TPMMuckraker

Nemazee’s Attorney: This Case Is Not About Political Donations

Hassan Nemazee

Hassan Nemazee’s lawyer wants to make something very clear: The alleged $292M fraud case has nothing to do with Dem super-fundraiser Nemazee’s political activities.

That’s what Paul Shechtman of Stillman, Friedman & Shechtman emphasized to TPMmuckraker in an interview and to other news organizations in court this morning.

“This is not a case about funneling stolen money into political campaigns. The campaign contributions were modest and within lawful limits,” Shechtman said.

He added: “Anyone out there who is attacking Hassan in order to tarnish the candidates he’s worked for — while that may be a familiar American sport — is completely misreading the case.”

It’s true that the indictment doesn’t allege anything about the many hundreds of thousands of dollars Nemazee bundled for Barack Obama last year, or the regular soirees he held for pols at his Park Avenue apartment.

But it does say Nemazee “used the proceeds of his frauds on BofA and Citibank” on “numerous donations to the election campaigns off federal, state, and local candidates” and “numerous donations to various political action committees.”

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