Norman Hsu

Norman Hsu is a "wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry", former president of the Chinese-American Association, and a "major Democratic Party fundraiser".

Hsu has been described as a "Democratic megadonor and clothing company mogul" and an "apparel magnate with a fat Rolodex".

Fugitive in plain sight
Hsu is a fugitive, "wanted by authorities for skipping out on an agreement to serve up to three years in prison after pleading no contest to grand theft swindling charges," the Los Angeles Times reported August 29, 2007.

"For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish," the Times Chuck Neubauer and Robins Fields wrote.

"On Tuesday, [August 28, 2007,] E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. -- a Washington lawyer who represents the Democratic fundraiser -- confirmed that Hsu was the same man who was involved in the California case. Barcella said his client did not remember pleading to a criminal charge and facing the prospect of jail time. Hsu remembers the episode as part of a settlement with creditors when he also went through bankruptcy," Neubauer and Fields wrote.

Fundraiser
"Since 2004, one Norman Hsu has been carving out a prominent place of honor among Democratic fundraisers. He has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into party coffers, much of it earmarked for presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York," Neubauer and Fields wrote.

"In addition to making his own contributions, Hsu has honed the practice of assembling packets of checks from contributors who bear little resemblance to the usual Democratic deep pockets: A self-described apparel executive with a variety of business interests, Hsu has focused on delivering hefty contributions from citizens who live modest lives and are neophytes in the world of campaign giving," Neubauer and Fields wrote.

"As a Democratic rainmaker, Hsu -- who graduated from UC Berkeley and the Wharton School of Business -- is credited with donating nearly $500,000 to national and local party candidates and their political committees in the last three years. He earned a place in the Clinton campaign's 'HillRaiser' group by pledging to raise more than $100,000 for her presidential bid. ... Records show that Hsu helped raise an additional $500,000 from other sources for Clinton and other Democrats," Neubauer and Fields wrote.

"Records show that Hsu has emerged as one of the Democrats' most successful 'bundlers,' rounding up groups of contributors and packaging their checks together before delivering the funds to campaign officials. Individuals can give a total of $4,600 to a single candidate during an election cycle, $2,300 for the primaries and $2,300 for the general election."

According to campaign-finance records, Hsu "made his first campaign contribution, in the amount of $2,000, to the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry on July 21, 2004. Mr. Hsu has since donated $225,000 to Democratic candidates."

Campaign contributions
Since 2004, other than Hillary Clinton, Norman Hsu has contributed to or raised funds for the following:


 * Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.)
 * Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
 * Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
 * Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
 * Sen. Robert Casey (D-Penn.)
 * Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
 * Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-Tenn.)
 * Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
 * Sen. Thomas Harkin (D-Iowa)
 * Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) Donated $1,000 to charity.
 * Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)
 * Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.)
 * Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.)
 * Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
 * Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
 * Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) Donated $7,500 to charity.
 * Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)
 * Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) ; HOPEFUND
 * Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
 * Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
 * Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
 * Rep. Joseph Sestak (D-Penn.) Donated $1,000 to chairty.
 * Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
 * Sen. Mark E. Udall (D-Co.)
 * Former presidential candidate Tom Vilsack
 * Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.)
 * Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Penn.)
 * Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.)
 * Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D-N.Y.)
 * Gov. Chet Culver (D-IA)
 * Andrew Cuomo for Attorney General (D-N.Y.)
 * Thomas Allen (D-Me.) for Senate
 * Al Franken (D-Minn.) for Senate Donated $2,600 to charity.
 * David Wayne Loebsack (D-Iowa) for Congress
 * Committee for a Democratic Majority
 * Democratic Campaign Committee of Philadelphia
 * Democratic Executive Committee of Florida
 * Democratic National Committee Services
 * Democratic Party of Wisconsin
 * Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
 * New York State Committee of the Working Families Party
 * New York State Democratic Committee
 * New York State Democratic Party
 * Tennessee Democratic Party
 * EMILY's List
 * Preschool for All
 * Pro-Issue 2 (an initiative in Ohio in 2006 to raise the minimum wage).
 * Searchlight Leadership Fund (operated by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.))

Story pushed by Obama campaign
In September 2007, when newly exposed fugitive Norman Hsu went on the run, he mailed a letter in which he "contended that those articles [about his campaign bundling activities for Sen. Hillary Clinton] were planted 'by a politician who pledged 'hope and change', Dan Morain wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "an apparent reference to Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton's main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination." At the time, Obama's campaign denied the allegation.

On November 8, 2007, Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times reported on a story by Marc Ambinder in The Atlantic in which Ambinder revealed that the Obama campaign had been behind the outing of Hsu:


 * Barack Obama’s presidential campaign "scored a significant hit" against chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton "by helping to place" a story about tainted Democratic donor Norman Hsu ...


