That Fugitive Financier

Well, the arrest of Norman Hsu, that fugitive financier, last night on, of all things, a train in Colorado adds even more intrigue to this case. First there was the report in the Wall Street Journal that Hsu seemed to be funneling money to candidates through other people. Then it emerged that he'd been wanted for years in California on a 1991 fraud case. Then he promised to show up for his trial in California. Then he skipped bail. This is obviously not good for Hillary Clinton. Hsu was a "Hilraiser" fundraiser for her and while he's donated to other candidates, including Barack Obama, it's more Hillary's problem then others. All of this recalls, of course, the bizarre and illegal contributions that went to Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign. Remember that Al Gore visit to the Buddhist temple, etc, etc? That period also saw Fred Thompson, then a Senator, overseeing hearings on the campaign finance mess. Thompson's hearings were something of a bust but it's an issue on which he has some street cred and gives him something of substance to talk about. I suspect if there's not much more to the story--for instance if it doesn't emerge that Hsu is a Beijing agent, a frequent charge against other fundraisers in Thompson's hearings, or is involved in a wider scheme, then the story will fade. If there's more to Hsu, then it's bad for Hillary and probably a good moment for Fred.