Senator Clinton may have fundraising legal troubles

Sen. Clinton's Financing in the Spotlight

By PAUL CHAVEZ, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Campaign donations made more than four years ago at a celebrity-studded Hollywood gala have led to a federal criminal trial against a former finance director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that could hamper her future campaigns.

The trial set to open Tuesday focuses on a lavish August 2000 political party at a Tony Brentwood estate that drew dozens of A-list guests and performers, including Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, Diana Ross and Muhammad Ali.

Clinton hasn't been linked to charges that the cost of the event was vastly underreported, but Republicans will be watching for any ammunition they can use against the Democrat, considered an early front-runner for the 2008 presidential nomination.

David Rosen, who was Clinton's finance director during her 2000 U.S. Senate run, faces three counts of filing a false statement. An FBI agent speculated in an affidavit that Rosen was trying to duck federal financing rules so the campaign would have more money to spend on other expenses.

Rosen pleaded not guilty in January. He could face up to 15 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted.

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I am not one to revel in another's misfortunes, but I cannot but hope there is enough here to stumble Hillary's presidential run. I don't like her. I think she would be a disaster as the Party nominee. I don't think I could vote for her. Not on policy or ideological grounds, but simply on the grounds that I don't trust a word of what she says . . . And because of someone by the name of John F Kerry.