 * The story, titled Teacher and Apprentice by associate editor Marc Ambinder, describes how Obama campaign staffers were "frustrated" because the press was not covering Clinton "in the way they expected it would."


 * "…And at a campaign event in Iowa, one of Obama’s aides plopped down next to me and spoke even more bluntly. He wanted to know when reporters would begin to look into Bill Clinton’s postpresidential sex life," Ambinder writes. ...


 * Asked for comment on whether the campaign had a hand in "helping to place" the Hsu story, Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said 'We had no knowledge of Norman Hsu’s past criminal activity, fugitive status or potential straw donor scheme until reading it in the newspaper.' ...


 * Ambinder, told of the Obama campaign comment said, "I stand by my reporting and the article speaks for itself."

Philanthropy

 * Norman Hsu Scholarship, which is "awarded to students with a strong academic record", at the Eugene Lang College at the New School. Hsu is on the board of directors.
 * Benefit co-chair of "Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark" by Ariel Dorfman "staged at New York's Chelsea Piers on Friday, October 6, 2006."
 * Committee co-chair for "Taking Back the United States Senate in 2006" held December 14, 2005, at the home of Rhea Perlman & Danny DeVito, Beverly Hills.
 * Platinum contributor ($25,000-$50,000) to The M:Gray (Macy Gray) Music Academy.
 * Supporter under "Contributors ($10,000 to $14,999)" for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
 * Major sponsor of The Wharton Club of New York's The Joseph Wharton Awards Dinner, September 28, 2006.
 * Supporter of "Making of a Governor" held January 8-21, 2007, at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal, New York City, sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Miscellaneous
"News stories in the mid-1980s said [Hsu] criticized trade policies that made it harder to import goods from China.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * U.S. presidential election, 2008

External articles

 * Brad Christerson, "World Trade in Apparel: An Analysis of Trade Flows Using the Gravity Model," SAGE Publications/International Regional Science Review, Vol. 17, No. 2, 151-166 (1994). Article includes "Interview with Norman Hsu, Managing Director of Newton Enterprises, Ltd. Hong Kong. July 16, 1993."
 * "Another Week, Another Clinton Visit," Wilshire & Washington, February 28, 2007.
 * "Industry Prepares for Back-to-Back Blowouts," Wilshire & Washington, March 14, 2007.
 * "WSJ omitted key information in article about Clinton donations from 'unlikely address'," Media Matters for America, August 28, 2007.
 * Dave Johnson and James Boyce, "Chinese-Americans Give Money To Clinton: The Horror. The Horror," The Huffington Post, August 28, 2007.
 * Allahpundit, "Poor SF family coincidentally donates $45K to Hillary on same days as rich businessman; Update: More coincidences?" Hot Air Blog, August 28, 2007.
 * Jim Kuhnhenn, "Clinton to Give Away Fundraiser's Cash," Associated Press (BreitBart.com), August 29, 2007.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Hsu's Lawyer Responds to WSJ's Smear Attempt on Hillary and Her Contributors," Talk Left Blog, August 28, 2007.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Norman Hsu Continues to Make News," Talk Left Blog, August 29, 2007.
 * Chuck Neubauer and Dan Morain, "Fugitive donor bows out of fundraising. Norman Hsu says he'll stop until his arrest warrant is resolved. Democratic recipients of his donations distance themselves," Los Angeles Times, August 30, 2007.
 * Brody Mullins and Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, "Democrats Race To Return Cash From Big Donor," The Wall Street Journal Online (Free Republic), August 30, 2007.
 * Mike McIntire and Leslie Eaton, "Clinton Donor Under a Cloud in Fraud Case," New York Times, August 30, 2007.
 * Ben Smith, "RNC pushing the China angle," The Politico, August 30, 2007; full ''Hannity & Colmes Fox News transcript: "Is a Possible New Fundraising Scandal Looming for the Clintons?"
 * Mike McIntire and Leslie Wayne, "Democrats Turn From Big Donor Who’s Fugitive," New York Times, August 31, 2007.
 * Greg Miller and Chuck Neubauer, "Wealth, mystery surround donor Hsu. Fugitive Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu is linked to shadowy businesses and unsavory episodes," Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2007.
 * Paul Kiel, "The Strange Case of Norman Hsu," TPMmuckraker, September 13, 2007.
 * Paul Kiel, TPMmuckraker, September 20, 2007:
 * "WSJ: New Charges Imminent against Hsu"
 * "Complaint: Hsu Bilked Investors, Made Illegal Contributions"


 * Mike Allen, "Obama Courted Hsu," The Politico, October 8, 2007. re Barack Obama

External resources

 * Los Angeles City Ethics Commission: Norman Hsu of New York contributed $6,000.00 to the campaign of Mayor Bob Hertzberg for the 2004 election.
 * Confirmed Speakers for Dem-MBA Political Leadership Workshop, Dem-MBA.org, March 28, 2006.