$950,000 to be exact. What’s the significance of a massive earmark for the New School in Greenwich Village? Well, guess who’s a board member there?

And in the case of the New School in Greenwich Village, it turned out to have some national resonance: Norman Hsu, a major Democratic donor active in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign and a New School trustee, was found to be a fugitive who had skipped out after a felony theft conviction in California 15 years ago.

Bryan found the earmark in the Labor/HHS/Education spending bill (SR 1710), currently being debated in the Senate. Search for earmarks by Clinton, and the little gem pops up. Nearly $1 million for the New School’s Institute for Urban Education, being sponsored by Senators Clinton and Schumer.

Bryan writes:

Did Hsu’s many and varied bundles of campaign cash joy have any influence on making that generous earmark happen? Beats me. There sure is the appearance of a connection, though.

So she sponsors an earmark for a school one of her top donors is a trustee of. Certainly smells fishy, but we’ll have to see.