What to Do With Martha's Political Donations

NEW YORK – Hillary Clinton (search) doesn't want money from a convicted felon but a lot of other Democrats are keeping the dough Martha Stewart (search) gave them.

Not only is the convicted domestic diva facing prison time for trying to lie about a suspicious stock sale but she's also a big Democratic donor.

Federal Election Commission records show that, through the years, the queen of clean has given big bucks to Democratic causes. Clinton's office told Fox News that they will turn over Stewart's $1,000 donation to the senator's charity now that Stewart has been convicted.

Reports say the New York senator wanted to give her pal the benefit of the doubt, but then the jury spoke last Friday.

Stewart was convicted of conspiring with her former Merrill Lynch stockbroker to hide the reason behind her suspicious sale of shares in the biotech company ImClone Systems Inc. (search) on Dec. 27, 2001. She was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, two counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction of agency proceedings.

Experts said Stewart, 62, could be sentenced to between 10 months and two years for her crimes.

Other recipients of Stewart's largess aren't following Clinton's lead, however.

A spokesman from the Democratic National Committee told Fox News that when Stewart donated, it was legal and lawful and many years before the jury reached its recent verdict.

Besides the $1,000 that went to Clinton's Senate campaign, Stewart reportedly donated $157,000 to Democrats within the past few years.

Records show that in all, $170,000 went to the party and its candidates, including $6,000 for President Clinton's two White House campaigns, $2,000 for Al Gore's presidential quest in 2000 and $75,000 -- the largest single donation -- to the Democrats' Unity campaign, $25,000 to the congressional campaign committee and $10,000 to the DNC.

The DNC would not return phone calls Wednesday but with her conviction, Stewart may also be denied one privilege of American citizenship -- the right to vote.

Currently, 48 out of 50 states bar convicted felons from voting. Only Maine and Vermont permit it.

A study by the Internet group TalkLeft -- which tracks crime-related political news -- claims that if felons were able to vote, 70 percent of them would vote Democratic.