Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
RECENT POSTS
- 'My Cousin In Kenya Can't Get a Job Without Paying a Bribe': Obama Tells African Leaders to Get Their Houses in Order
- 'Camp Obama' for Malia and Sasha
- When In Rome...? Actually, not so much
- President Obama Shakes Hands with Qadaffi
- More Qs for O's WH - 7/9/2009
- President Obama Urges Major Economies Forum Nations to Act on Climate Change
- Today's Qs for O's WH - 7/9/2009
- Whom Should the White House Invite to Its 2010 Nuclear Non-proliferation Summit?
- Is the Stimulus Working?
- First Ladies Visit Quake Zone
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
RNC to Demand FEC Audit of Obama Campaign
October 05, 2008 4:59 PM
The Republican National Committee announced today that on Monday it will file a fundraising complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., charging the Democrat has accepted illegal donations from foreigners as well as contributions that exceed the $2,300-per-person federal limits from American citizens.
Obama's campaign has raised almost $460 million so far, and almost half that has been raised by small donors contributing less than $200. RNC chief counsel Sean Cairncross today noted in a conference call that questions have arisen about those smaller donations, which by law the campaign is not required to disclose.
Newsweek reported over the weekend that FEC auditors have asked the Obama campaign about a number of contributors whose contributions seem to violate campaign laws, such as "Good Will" of Austin, Texas, who listed his occupation as "You" and his employer as "Loving" and gave more than $11,000 total in $10 and $25 increments. Another questionable donor, "Doodad Pro" of Nunda, N.Y., gave $17,130 in similarly small increments.
"The Obama campaign has a track record of accepting these," Cairncross said.
He also said that "the Obama campaign has accepted contributions from foreign nationals and has knowingly done so through at least its failure to reasonably investigate where all this money is coming from." The RNC will ask the FEC to audit these smaller donations.
Earlier this year the Obama campaign returned more than $30,000 from Monir and Hosam Edwan, two Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip who said that they'd purchased Obama 2008 T-shirts in bulk from the Obama campaign Web site.
The Obama campaign responded to the RNC conference call by pointing out some of the McCain campaign's past fundraising issues.
"Because of campaign finance issues, John McCain has had to return over $1.2 million to donors who potentially violated the law with their contributions," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton in a statement. "We look forward to a thorough investigation into whether John McCain’s campaign has returned all of the money it raised from foreign nationals, as they have admitted McCain-bundler Harry Sergeant has done. Without accepting a dime from the Washington lobbyists or corporate PACs that have funded John McCain's campaign, our campaign has shattered fundraising records with donations from more than 2.5 million Americans. We have gone above and beyond the transparency requirements by disclosing our bundlers and the levels of contributions they raise."
McCain's campaign in August returned more than $50,000 in contributions raised from one single family in California by Mustafa Abu Naba’a, a Jordanian national and business partner of a Harry Sargeant III, finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party. asking them to provide more details about their small donors. The McCain campaign agreed to do so, but the Obama campaign rejected the request. Burton acknowledged that "no organization is completely protected from Internet fraud" but added that "we will continue to review our fundraising procedures to ensure that we are taking every available to step to root-out improper contributions." In June, a host of good government groups wrote to the McCain and Obama campaigns asking them to provide more details about their small donors. The McCain campaign agreed to do so, but the Obama campaign rejected the request.
- jpt
October 5, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (237)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
This is a very sobering indictment especially since most ecommerce software has several checks (such as Billing ZIP check and CVV check) turned ON by default when solutions are newly installed. Web site/revenue managers would have to make a conscious decision that they want these checks turned off and would have to change software settings (pretty easy) to do so.
Posted by: Ron Robinson | Nov 18, 2008 3:36:52 PM
I have to laugh at all you o-bomb-a sheep. you call sarah to inexperienced well take a good look at what those with experience have done. we need a fresh unsoiled start in the white house. lets get rid of all those libral senators, lets put into place background checks before elections so we no who these people really are. I am sure when the people in chicago put o-bomb-a in as senator they had no idea of his real agenda an beliefs.
Posted by: susan | Oct 28, 2008 11:53:30 AM
I AM A MCCAIN SUPPORTER BUT I HAVE A QUESTION AN MAYBE SOMEONE CAN ANSWER IT. O-BOMB-A REFUSES TO SUBMIT HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THEY FIND OUT HES NOT A AMERICAN CITIZEN. DOES HE GET THROWN OUT AN BIDEN BECOMES PRESIDENT?
