In a blow to her presidential aspirations and possibly her re-election run for the Senate, Hillary Clinton's money man from her first Senate run has been indicted on election-fraud charges stemming from one of her fundraisers. Her fundraiser failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in in-kind contributions, allowing Clinton to spend more hard cash in her campaign:

The indictment of David Rosen, unsealed in Los Angeles, focuses on his fund-raising for an Aug. 12, 2000, gala for Clinton in Los Angeles. The New York Democrat was still first lady at the time.

While the event allegedly cost more than $1.2 million, the indictment said, Rosen reported contributions of about $400,000, knowing the figure to be false.

The indictment charged that Rosen provided some documents to the an FEC compliance officer but withheld the true costs of the event and provided false documents to substantiate the lower figure.

The AP's Larry Margasak gives a better explanation than WNBC about why the lower figure matters:

The indictment, rare for a political campaign, was unsealed in Los Angeles charging David Rosen with four counts of filing false reports with the Federal Election Commission. The charges focus on an Aug. 12, 2000, dinner and concert supported by more than $1.1 million in "in-kind contributions" — goods and services provided for free or below cost. The event was estimated to cost more than $1.2 million.

The FBI previously said in court papers that it had evidence the former first lady's campaign deliberately understated its fund-raising costs so it would have more money to spend on her campaign. ...

During former President Clinton's administration, a Justice Department campaign finance task force charged more than two dozen individuals and two corporations with fund-raising abuses from the 1996 election cycle. Many of the charges involved Democratic fund raising.

The news that Clinton used dirty money to push Rick Lazio out of the Senate will definitely interest the GOP nominee in 2006 opposing her re-election. That may wind up being Rudy Giuliani, although he has not acknowledged any interest in the race as yet. The Clinton association with illegal fundraising will not pass unnoticed the next time around, especially with a high-profile indictment pending. Even more, Rosen may wind up cutting a deal if the shenanigans went further up the campaign, making the entire mess even more embarassing for Hillary, and reminding New Yorkers of the ethical morass of the Clinton administration.

If Hillary overcomes this to get re-elected to the Senate, it may lose some force in 2008 for the presidential election. I doubt that the GOP will allow it to be completely forgotten, nor should it be. Any fundraising in Hollywood by Democrats will undergo much more suspicion for the near term.

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Just so we didn't think the ethical and legal lapses of the Clinton Administration were an anomaly, Hillary Clinton's fundraiser for her 2000 Senate campaign has been indicted for violations of campaign fund raising laws. (Hat tip: Captain's Quarte... [Read More]

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