It looks like the Obama campaign has some explaining to do this week. Tomorrow the RNC will file a complaint with the FEC regarding Obama's funny money. Reports have been building all week about the questionable campaign donations and it seems that someone is finally going to look into it. Michael Isikoff, writing for Newsweek magazine, details various suspicious contributions.
Legally, campaigns do not have to report donations of less than $200. (McCain's camp discloses anyway.) Isikoff reports that "Doodad Pro" has donated over $19,000 to Mr. Obama (all in small, unreported donations of $10 to $25) and "Good Will" gave over $17,000. Analysis of the 1.4 million individual contributions in the latest master file for the Obama campaign discovered 1,000 separate entries for Mr. Good Will, most of them for $25. In total, Mr. Good Will gave $17,375. Both are actually over the amount allowed for an individual which is $2,300. The FEC instructed the Obama campaign to return those donations. Earlier this year the campaign had to return $33,000 in donations to two brothers in Gaza.
The Obama campaign has raised millions of dollars from outside the United States. Americans living outside the United States may donate to campaings but foreign nationals may not. It makes you wonder why folks in Iran are donating to his campaign.
Ken Timmerman also reported on this issue this week:
"The FEC has compiled a separate database of potentially questionable overseas donations that contains more than 11,500 contributions totaling $33.8 million. More than 520 listed their “state” as “IR,” often an abbreviation for Iran. Another 63 listed it as “UK,” the United Kingdom.
More than 1,400 of the overseas entries clearly were U.S. diplomats or military personnel, who gave an APO address overseas. Their total contributions came to just $201,680.
But others came from places as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Fallujah, Florence, Italy, and a wide selection of towns and cities in France.
Until recently, the Obama Web site allowed a contributor to select the country where he resided from the entire membership of the United Nations, including such friendly places as North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Unlike McCain’s or Sen. Hillary Clinton’s online donation pages, the Obama site did not ask for proof of citizenship until just recently. Clinton’s presidential campaign required U.S. citizens living abroad to actually fax a copy of their passport before a donation would be accepted."
The rough estimate right now for suspicious contributions is about $33.8 billion dollars.As of this afternoon the Obama campaign has not commented and has not responded to a CNN request for comment. The defense is likely going to be "Well, Obama can't possibly be expected to keep up with each and every donation." Or, "Obama had no idea the money was coming from illegal donations." And this is probably true, but it seems to me that it ought to be investigated. It seems a flaw in his campaign management as well. It seems if Hillary Clinton figured out how to safeguard her fundraising from inappropriate actions then Mr. Obama should have been able to do the same. He is often a champion for transparency in disclosure yet of the two of them only McCain has done that.
What kills me is last night I was listening to "Airheads" of America, or is that Air America in my moment of trying to understand both sides.
ReplyDeleteLast night's topic was about John McCain and a lobbyist named Rick Davis who went to Montenegro. While in Montengero they met, or may not have met with Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska, it is reported has an unsavory past, and has bought up an aluminium plant in Montengro and is trying to buy other businesses around the world.
During this meeting that Deripaska may or may not have attended, had he attended it, met with McCain, but nobody knows what was said between Deripaska and McCain.
I listened to this for about thirty minutes going, "And?" "And?" "And?"
It was like someone telling a joke, but just couldn't tell the punchline.
I know about Keating Five scandal in 1989, where John McCain and four DEMOCRAT senators were accused bilking elderly people out of money in a the Savings and Loan Scandal that caused the collapse of
Lincoln Savings and Loan.
The following is from Wikipedia.
The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).
The result of the collapse of Lincoln Savings and Loan was that 21,000 mostly elderly investors lost their life savings. After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised "poor judgment".
Now you know why I'm not exaclty all warm and fuzzy about John McCain, and I feel this way about all politicians, because I think they are all dirty. But to go on radio and report half-baked facts and accusations of maybes and what ifs is ridiculous.
But to turn a blind eye to Obama's dealings or to refuse to investigate them is down right dangerous.
I'm curious to see the Obama campaign reaction to it. Lord knows the guy doesn't need anymore money donated - I think Liberal Hollywood alone has got to have donated record numbers! Iran can never mean soldiers? Or is that why Clinton made proof of passport necessary? I'm quite sure it'll be investigated. This campaign has been truly entertaining - in a zillion ways. I haven't liked my choices since Hillary lost the nomination (and I know you despise her worse than Obama - not that I even know if you despite Obama so much as prefer McCain/Palin?) - but I voted for the party in the end b/c it is what works for me. It would not suprise me if lots of groups in this desperation to win this year do all sorts of illegal t hings to "get votes". I saw this documentary on the voting process about a year ago - it was beyond disturbing. Our electoral process alone seems so outdated and then all the voting machines that were owned by so few companies, then ones that didn't work, triggered a certain vote, etc- it made your head spin. Are you going to go see An American Carol? I want to - and I want to go see "W" both!
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