Norman Hsu

Norman Hsu, a top fundraiser for the Democrats, turned himself in to authorities on a 16-year-old grand theft charge on Friday. Hsu has contributed to the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, comedian Al Franken, and several state senators and representatives. CNN.com reports that nearly all recepients of Hsu's donations are "purging" their campaigns of Hsu-money; most are donating it to charity.

Right-wing bloggers have focused the majority of their Hsu-related attacks on Hillary Clinton, who seems to have received a particularly large sum of Hsu-money. The NY Times reports that her campaign has announced it will give at least $23,000 of the money to charity. Hillary's husband, former president Bill Clinton, had his own fund-raising scandals during the 1996 re-election. Oddly enough, those scandals were also centered around Asian moneymen.

Presidential candidates were not the only recepients of Hsu-money. The Associated Press reports that Gov. Jon S. Corzine and U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey plan to return and donate the money given to them by Hsu. The New Jersey Democratic Party, which received $49,000 from Hsu since 2005, will do the same.

Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania is keeping nearly $40,000 he received from Hsu in 2005 and 2006. Gov. Rendell is the only Democrat the AP has reported to have kept Hsu's money. Rendell, like all Democrats who received Hsu funds, claims he did not know Hsu was a fugitive for the past 16 years.

If these politicians truly did not know that Hsu was a wanted man, I see nothing wrong with keeping his donations. It is nice that the money is being donated to charity, but presidential candidates and other Democratic politicians shouldn't have to worry about neutralizing a situation whose only reprecussions would be harsh words from a right-wing blogger. The money could be put toward other, equally important ends -- like funding the campaign of a Democratic candidate.

More on Norman Hsu:
Talk Left, a liberal online crime-related magazine, finds Hsu's donations "all legit and above board."
Clinton returns money linked to Hsu, but not given by him directly.