Former Clinton Finance Chair Hassan Nemazee Defends His Kids’ Political Contributions

On Sunday, Page Six Magazine published a piece about New York powerfuls using their children as "money mules" for political

On Sunday, Page Six Magazine published a piece about New York powerfuls using their children as "money mules" for political donations–which means that the parents are donating money under their kids’ names when the parents have reached the limit for political contributions.

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The implication is that these students and/or unemployed socialites have parents who refuse to abide by the political donation regulations, and are using their children’s names to shovel money into selected campaigns. The defense from most of the billionaires is that they have raised their children to be actively involved in politics and that even teenagers are able to make the commendable choice to give. 

Hassan Nemazee, an Iranian American investment banker who has served as a finance chairman for both Sen. Kerry’s campaign in 2004 and Sen. Clinton’s earlier this year, told the magazine that his children make their own decisions regarding political donations. When Mr. Nemazee and his wife each gave $4,600 to the Clinton campaign, his three children, Layla, 23, Kamyar, 26, and Yasmine, 28, followed suit, donating the same amounts to the campaign.

Mr. Nemazee told the magazine that his son Kamyar is "an attorney." But what he neglected to mention is that Kamyar happens to be an associate at Bracewell & Giuliani, the firm in which former mayor Rudy is a partner. Interestingly, Kamyar donated to the Clinton campaign in March 2007–just months before graduating from American University’s law school, and presumably before he started working for Mr. Giuliani. Maybe he wanted someone from behind enemy lines working for him.

Former Clinton Finance Chair Hassan Nemazee Defends His Kids’ Political Contributions