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Hillary Rodham Clinton and her team were mum Wednesday about the revelations of close ties between her 2008 presidential campaign and an illegal fundraising operation based in Washington, while a new poll showed erosion in her popularity.

For the third day in a row, Mrs. Clintons press aides refused to respond to questions about her knowledge of the criminal case or whether she still has confidence in a top adviser who solicited campaign donations from disgraced Washington businessman Jeffrey Thompson.

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Thompson, convicted of funding a shadow campaign for D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray in 2010, also pleaded guilty this week to funneling more than $600,000 in illicit donations to aid Mrs. Clintons bid for the White House. Court documents say that a top Clinton campaign official, Minyon Moore, asked Thompson to pay for canvassers and street teams to reach minority voters in four key early-primary states during Mrs. Clintons battle for the Democratic nomination against Barack Obama.

Mrs. Clinton, considered the undeclared front-runner for the 2016 Democratic nomination, took another hit Wednesday in a new poll that showed her vaunted popularity slipping.

The Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey, which was conducted before Thompson pleaded guilty, showed the combined percentage of people who view Mrs. Clinton very positively or somewhat positively has dropped to 44 percent, down from 58 percent in December 2012. Her negative rating rose to 34 percent, up from 28 percent in December 2012, when she was nearing the end of her service as secretary of state.

The poll also found that an endorsement by Mrs. Clinton would be a net negative for candidates running for office this year, with 25 percent of respondents saying they would be more likely to vote for someone she endorsed, and 34 percent saying they would be less likely to vote for that candidate. Forty percent said her endorsement would make no difference.

The survey did hold some qualified good news for Mrs. Clinton. While her popularity has eroded, shes still more popular than President Obama. Only 22 percent of respondents said Mr. Obamas endorsement would make them more likely to vote for a candidate this year, while 42 percent said the presidents endorsement would make them less likely to vote for that candidate.

And a poll in Iowa last month found Mrs. Clinton was still the overwhelming favorite among potential Democratic candidates for 2016.

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Hillary Clinton staying mum on 2008 cash tied to D.C. convict