Reuters Ignores Obama Link to Convicted Democrat Fundraiser

May 19th, 2009 7:48 PM

Today Reuters reported the story "Democrat fundraiser guilty of illegal donations."  Author Christine Kearney begins:

A former U.S. Democratic Party fundraiser whose 2007 arrest prompted Hillary Clinton to return $850,000 in campaign contributions was found guilty on Tuesday of breaking federal campaign laws.

Businessman Norman Hsu, 58, was convicted by a jury in federal court in New York of violating election laws by making donations to political campaigns in other people's names. Hsu also pleaded guilty on May 7 to charges of mail fraud and wire fraud in running a Ponzi scheme of up to $60 million.

Jurors convicted Hsu of violating four counts of federal election law between 2004 and 2007. During the trial, prosecutors said Hsu pressured some of the investors involved in his Ponzi scheme to make thousands of dollars in contributions to political candidates on his behalf.

The story runs nine paragraphs, but only one reference to Barack Obama is made:

Clinton lost her bid for her party's presidential nomination last year to Barack Obama. She now serves as a prominent member of her former rival's Cabinet.

Obama has considerably more of a connection to Hsu than Reuters relates.  In 2007, The Washington Post reported in the story "Hsu Steered Major Fundraiser to Obama:"

Before becoming a major bundler for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, disgraced Democratic donor Norman Hsu helped host a 2005 California event for Barack Obama's political action committee and introduced the senator from Illinois to one of the biggest fundraisers for his presidential bid.

Federal Election Commission records show that Hsu gave $5,000 to Obama's Hopefund PAC in connection with the fundraiser and that people publicly identified with Hsu and his companies gave an additional $19,500 to the PAC in 2005 and 2006.

Mark Gorenberg, who now sits on Obama's national finance committee and is one of his biggest fundraisers, said Hsu organized an early 2005 event for the Hopefund and invited him to help raise money.

"He introduced me to Barack Obama," Gorenberg said of Hsu. "He was working on an event for Barack's PAC, and he asked me to help, and I did. Barack came up to San Francisco, and [Hsu] introduced him to a bunch of people."

Obama's relationship with sleazy hustlers like Norman Hsu doesn't comport with the narrative of Mr. Hope and Change tailored by the mainstream media.  That's possibly why Hsu's conviction, which occurred this morning, still hadn't been reported on CNN as of 4:00 PM (ET) this afternoon.

Identifying Hillary's connection to Hsu is one thing.  But their hero Barry has a re-election to win in only three years, so why taint his radiant reputation?