Giving the Left a Heads-Up

[Guest MikeSC]

Clinton Case Mystery

 

BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun

April 21, 2005

 

A Democratic fund-raiser involved in Senator Clinton's 2000 campaign has offered a guilty plea to bank fraud charges and is likely to become a government witness at the upcoming federal trial of a top finance aide to Mrs. Clinton, David Rosen, court records obtained by The New York Sun show.

 

As part of an FBI investigation into alleged campaign finance reporting violations by Mrs. Clinton's campaign, the mystery witness secretly taped a conversation with Mr. Rosen in September 2002 and apparently tried to elicit statements from the former Clinton staffer about financial irregularities involving an August 2000 Hollywood fund-raising event.

 

Allegedly inaccurate reports about that event filed with the Federal Election Commission led to Mr. Rosen's indictment on four counts of causing false statements to be made to federal authorities. One count was dropped by a judge last month, but Mr. Rosen is scheduled to go to trial on the remaining charges at Los Angeles on May 3.

 

In the documents reviewed by the Sun, the name of the FBI informant is not disclosed. However, the records offer intriguing clues that suggest the mystery witness operated at the highest echelon of Democratic politics.

 

"The CW [confidential witness] is related to an extremely prominent and well-known political figure. It can be expected that the fact that CW was working in an undercover capacity for the FBI will become the subject of intense media attention," prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg wrote in a November 2004 memo asking a federal magistrate to keep the relationship under wraps.

 

An affidavit filed by a Los Angeles-based FBI agent, David Smith, said the informant began working with the FBI in July 2002."The CW states that s/he is active in fundraising for the Democratic Party. CW assisted in the U.S. Senate campaign of Hillary Clinton. S/he was involved in the planning of the Clinton Gala," Mr. Smith wrote in January 2003. "The CW is the target of an FBI investigation on unrelated bank fraud charges. S/he has since signed a plea agreement, and has agreed to cooperate in this case."

 

Mr. Zeidenberg declined to comment for this story. Mr. Smith referred questions to an FBI spokeswoman.

 

A source familiar with the case said the reference to the informant being "related to" a famous politico means there is a familial tie. The source, who asked not to be identified, said the informant is not related to President or Mrs. Clinton.

 

While the informant's work for the FBI on Mr. Rosen's case dates back to 2002, the agency continued to work closely with the witness through the end of 2004, court documents indicate. The November 2004 filing indicates the FBI was planning to use the informant in an investigation of "a prominent political figure who may be involved in illegally soliciting foreign nationals to contribute to national political campaigns." The target of the inquiry was suspected of "funneling illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals to individuals running for federal office."

 

There is no indication in the documents whether the "prominent political figure" who may have been soliciting illegal gifts from foreigners is the same person to whom the informant is related.

 

The same unidentified informant was also being asked to record phone calls with targets of an investigation into alleged political corruption in Louisiana, the court filing late last year said. That scheme involved a state senator and a "fraudulent contract worth five million dollars," prosecutors asserted.

 

At one point in the court papers, the informant is referred to as "he." The remainder of the references use a gender-neutral pronoun, "s/he."

 

Sources familiar with the case said Mr. Rosen's attorney, Paul Sandler of Baltimore, has known the identity of the mystery witness for weeks. In fact, as part of constitutionally mandated pre-trial discovery, Mr. Sandler was given a copy of the FBI's tape of the surreptitiously recorded conversation, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

 

Reached at his Chicago office, Mr. Rosen referred questions to Mr. Sandler. Mr. Sandler did not respond to several messages yesterday seeking comment for this story. Mrs. Clinton's attorney, David Kendall, could not be reached for comment. In the past, he has denied any wrongdoing by the campaign.

 

Two men who were involved in staging the costly and star-studded August 2000 fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton, Peter Paul and Aaron Tonken, said yesterday they were baffled by the FBI's description of a person who was "involved in planning of the Clinton Gala" and related to a top political figure.

 

"I have no clue," said Tonken, who is serving a 63-month sentence on fraud charges stemming from celebrity charity fund-raisers he organized.

