Dem Who Pled Guilty to Illegal Fundraising for D.C. Mayor Also Contributed to Hillary; Nets Ignore

March 11th, 2014 6:06 PM

A prominent Democrat who illegally funneled $660,000 into the mayoral campaign of Vincent Gray in 2010 also contributed to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, according to the Washington Times. All three networks on Monday night and Tuesday morning ignored the story. Prosecutors claimed that Mayor Gray had knowledge of the illegal "shadow" campaign run by Jeffrey Thompson. 

Times writer Dave Boyer explained the connection to other high-profile Democrats: "Despite Hillary Rodham Clinton’s promise that she had scrubbed illegal cash contributions from her 2008 presidential campaign, prosecutors revealed Monday that the mastermind of Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s 'shadow campaign' also funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid Mrs. Clinton’s bid for the White House." 

Boyer informed: 

Jeffrey E. Thompson’s scheme included diverting more than $608,000 in illicit funds to a New York marketing executive, Troy White, who organized “street teams” to raise Mrs. Clinton’s visibility in urban areas during her Democratic primary battle against Barack Obama. Mr. White pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the case.

Prosecutors said that from February to May 2008, Thompson used two firms to disburse $608,750 in “excessive and unreported contributions to pay for campaign services in coordination with and in support of a federal political candidate for president of the United States and the federal and the candidate’s authorized committee.” That candidate was Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Obama, too, received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Thompson and his employees, although those donations apparently were legal.

The revelation of the illegal contributions will likely impact Mayor Gray's reelection campaign. But so far, ABC, CBS and NBC have shown no interest in the bombshell news or the connection to Clinton and Obama.