weren't put on notice that they were having meetings and photo ops with a wanted fugitive since both of them have Secret Service protection.

Hsu as a key Dem fundraiser had access to VIP among the Dem party like the Clintons. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clinton are protected by the Secret Service. SOP for law enforcement protection details is to check the criminal background of those who might come in contact with the protectees.

As you probably are already aware, it is well known that usually the Secret Service asks for, at a minimum, full legal name, DOB and SSN of those who get anywhere near/attend events with, SS protectees, so they can run a record check. (FYI the Secret Service record check is, ‘unofficially’, considered one of the most extensive that can be done by US law enforcement.)

It's an interesting question as to whether the Secret Service did due diligience in their background checks on who gets near the former president and the senator. If not, perhaps they're not doing their job as thoroughly as we thought. And if they did have do that research, did they pass the news on to the Clinton campaign?

This story has been juxtaposed with Hillary Clinton's statement to General Petraeus that believing his report required a "willing suspension of disbelief." As Rudy Giuliani said yesterday,

"I think," Giuliani said on an Atlanta radio show, "that between [the general] and Hillary Clinton, I'd kind of take his advice on what's going on in Iraq, don't you think? And I really do think to accuse a general of the 'willing suspension of disbelief,' particularly in the atmosphere that MoveOn.org has created with these terrible attacks, I don't know, I mean I think that's not the way in a responsible way to go about, you know, forging the foreign policy of the United States and the military policy."

Giuliani called the ad "disgusting" and added, "I think the failure of the Democratic candidates to really condemn that, given how much money Moveon.org spends on behalf of Democratic candidates, which is millions if not hundreds of millions, is really, I really think it’s very, very unfortunate,"

"What we need right now," Giuliani added, "is a reasoned account. We need statesmanship, not political venom."

And John McCain had his own pointed comments aimed at Hillary,

“It’s a willing suspension of disbelief that Senator Clinton thinks she knows more than General Petraeus,” Mr. McCain told the crowd, to applause.

And Glenn Reynolds, typically, has the best one-liner about Clinton's willingness to give Hsu the benefit of the doubt, but not Petraeus.

I guess Petraeus neglected to donate.

Ouch.