Posted by: susan | Oct 26, 2008 7:11:13 PM
Waldvogel added later in the message: "He has given up on our State? What a total and complete crock of crap
That's just silly. They are not wasting too much resources in a state that looks like it isn't going to be successful, they have to put their energy somewhere it is going to do the most good. The idea that backers who want either a republican or democrat in office would stop trying to get the one they want into office because of that is ridiculous. They will try to do whatever it takes to get the person in office that they feel will benefit them and their families the most, just common sense.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 7, 2008 4:02:30 PM
John McCain has so many houses he can't keep count.
Posted by - Randy
Typical liberal mentality, little liberal polly parrots repeating things they've heard other uninformed liberals saying because they have nothing of value to say. You can ask thousands of investors that buy land and houses for investment purposes and they won't know how many either. But you don't want to admit the obvious, you'd rather say things like that.
Posted by: Joe | Oct 7, 2008 3:51:07 PM
Republicans are a bunch of scammers and spammers.
Americans, real Americans, are better than that! Posted by common sense
It's the democrats that have so many dead people voting for them in elections, that's the ultimate spamming their bud.
And as far as what real Americans are better than,they are better than having terrorists friends like Barack Hussein Obama does and having them contribute to his election fund.
They don't buy their homes through money laundering with the help of a convicted slum lord like Barack Hussein Obama did.
They aren't members of a churh for 20 YEARS with a racist pastor who is a black separatist and hates America and talks of a black run America like Barack Hussein Obama did and then try and tell the people that you didn't know who they were or what they believed in after 20 YEARS of sitting in their church like Barack Hussein Obama did.
They don't bad mouth their own country on foreign soil while trying to be liked by everybody but real Americans like Barack Hussein Obama did.
The list goes on, but it seems your name doesn't fit you, because you seem to not have any sense at all if you believe any of that BS you spouted.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 6, 2008 7:34:19 PM
As follow up. If we look historically total control by the Republicans was bad (President Bush, "W"). The last time the Democrats controlled both the Presidency and Congress (excluding 1st two years of Clinton, when the American people bounced the Democrats out of Congress for their stellar performance) our country was at least as bad off and most would say worse off (President Carter).
Under President Carter and the Democratically controlled Congress, with many of the same plans Sen. Obama espouses today, a good mortgage rate was 14%, unemployment exceeded 10% and gas lines were every where not just in areas effected by hurricanes. Thanks, but I'll take dividing the power between the parties and making the goverment work for ALL Americans not just the Right or Left anyday.
Posted by: Jeff | Oct 6, 2008 1:46:33 PM
Electing Sen. Obama will mean change, we will spend his tenure giving into every left wing ideologoy out there and his Presidency would be at least as bad as the current Presidency. As for me, I am voitng for Sen. McCain because I think dividing the power in Washington between the two parties best serves all Americans and not just the Right or Left.
Posted by: Jeff | Oct 6, 2008 1:39:35 PM
I just do not understand Americans... A person [terroist] by the name of Osama Bin Liden attacked the United States with the United States own aircrafts and killed thousands and thousands of us, and now the Americans are voting for someone by the name of Obama Hussein Barack, that really bothers me. Another thing, Obama is a good and fast talker and he is stating what people want to hear, because we are all vulnerable now. Something about him is not right!
Posted by: Senoria Land | Oct 6, 2008 1:36:56 PM
The U.S. is currently sending Pakistan 10 Billion Dollars EVERY month. The original agreement was that the troops would be able to gain more access into the country. JM stated in his debate that BO doesn't understand ... you just can't cut off those funds. Now, when Bin Laden and his followers attack the U.S. the next time ... Please understand that the U.S. funded that attack. The Pakistani government did not hold up to their end of the bargain and now they are being paid on the hope that they will let the U.S. in once the environment is appropriate. For all of the JM supporters, the U.S. gov't just passed the bailout pkg ... JM says he's going to cut taxes. If he cuts taxes ... how does the deficit get paid. BO tax plan to 'simply impose taxes on the segment of America that does not pay taxes'... will make the difference in your average dollar being worth .38 cents and .98 cents. To those who can relate to JM ... I didn't make 160 million dollars last year. Of course he wants to cut taxes ... his tax plan favors the extremely wealthy. I could go on and on ... I suggest that you research ... check credible sites like factcheck.org and then decide. I will state that to suggest that a U.S. senator is a domestic terrorist really shows the incompetence of the McCain party. McCain should speak more with his pitbull and align their concerns. I know she's feeling like a million bucks, (sarah palin)because she did better than expected. But she still hasn't gotten the courage to do an 'unscripted' interview. She will not talk to reporters, that is because she has no clue of what's going on. In the words of one of the rep. party chairs ... 'Please do not allow the findings of the investigation be made public ... as they could cause irreparable damage.'
Posted by: Nicole | Oct 6, 2008 1:26:49 PM
I believe Mr. McCain when he says "the fundamentals of his campaign finance reports are sound."
