From a commentator at SDWC:
There is a lot of commentary on this story so let me see if I have this correct. Steve Hildebrand is a big-time Democratic consultant who ran Daschle’s and Johnson’s campaigns and is now running the Obama campaign. His consulting firm has an office in Sioux Falls and DC. One of the employees in his Sioux Falls office, who was fired, stole more than $100,000 apparently. Hildebrand was informed by the IRS of this. This has become known as “Hildygate.” Nobody has said officially who the culprit is, but the primary suspect is Chad Schuldt, who ran the “Clean Cut Kid” blog (which apparently
gets its name from Bob Dylan or something). Schuldt is not well liked because he is well-known for slashing attacks on other people for, among other things, their corruption and unethical behavior. Stealing $100,000 from the business you work for is a class 4 felony in South Dakota which could bring 10 years in prison. Conservatives in general seem elated about this aha! moment because they didn’t care for Chad’s abuse, while others are contrite, while some progressives are calling for more facts and warning about rushing to judgment. The Argus apparently broke the story in the MSM, so they are getting credit for that, but are also under criticism for not giving the story the depth that some think it deserves (there’s also discussion about Schuldt have worked at the Argus, which adds an interesting wrinkle). This story feels like it is in its beginning stages with more to come. The primary focus now seems to be Whodunnit? My prediction: the intensity of this story on the blogs will eventually lead to a blog solving the Whodunnit? All in all, a very fascinating matter involving MSM-blogosphere collaboration, personal betrayal, partisan passions, big-time political consulting, lots of money, con games, intrigue, suspense, skullduggery, unanswered questions, broken laws, and even Presidential politics. Much better story than what I read at the lake today. What parts am I missing? How big could this story get?
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