When Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign last month mailed tiffany jewelry 250 checks to refund contributions to donors associated with jailed fund-raiser Norman Hsu, the campaign said it was open to having them contribute again directly. As of the end of September, only 10 had decided to do so, according to the campaign’s most recent campaign- finance filings.
Judith Kaplan of Stuart, Fla., used the $1,000 check that the campaign sent back to her to buy a bracelet.
Mr. Hsu, one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton, is under investigation for reimbursing associates for political donations after The Wall Street Journal wrote about the suspicious correlation in donations made by both Mr. Hsu and a California family of modest means.
Mrs. Kaplan said she made her contribution so her granddaughter could tiffany bracelets attend a New York fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton organized by Mr. Hsu. Mrs. Kaplan said her granddaughter was eager to attend, because she had just written a school paper on the candidate and wanted to meet her in person.
That didn’t mean Mrs. Kaplan felt obligated to send the contribution back.
“I bought myself something because, I figured, if all this is going to happen, I might as well take care of myself,” she said. “And my son had a hard time with that — he said, ‘You’re going to give it back, aren’t you?’”
Her son, Andrew Kaplan, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, and Katherine Erwin, who lives at the same address in Bronxville, N.Y., were two of the 10 donors to decide to give the money back to the campaign. Mr. Kaplan declined to comment.
Mr. Hsu “bundled” more than $800,000 in donations for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, tiffany cufflinks from 248 individuals. Only $34,200 was again donated to the campaign after it was returned.
“These are not individuals we’re soliciting,” said Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the campaign. “If anyone chooses to give again, we will scrutinize their donations very carefully.”
Mrs. Clinton announced the campaign’s intentions to accept more donations from Mr. Hsu’s contributors on a conference call shortly after the revelations about Mr. Hsu’s past.
“We’re not asking that that be done,” she said. “But I believe that the vast majority of those 200-plus donors are perfectly capable of making up their own minds about what they will or won’t do going forward.”
Hsu Donors Keep Refunds; Few Return Money To Clinton Coffers
When Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign last month mailed tiffany jewelry 250 checks to refund contributions to donors associated with jailed fund-raiser Norman Hsu, the campaign said it was open to having them contribute again directly. As of the end of September, only 10 had decided to do so, according to the campaign’s most recent campaign- finance filings.
Judith Kaplan of Stuart, Fla., used the $1,000 check that the campaign sent back to her to buy a bracelet.
Mr. Hsu, one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton, is under investigation for reimbursing associates for political donations after The Wall Street Journal wrote about the suspicious correlation in donations made by both Mr. Hsu and a California family of modest means.
Mrs. Kaplan said she made her contribution so her granddaughter could tiffany bracelets attend a New York fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton organized by Mr. Hsu. Mrs. Kaplan said her granddaughter was eager to attend, because she had just written a school paper on the candidate and wanted to meet her in person.
That didn’t mean Mrs. Kaplan felt obligated to send the contribution back.
“I bought myself something because, I figured, if all this is going to happen, I might as well take care of myself,” she said. “And my son had a hard time with that — he said, ‘You’re going to give it back, aren’t you?’”
Her son, Andrew Kaplan, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, and Katherine Erwin, who lives at the same address in Bronxville, N.Y., were two of the 10 donors to decide to give the money back to the campaign. Mr. Kaplan declined to comment.
Mr. Hsu “bundled” more than $800,000 in donations for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, tiffany cufflinks from 248 individuals. Only $34,200 was again donated to the campaign after it was returned.
“These are not individuals we’re soliciting,” said Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the campaign. “If anyone chooses to give again, we will scrutinize their donations very carefully.”
Mrs. Clinton announced the campaign’s intentions to accept more donations from Mr. Hsu’s contributors on a conference call shortly after the revelations about Mr. Hsu’s past.
“We’re not asking that that be done,” she said. “But I believe that the vast majority of those 200-plus donors are perfectly capable of making up their own minds about what they will or won’t do going forward.”