Hillary Clinton donors indicted

A federal grand jury indicted two Virginia men on Wednesday for allegedly trying to illegally reimburse donors who gave to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate and presidential campaigns.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused the two men, William Danielczyk and Eugene Biagi, of paying back $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and presidential campaign committees of a candidate for federal office, and obstructing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the FBI.

Though the DOJ does not name the candidate that the men donated to, according to campaign finance records Danielczyk and Biagi donated to Clinton’s 2006 Senate bid and her 2008 presidential campaign.

The two men are each charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of reimbursing contributions, one count of using corporate funds to reimburse contributions, and one count of obstructing justice. 

“As part of the scheme, Danielczyk and Biagi allegedly created and distributed back-dated letters to 15 contributors that falsely characterized reimbursements for contributions as ‘consulting fees,’” according to the DOJ.

According to court documents, April Spittle helped Danielczyk and Biagi, and earlier this month pleaded guilty to one count of making reimbursed contributions to the 2008 presidential campaign.

The defendants are expected to make initial court appearances Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison, while the charges of reimbursing contributions and contributing corporate funds each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Obstruction of justice is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

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