Hillary Clinton Aide Probed Over Event
Los Angeles Times
Saturday, December 13, 2003; Page A10
Federal authorities are investigating a former top campaign finance official for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in connection with a Hollywood gala for Clinton and her husband on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000, people familiar with the investigation said.
The focus on David Rosen, a Chicago-based political consultant and Democratic fundraiser, is related to a federal probe into the activities of celebrity fundraiser Aaron Tonken, who on Tuesday pleaded guilty to federal charges that he diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors and underwriters of Hollywood charities and galas that he organized.
Tonken helped organize the August 2000 event, a tribute to President Bill Clinton, which also raised $1 million for the first lady's Senate campaign.
Peter Paul, a onetime Clinton booster, media entrepreneur and ex-convict who says he fronted nearly $1.9 million in expenses to stage the event, has claimed the Clinton campaign never properly reported the money to federal election officials.
Paul said he agreed to underwrite the event to ingratiate himself with the president, in hopes that Bill Clinton would work for his firm, Stan Lee Media, after he left office.
Rosen, who as national finance chief for the Clinton senatorial bid played a central role coordinating the event, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
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