Democrats: Party of Perjury, Bribery, and Obstruction
Milberg Weiss gave top Democrats funding
Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP, the securities class action law firm indicted last week on fraud charges stemming from corporate lawsuits it filed, made large political contributions almost exclusively to Democrats since 1999, records show. The firm and individuals there made $2.78 million in campaign donations to Democrats since 1999 compared to about $22,000 to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics.
Among the recipients were New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is a possible 2008 presidential candidate, senior New York Senator Charles Schumer and Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004. On top of the $2.78 million, lawyers in the firm made contributions to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is the Democratic candidate for governor. Spitzer’s office said on Monday that he plans to return $124,455 in contributions.
The Democratic National Committee was one of the primary beneficiaries, receiving almost half the money, $1.28 million. Most of that was from the firm itself and included $500,000 for the DNC’s new headquarters.“We are looking into the matter,” said DNC spokeswoman Stacie Paxton.
Milberg Weiss and two partners, David Bershad and Steven Schulman, were indicted last week on 20 counts of perjury, bribery and obstruction of justice. They were accused of illegally paying clients to act as plaintiffs in lawsuits against corporations.
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her political action committee received almost $24,000 in contributions from individuals at Milberg Weiss since 1999, according to the data.”We will not be taking any action at this stage,” Clinton’s spokeswoman Ann Lewis said in an e-mail.
Schumer received $57,750 from individuals at the firm. His spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. The House and Senate Democratic campaign committees received $440,365 and $350,650 respectively from the firm and individuals there since 1999, the data showed. Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP once reached number six in 2002 on the Center for Responsive Politics top 20 list of law firms and lobbyists that were contributors to lawmakers and political parties since 1999.
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