Posted by: ricky | Oct 6, 2008 10:25:38 AM
Well all I can say is that Obama is very familiar with how to work the finical market. Look at his ties with ACORN and explain to us why Obama is not part of the problem with the economy today? Oh I guess since he helped get us into this crisis we should put him in the White House to solve it? Real shame the press has given Obama a free ride on anything he's done bad in the no to distant past and the American people have bought it hook-line-and-sinker. Guess if Obama does get into the White House it will make for some more good press stories as he tears down this county.
Posted by: Gary | Oct 6, 2008 8:40:53 AM
Just to P.O. the RNC, I'm gonna go ahead and max out my donation to $2300 for Obama this morning.
Posted by: Clint | Oct 6, 2008 8:10:32 AM
It wouldn't surprise me if McCain's campaign gave money to the Obama campaign using false identities just so they could launch this attack.
Republicans are a bunch of scammers and spammers.
Americans, real Americans, are better than that!
Obama/Biden 08!
Posted by: Common Sense | Oct 6, 2008 8:08:49 AM
After reading this, I decided to make another small contribution to BO. To the RNC - thank you for reminding me! I hope you have fun auditing me, and others, well into the next year - we'll be having fun working toward change!
Posted by: Drew | Oct 6, 2008 7:54:45 AM
The horror stories of the 0bama "fund raising," particularly taking foreign funds has been a subject of blogs for months. Since the MSM won't cover any negative 0bama news, the blogs and the RNC have to do it for themselves. First we defeat 0bama, then we try to reclaim an impartial press. COUNTRY FIRST.
Posted by: beebop | Oct 6, 2008 7:11:56 AM
John McCain has shown through his past actions that he has absolutely no concern whatsoever for the wellbeing of middle-class Americans. When taking that into consideration, just how do you think he will handle the current financial disaster our economically battered nation is in today? For an answer to that question, one must look to the past, specifically McCain’s disgraceful involvement in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal that decimated our economy, not to mention millions of hard working American’s life savings, in the late 1980’s.
Even though he was absolutely disgraced publicly and the Senate Ethics Committee admonished him for his deplorable actions, John McCain still continued his fervor for rampant deregulation that caused the cascading savings-and-loan collapses in the late 1980’s and the current credit crisis destroying our economy today.
Millions of honest, hard working Americans had their life savings wiped out when one savings-and-loan after another went down because of the criminality of repugnant swindlers such as Charles Keating. Charles Keating is a convicted felon who greedily defrauded millions out their life savings, while at the same time he donated more money to John McCain’s campaign than any other contributor in the nation. And what did John McCain do when he learned of Keating’s arrest? He illegally tried to use his power and influence to keep his good friend and single largest campaign contributor out of jail.
McCain’s involvement as the key figure in the Keating Five scandal is a window into his past, present, and future disregard for middle-class Americans.
Posted by: jack | Oct 6, 2008 4:42:04 AM
The consortium behind Obama is simply seeking to infiltrate the highest ranks of the American society with the target to have the force to contain the people (their own sovereignty with the sovereignty being the law). Be warned – He is not who he seems to be. Let’s all ask to know the “real” Obama.
Peter
Posted by: peter link | Oct 6, 2008 3:47:08 AM
How a McCain/Bush/Schmit/Rove campaign would Change a Light Bulb
How many members of McCain/Bush/Schmit/Rove campaign does it take to change a light bulb?
1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed;
2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed;
3. One to blame American Voters for burning out the light bulb;
4. One to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs;
5. One to give a One Trillion dollars to Wall Street for the new light bulb;
6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: Light Bulb Change Accomplished;
7. One campaign insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how McCain/Bush/Schmit/Rove was literally in the dark and out of touch with the American Voter
8. One to viciously smear #7;
9. Sarah Palin to campaign on TV and at rallies on how John McCain has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along;
10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.
Posted by: Yeil Raven | Oct 6, 2008 2:28:32 AM
Obama is not middle class he is a millionare!
McCain doesn't own those homes, his wife's family does. She has her family members living in them for free. They also have condo's they rent out, I have a rent house too, so what? That is why he wasn't sure how many houses his WIFE had. Cindy's father worked his rear off to build his company, as many others have in this country, and he suceeded. Are we suppose to punish success now?
As for the cars, he has 7 children. Don't you think he bought his kids a car. I own 3, I bought one for my son. I am middle class, (diffinitely not a millionare)
McCain's tax records show his only income is from his Senate seat. His wife files her separately.
Palin's tax records show she is truly middle class, she is not a millionare.
Posted by: Sean A | Oct 6, 2008 12:49:13 AM
Post a comment