 

Paul, a thrice-convicted felon, has sued Mr. and Mrs. Clinton, alleging the former president and first lady took more than $2 million in illegal donations, misreported them, and failed to follow through on a deal that involved Mr. Clinton coming to work for Paul's now-defunct Internet company, Stan Lee Media.

 

Many of the statements the confidential witness solicited from Mr. Rosen and which are contained in the court papers do not appear particularly incriminating.

 

"It was exciting stuff that we did. That gala was exciting," Mr. Rosen is quoted as saying. "Lawsuit or no lawsuit, man ... that was the most amazing thing that we put together in three weeks."

 

According to the excerpts of the conversation, Mr. Rosen said, "I asked [Paul] how much he spent. He told me. We reported it. It's his, you know, people lie to me all the time. What am I suppose [sic] to do?"

 

The theory of the government's case is that by underreporting the costs of the event, the campaign maximized the amount of "hard money" raised and minimized the amount of "soft money." Under the laws then in effect, campaign officials generally preferred hard money, because it could be spent with fewer limitations.

 

Mr. Rosen indicated to the informant that the high event costs caused problems for the campaign. "You rarely wanna do fifty cents to raise a dollar," he is quoted as saying. "You have to pay the percentage out of the income. So we would have to move hard to soft. Not the other way around."

 

Mrs. Clinton's campaign has claimed that the August 2000 event cost about $600,000, up from lower figures in earlier reports. In the September 2002 recorded conversation, Mr. Rosen allegedly said, "We probably spent a million, which is 400,000 more."

 

The government filing also stated that Mr. Rosen said he could not be convicted because he was only a "staffer."

 

The court records do not indicate whether the informant who taped Mr. Rosen was ever asked to tape Mrs. Clinton. However, Tonken, who also claims to have worked as an FBI informant in the case, told the Sun he was asked by the FBI to tape phone conversations with Mrs. Clinton. The agent who made the request, Tonken said, was Mr. Smith, the same one who described the agency's relationship with the mystery witness.

http://www.nysun.com/article/12574

The one thing Hillary doesn't need is a campaign finance scandal.

 

Her husband had a storied history of that.

-=Mike

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

I'd hope YOU'RE not making a big deal of it.

[Guest MikeSC]

I'd hope YOU'RE not making a big deal of it.

Nope, I'm not.

 

But if the non-issue of Bolton being "mean" or any of the assorted "problems" of Delay can be made into "big" issues --- rest assured, this might well be.

-=Mike

[SuperJerk 0]

Maybe I read that too fast, but I didn't see the part where Hillary did anything wrong.

[Guest MikeSC]

Maybe I read that too fast, but I didn't see the part where Hillary did anything wrong.

It was HER campaign fundraising that is raising some questions. Which makes it, largely, her responsibility.

 

And, if the right decides to go that way, they can smear Hillary beyond recognition with this type of thing.

-=Mike

[SuperJerk 0]

Maybe I read that too fast, but I didn't see the part where Hillary did anything wrong.

It was HER campaign fundraising that is raising some questions. Which makes it, largely, her responsibility.

 

And, if the right decides to go that way, they can smear Hillary beyond recognition with this type of thing.

-=Mike

Hillary must micromanage every aspect of her campaign?

 

 

I'll remember that the next time someone brings up stuff the Bush campaign did in the last 2 elections.

[Guest MikeSC]

Maybe I read that too fast, but I didn't see the part where Hillary did anything wrong.

It was HER campaign fundraising that is raising some questions. Which makes it, largely, her responsibility.

 

And, if the right decides to go that way, they can smear Hillary beyond recognition with this type of thing.

-=Mike

Hillary must micromanage every aspect of her campaign?

YES.

 

Remember the shit Bush caught about the completely unaffiliated SBVT? Even though O'Neill said he wouldn't care if Bush told him to stop the ads.

I'll remember that the next time someone brings up stuff the Bush campaign did in the last 2 elections.

Feel free. Just make sure Bush's campaign ACTUALLY did it.

-=Mike

[The Czech Republic 0]

The best remedy for this would be Hillary not running for President.

