Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential
campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of
bills for months — freeing up cash for critical media
buys, but also earning the campaign a reputation as
something of a deadbeat in some small business
circles.
A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by
Clinton for staging events for her campaign are
warning others in the tight-knit event production
community — and anyone else who will listen — to
get their cash upfront when doing business with her.
Her campaign, say representatives of the two
companies, has stopped returning phone calls and e-
mails seeking payment of outstanding invoices. One
even got no response from a certified letter.
Their cautionary tales, combined with published
reports about similar difficulties faced by a New
Hampshire landlord, an Iowa office cleaner and a
New York caterer highlight a less-obvious impact of
Clinton’s inability to keep up with the staggering
fundraising pace set by her opponent for the
Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen.
Barack Obama.
Clinton's campaign did not respond to recent, specific
questions about its transactions with vendors. But
Clinton spokesman Jay Carson pointed on Saturday
to an earlier statement the campaign issued to
Politico, asserting: "The campaign pays its bills
regularly and in the normal course of business, and
pays all of its bills."
