Hillary Clinton took more cash from Harvey Weinstein than any other Democrat
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WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton raked-in more cash from convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein than any other politician despite brushing off his donations by claiming he gave money to “every” Democrat.
Federal Election Commission filings show the disgraced movie mogul bundled $1.4 million for Clinton during her presidential bid in 2016 and handed her another $73,390 dating back to her 1999 New York Senate seat run.
On Tuesday, the former first lady defended her long relationship with the sex creep, quickly deflecting scrutiny from reporters by noting that Weinstein also raised funds for Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore during their presidential bids.
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“He contributed to every Democrat’s campaign,” Clinton said at screening of her new film “Hillary” at the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday, one day after Weinstein, 67, was found guilty on rape charges.
“He contributed to Barack Obama’s campaign, and John Kerry’s campaign and Al Gore’s campaign and everybody’s campaign,” Clinton added.
“He contributed to every Democrat’s campaign. He contributed to Barack Obama’s campaign, and John Kerry’s campaign and Al Gore’s campaign and everybody’s campaign.”
The Miramax founder raised $72,100 for Obama but only bundled $679,000 for his 2012 reelection bid — half of what he raised for Clinton, the FEC data shows.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, bundlers are “people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who’s willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate.”
The generous donor also made five-figure contributions to Democrat lawmakers such as Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, who replaced Clinton as the junior senator for New York, and Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
Booker pocketed $17,800, Schumer $14,200, Gillibrand $11,000, Leahy $5,600 and Blumenthal $5,400.
The Democratic National Committee also received $305,149 from Weinstein dating back to 1994. In total, the disgraced movie producer contributed more than $2.3 million to Democrat coffers.
Federal Election Commission filings show Harvey Weinstein bundled $1.4 million for Hillary Clinton during her presidential bid in 2016 and handed her another $73,390 dating back to her 1999 U.S. Senate run in New York.
Facing huge blowback after sexual assault allegations emerged against Weinstein in 2017, Democrats vowed to repay the contributions to women’s charities.
Spokespersons for Schumer and Booker on Wednesday confirmed they had repaid their Weinstein contributions to women’s charities, Booker choosing to give his to the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Violence.
In 2017, Gillibrand announced she was giving the $11,500 she accepted from Weinstein to RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual-violence group.
Blumenthal and Leahy also repaid the cash to women’s charities, their spokespeople said. The DNC committed to donating $30,000 to political action groups including pro-choice Emily’s List.
In an interview with CNN in 2017, Clinton said it wasn’t possible to give back all of the money Weinstein donated but would instead contribute $13,000 to a woman’s organization.
Spokespeople for John Kerry and Barack Obama could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
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In recent days, Weinstein’s ties to billionaire presidential wannabe Mike Bloomberg have also been thrust into the spotlight — the convicted rapist recording a robocall endorsing Bloomberg during his 2005 mayoral bid.
A Bloomberg spokesman downplayed the relationship, saying Weinstein for known for raising “tens of millions of dollars for 9/11 responders” years before “the truth” about his predatory behavior was known.