Sen. Bernie Sanders on Hillary Clinton 2016 - Lone Wolf
S.E. Cupp says the Democrats have a rift within their own party, Sen. Bernie Sanders responds and gives his take on Clinton. - Lone Wolf - http://facebook.co...
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Sen. Bernie Sanders on Hillary Clinton 2016 - Lone Wolf - Video
(CNN) - After Hillary Clinton lost the 2008 primary to President Barack Obama, Alan Patricof, a wealthy financier who had helped raise sizable donations to the Clinton campaign, took a step back from politics.
That all changes Tuesday night, when the owner of Apax Partners hosts President Barack Obama for a high-dollar fundraiser aimed at filling the campaign coffers of the Democratic National Committee and helping the Democratic body retire some of its campaign debt.
In an invitation for the fundraiser, which was first reported by Politico, Patricof described the event as a "fireside chat" that will both help the DNC and any future campaign by Hillary Clinton.
"We have recently decided that the most effective way that we all can be helpful to Hillary, and the Democratic Party in general, is to make sure that the Democratic National Committee is as strong as possible if Hillary should decide to run in 2016 and, for that matter if any other good candidate appears on the scene if she decides not to be in the race," Patricof wrote in a letter dated February 20.
The financier added, "With that background in mind, Susan and I have decided to extend our support to the DNC this year and to be helpful as we prepare for the upcoming campaign as it evolves."
Attendees to the Tuesday night fundraiser paid the maximum allowable campaign donation for an individual under current campaign laws: $32,400 per person.
Unlike the Republican National Committee, which has no debt, the DNC owes more than $15 million from the 2012 cycle.
Patricof has been a longtime supporter of Clinton. In 2008, he was part of a loyal group of fundraisers called the "Hillraisers" who donated and bundled millions of dollars for the then-senator's White House bid.
When asked by CNN earlier this year if he would look to bundle and fundraise for Clinton in 2016 should she run he said, "Yes, I can say that with certainty."
"I remain a Clinton supporter," Patricof said. "I definitely am very supportive of Hillary should she decide to go forward."
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A longtime adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton personally sought and secured the funding for what prosecutors say was an illegal shadow operation to boost Clintons 2008 presidential bid, according to court papers released as part of a wide-ranging campaign finance investigation.
Washington businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson, who pleaded guilty Monday to federal conspiracy charges in a case that has focused largely on D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Grays (D) 2010 campaign, told federal prosecutors that Clinton aide Minyon Moore asked him to fund pro-Clinton efforts in four states and Puerto Rico costing $608,750 during the hard-fought 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign, the documents show.
Thompson financed the operation through his accounting firm, at times funneling funds through a company owned by a longtime associate. A spokeswoman said Moore did not know that Thompson was funding the project off the books, adding that Moore had asked Thompson to raise money directly for the campaign.
Prosecutors said they had no evidence showing Clinton was aware of the efforts.
But Thompson, in his discussions with authorities, depicted Moore as playing a far more intimate role in the off-the-books campaign than was previously indicated securing the money and helping guide the strategy by feeding internal campaign documents and receiving messages about the media coverage.
Court documents do not identify Moore by name, but she is referenced as individual A, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Moores alleged participation in the scheme could have violated federal campaign finance laws, which prohibit officers or agents of a campaign from soliciting or arranging for illegal contributions. Election lawyers said pursuing charges against Moore could be difficult, however, because the five-year statute of limitations has expired.
Ginny Terzano, a spokeswoman for Moores consulting firm, Dewey Square Group, declined to make Moore available for comment.
Terzano said Moore has been fully cooperating with the investigation and that she was entirely unaware of any inappropriate activities. She said Moore both obeyed the law and acted with the highest ethical and professional standards.
Moores connection to the Thompson case was first revealed in September when court filings indicated that she had introduced Thompson to a New York marketing consultant who had unsuccessfully pitched the Clinton campaign on the use of street teams to improve Clintons standing in urban communities. The consultant, Troy White, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax charge in September as part of the ongoing investigation.
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In this July 26, 2012 file photo, President Obama speaks alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as he holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
President Barack Obama is bolstering his party's campaign coffers, joining an ally of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to help the Democratic National Committee climb out of a worrisome deficit. It's the latest alignment of the Obama and Clinton orbits, as the former first lady considers a White House bid in 2016.
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The event illustrates the overlapping fundraising draw that Obama and the former first lady, senator and secretary of state represent for the party at a crucial time for the cash-strapped DNC. It also helps bridge some internal party tensions between donors who are merely interested in presidential politics and the Democrats' needs during this year's midterm elections.
Patricof wrote in a February email to contributors that he and his wife, Susan, had been "relatively quiet on the political front" following Clinton's loss to Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary.
"The most effective way that we all can be helpful to Hillary, and the Democratic Party in general, is to make sure that the Democratic National Committee is as strong as possible if Hillary should decide to run in 2016 and, for that matter, if any other good candidate appears on the scene if she decides not to be in the race," Patricof wrote in the email, first reported by Politico.
He called the fundraiser with Obama a "fireside chat" that would include 13 couples - 26 people - paying $32,500 per person.
The DNC has been trying to pare down millions of dollars in debt accumulated during Obama's re-election campaign; through the end of January the DNC owed more than $15 million.
Obama, who will also raise money at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser while in New York, has been making a sober fundraising pitch of late, warning that Democrats run the risk of losing control of the Senate if the party doesn't have the resources to motivate voters this November.
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A campaign adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton was involved in an off-the-books operation to help the former first lady's 2008 presidential campaign in four states and Puerto Rico, according to federal court documents.
Thompson pleaded guilty Monday to two conspiracy charges in a case that has engulfed Mayor Vincent Gray, who allegedly was the beneficiary of a "shadow campaign" organized by Thompson that helped Gray get elected in 2010.
Prosecutors have said they have no evidence that Clinton was aware of the get-out-the-vote operation.
Dewey Square, the public affairs firm where Moore works, said in a statement that Moore had "fully cooperated with the government's investigation and the facts make clear that she was entirely unaware of any inappropriate activities." The firm said Moore always conducted herself, "as she always has, not only in full compliance with the law but in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards."
Dewey Square said Moore asked Thompson "to contribute and raise money directly for the campaign so the campaign could afford to execute a field program in constituent communities. Her actions were legal."
Polls put Clinton, the former secretary of state and New York senator, as the leading Democratic contender for president should she seek the White House again. Clinton has not said whether she will run for president but her decision has been the subject of intense speculation. Any connection to the case could provide fodder for Republicans who already are mobilizing to undercut another Clinton campaign.
Moore served as a senior adviser to Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and is a member of the Democratic National Committee, where she once worked as chief executive officer. During President Bill Clinton's administration Moore served as political affairs director and public liaison for the White House.
Moore's purported role in the case emerged in September when Troy White, a New York marketing executive, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for failing to report the income received by his company, Whytehouse Marketing Inc., in the scheme.
Court documents released in White's case said the marketing executive approached a top Clinton campaign staffer about using his "street teams" to help the campaign. The staffer was Guy Cecil, Clinton's national political director in 2008, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because of Cecil's limited involvement in the case.
Moore pressed Cecil to hire White in an email but Cecil declined, according to the documents and people familiar with the investigation.
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Feds: Hillary Clinton aide involved in 2008 campaign finance scheme