Clinton disgorges Hsu related contributions

NY Times:

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign announced tonight that it would return approximately $850,000 to about 260 donors who had been recruited or tapped by Norman Hsu, the disgraced Clinton campaign fundraiser who recently fled arrest and is now under investigation for his fundraising practices.

The Clinton campaign also disclosed tonight that it had decided to begin running criminal background checks on its bundlers — the dozens of individuals who raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors on behalf of a candidate, as Mr. Hsu had done for Mrs. Clinton. A Clinton adviser said that “vigorous additional vetting” of the bundlers, including the criminal checks, would begin this week, and that the campaign was hiring additional staff for that purpose.

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It is a wise move. It is very likely that the bundled contributions will be tainted too and the evidence would be dribbled out causing the campaign to have to respond on an ongoing basis. The background checks are also a good idea. This should take some of the focus off her campaign and put it on Hsu and his associates. It should also put pressure on other candidates who have received funds from him and his associates.