[Guest MikeSC]

The best remedy for this would be Hillary not running for President.

I think she'd be insane to run (she would go down in flames), but she will do it.

-=Mike

[The Czech Republic 0]

I'll tolerate a primary run if she verbally shits out some more gems like "This isn't Ground Zero, this is Ground Hero," "Gandhi ran a gas station," or "that Jew bastard."

[SuperJerk 0]

The best remedy for this would be Hillary not running for President.

Finally something we can all agree on.

[Guest MikeSC]

I'll tolerate a primary run if she verbally shits out some more gems like "This isn't Ground Zero, this is Ground Hero," "Gandhi ran a gas station," or "that Jew bastard."

Yet her Republican opponent would be called a "racist" and "insensitive to minorities".

-=Mike

[The Czech Republic 0]

By the way, the Ground Zero thing isn't a racial slur, it's just so poorly worded that it bears repeating. All I could think of was the scene from the film version of The Wall when the children march into a meat grinder.

[Guest MikeSC]

By the way, the Ground Zero thing isn't a racial slur, it's just so poorly worded that it bears repeating.

Wasn't referring to Ground Zero. WAS referring to his Jew bashing and mistaking a gas station attendant for Gandhi.

-=Mike

...That might be one of the most patently offensive things said by ANY politician in years...

[The Czech Republic 0]

By the way, the Ground Zero thing isn't a racial slur, it's just so poorly worded that it bears repeating.

Wasn't referring to Ground Zero. WAS referring to his Jew bashing and mistaking a gas station attendant for Gandhi.

-=Mike

...That might be one of the most patently offensive things said by ANY politician in years...

I know. I just wanted to tack that on there so I could make a reference to that trippy Wall movie

[SuperJerk 0]

I'm wondering on where these alledged quotes came from.

 

Not that I'm in the mood to defend my least favorite Clinton.

[The Czech Republic 0]

"Ground Zero Ground Hero" I saw on her episode of Headliners & Legends on MSNBC about a couple years ago.

 

"Gandhi ran a gas station" was from a while ago but I don't remember where. It was a big deal; you'll find it on Google in seconds.

 

"Jew bastard" was what she had reportedly called some people back in 2000, I believe.

[Guest MikeSC]

I'm wondering on where these alledged quotes came from.

 

Not that I'm in the mood to defend my least favorite Clinton.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton apologized for joking that Mahatma Gandhi used to run a gas station in St. Louis, saying it was "a lame attempt at humor."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselect...nton-joke_x.htm

 

As for the Jew bastard comment, she directed it at Dick Morris.

-=Mike

[The Czech Republic 0]

Her justification is fitting, since she's a lame attempt at a politician.

[SuperJerk 0]

^That made me laugh.^

 

Dick Morris is Jewish?

 

 

Seriously, though...Trent Lott lost his position in the Seante for thinking his friend would've made a good president, but Hillary gets away with THIS? Sheesh.

[Guest MikeSC]

Dick Morris is Jewish?

I don't claim to honestly know. But he said she directed at him.

 

And he isn't the only person to make similar claims.

-=Mike

[SuperJerk 0]

Speaking of Hillary double standards....

 

...I'm still try to wrap my head around how her book deal was different than Newt's.

[Guest MikeSC]

Speaking of Hillary double standards....

 

...I'm still try to wrap my head around how her book deal was different than Newt's.

Well, the press thought it wasn't nearly as big a deal, for starters. CBS, which criticized Newt heavily, didn't have a problem with Hillary's deal (and, hell, just for the sake of irony it should be noted that Hillary's deal was with a company owned by CBS' parent company)

-=Mike

[SuperJerk 0]

Speaking of Hillary double standards....

 

...I'm still try to wrap my head around how her book deal was different than Newt's.

Well, the press thought it wasn't nearly as big a deal, for starters. CBS, which criticized Newt heavily, didn't have a problem with Hillary's deal (and, hell, just for the sake of irony it should be noted that Hillary's deal was with a company owned by CBS' parent company)

-=Mike

If you want to make a case that there's a liberal bias at CBS, you won't get any argument from me.