Speaking Truth to Power

Paul v. Clinton: the mother of all fundraising scandals.

Today marks an interesting development in coverage of the alleged shady dealings of Hillary Clinton, as the WSJ writes about the on-going scandal dating back to Hillary’s 2000 campaign for the Senate. Kudos to John Emshwiller for showing a lot of courage to SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.

By JOHN R. EMSHWILLER

September 14, 2007; Page A7

As Sen. Hillary Clinton grapples with the burgeoning scandal surrounding disgraced fund-raiser Norman Hsu, she can’t quite shake a fund-raising controversy from her 2000 Senate campaign.

Mrs. Clinton’s entanglement with a thrice-convicted felon named Peter Paul is proof of how long campaign-finance problems can haunt a public official. Mr. Paul became a problem for Mrs. Clinton when his criminal past became public shortly after he helped organize and finance a gala Hollywood fund-raiser for her in August 2000.

• The Issue: A fund-raising scandal from 2000 continues to dog Hillary Clinton.

• Sound Familiar? The entanglement with Peter Paul foreshadows events involving fund-raiser Norman Hsu.

• What’s Next: A court is to decide if Mrs. Clinton is reinstated as a defendant in the long legal battle with Mr. Paul.

Rather than drift away, Mr. Paul has been on the attack against Mrs. Clinton ever since. In a lawsuit in California state court that has been grinding along for years, Mr. Paul accuses Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton of deceiving him into spending well over $1 million on the fund-raiser for her Senate campaign. Mr. Paul contends the Clintons obtained the money by falsely promising that Mr. Clinton would become Mr. Paul’s business associate after leaving the White House in January 2001. Mr. Paul also maintains that Mrs. Clinton and her campaign violated federal election law in connection with the fund-raiser.

Also, FYI, the timeline, and numerous links to the Peter Paul — Hillary Clinton lawsuit, and campaign finance fraud on a historical level.