Will Dems Return Tainted Cash from Their “Wall Street Guy” Corzine?

December 7, 2011

FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Jim Cooper (TN-05), Kathy Hochul (NY-26), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Nita Lowey (NY-18), Ed Markey (MA-07), George Miller (CA-07), Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Donald Payne (NJ-10), Charlie Rangel (NY-15), Steve Rothman (NJ-09)

Will Hochul Return Tainted Cash from the Dems’ “Wall Street Guy” Corzine?
New York Democrat Received $2,500 from Jon Corzine, Who is Now Under FBI Investigation for Losing Over $1B in Customer Money and Potentially Breaking the Law

Washington — A high-profile Democrat leader and donor to Kathy Hochul’s campaign is now under investigation by the FBI for potentially violating Wall Street rules after over a billion dollars of his customers’ money went missing. Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is now set to testify in front of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday for allegedly breaking the law and squandering his customers’ money. Will Hochul continue to pocket the thousands she received from her disgraced ally, or will she recognize that taking money from the same people who manipulate the system is partly why Americans are so disenchanted with Washington?

“Kathy Hochul would be demonstrating the exact hypocrisy Americans have come to despise in Washington if she keeps the money she took from her disgraced ‘Wall Street guy’ Jon Corzine,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Hochul benefitted from Corzine’s arrogance and greed, but American families and small businesses are paying the price for his incompetent and risky bet with their investment. With the shamed ex-governor returning to Capitol Hill, this time to testify rather than fundraise for Congressional Democrats, Hochul should use this opportunity to return her tainted donations.”

Kathy Hochul received $2,500 in donations from Jon Corzine. (CQMoneyLine, accessed 11/03/11)

Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was a prolific fundraiser for Washington Democrats:

“Jon Corzine, now the center of an FBI investigation into the handling of hundreds of millions of dollars invested in his securities firm, was one of the leading Wall Street fundraisers for President Obama’s campaign and suggested to investors that he might take a top administration post if the president were re-elected…

“The investigation into Corzine’s firm, MF Global, was triggered by reports of hundreds of millions of dollars in missing funds and findings by regulators that MF Global may have broken rules requiring it to keep client’s money and company funds in separate accounts.” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, top Obama fundraiser, under FBI investigation,” MSNBC’s First Read Blog, 11/2/11)

President Obama even referred to Corzine as the Democrats’ “Wall Street guy” back in 2008:

“The rollout also provided a showcase for Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO whom Obama referred to as ‘our Wall Street guy’ at a meeting of Democratic governors in Chicago on Friday.” (Clarie Heininger, “Corzine profile rises in Obama camp,” The [New Jersey] Star-Ledger, 6/23/08)

But the FBI investigation into Corzine’s risky Enron-style bet has brought increased scrutiny of the political allies he financed:

“Jon Corzine, former CEO of MF Global, has given tens of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party in recent months, putting Democratic lawmakers in awkward positions ahead of Corzine’s subpoenaed appearance before a House committee next week.

“The House Agriculture Committee wants Corzine to explain the financial collapse of MF Global and what may have happened to clients’ investments.

“A former U.S. senator from New Jersey and governor of that state, Corzine is a longtime leader of the Democratic Party who served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2004.” (Alexander Bolton, “Corzine ties put Dems in tricky position,” The Hill, 12/04/11)

Kathy Hochul has no excuse to keep Jon Corzine’s money while he is under investigation by the FBI. Hochul should return the tainted cash immediately or demonstrate the exact hypocrisy that voters are angry about.

Will Dems Return Tainted Cash from Their “Wall Street Guy” Corzine? http://ow.ly/7RUY2 #madeinwdc

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