Mrs. Clinton: Hsu a "Good Friend and Trusted Associate"

Now she pretends she hardly knew the guy.

Right.

Your biggest fundraiser, who just so happened to be a fugitive running a Ponzi scheme.

And the smartest woman in the world had no idea.

We're either to believe she's incredibly naive, which should disqualify her from being President, or she was in on the scam, which should qualify her for an orange jumpsuit.

Which is it, Pantsuit?

SLIMY TRAIL OF A HSU HEEL

In the past month, Hsu's checkered past and murky business practices have come under increasing scrutiny.

He not only swindled investors but strong-armed them into donating thousands of dollars to Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign and to other Democratic candidates, authorities and lawsuits say.

He wowed one investor in Orange County, Calif., during a meeting in which he had Clinton join them "live" via videoconference. From a huge screen, the New York senator greeted Hsu warmly, and called him a "good friend and trusted associate."

Trying to impress would-be investors, he also dropped names like supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, "Spider-Man" star Toby Maguire and movie director Steven Spielberg.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged the 56-year-old Hsu with stealing $60 million from unwitting investors nationwide in various Ponzi schemes.

Now everyone and their brother is claiming absolutely no knowledge, meaning if they even had an inkling, they just didn't care so long as Hsu kept delivering the cash.

The duped investors now say Hsu gained their confidence in his business acumen by bragging that Hillary Clinton "carefully screened" her fund-raisers to ensure their integrity and credibility, the suit says.

However, they say Hsu further exploited that trust starting in 2006, when he "imposed a condition" that future investors had to donate cash to specific campaigns, including Clinton's presidential run.

"He would say, 'You had a great investment with me before. If you want another, I want you to contribute the maximum under federal election law to Hillary Clinton,' " said lawyer William Bollard, who represents the investors.

One victim hand-delivered to Hsu nearly $30,000 in checks from investors made payable to the Clinton campaign, the suit says.

Elected officials lapped up his cash, but some admit they had no idea why Hsu was so involved.

Sorry, that's just not a credible excuse. Though they'll probably get away with it, thanks to a compliant media.

"It appeared that he was very interested in politics and knew the political landscape," said Matt Paul, a spokesman for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). "But at the same time, he didn't really have an agenda."

Here's a partial list of where the money went.

Do you suppose the Democrats would be largely silent on this issue if Hsu were donating all this illicit money to the GOP?