Haim Saban, a major financial supporter of Hillary Clinton, allegedly attempted to buy two superdelegates with a million-dollar gift to Young Democrats of America. Saban denied it, but the Huffington Post has some damaging information from four independent, and, of course, anonymous, sources:
Members of the Young Democrats agonized about the potential fallout of Saban’s call; his financial offer represented one-third of the group’s 2008 budget. Democratic officials and fundraisers were consulted about how to respond, and at times the discussions were “emotional,” one participant said. “It is scary for them, Haim is very powerful, he has great influence over donors who give to them.”
Another source said that Hardt and others were acutely aware of Saban’s status within Democratic circles and were concerned that their organization would suffer long-term harm if they declined his offer or if news of the proposal became public.
“I said I thought that the appropriate response was to call Haim back and say thank you but we are not interested,” said the source. “I also said that it was surely the case that this story would get out because it is too interesting not to and they should think about how to deal with it. It was a day or two [before they responded]. They felt afraid. They were like, ‘Holy sh—, this is Haim Saban.’”
Clinton’s Israeli-American supporters living in Los Angeles sure have been causing a stir.
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