Clinton Concert Under Scrutiny

A concert fund-raiser in Hollywood, Calif., is at the center of a controversy involving the finance director for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 campaign for U.S. Senate.

David Rosen was charged in a four-count federal indictment January 7th for filing false campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission.

Rosen claimed $400,000 in campaign contributions from an August 12, 2000, dinner and concert fund-raiser at the estate of radio mogul Ken Roberts. The problem is, the event had a price tag of more than $1.2 million, according to the feds.

Underreporting contributions would allow a campaign to shift more of the funds into the coveted “hard money” category. There is a limit to the amount of hard money a fund-raiser can keep, but not so for soft money. The former influences the nomination of federal candidates; the latter does not.

The FBI previously said in court papers that it had evidence Rosen understated the costs of the fund-raiser to divert more money to the campaign.

The concert included Roger Clinton, brother of former President Bill Clinton, singing “Circle of Friends” with an orchestra. The show itself cost more than $600,000, according to the indictment, and Rosen delivered a fraudulent invoice to the FEC stating it cost $200,000.

Rosen allegedly reported that a “wealthy individual” (likely Internet entrepreneur Peter Paul) paid more than $1.1 million to underwrite the event, delivered through corporate entities controlled by him. The feds believe Rosen used that as a cover for the true contributors.

Each of the four counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.

Clinton was First Lady at the time of the fund-raiser.