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Wolfson to Axelrod: Shutdown PAC
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ShareDecember 02, 2007 12:24 PM
ABC News' Tahman Bradley and Sunlen Miller Report: The presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton D-N.Y., is urging rival Barack Obama to shut down his leadership PAC, Hopefund, amid concerns that the Obama has been directing money to local Democratic groups and politicians in states holding early primaries and caucuses.
In an exchange Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson asked Obama strategist David Axelrod to close the political action committee.
"There's a lot that voters don't know about Barack Obama. And one thing they don't know – we found out this week –is that he has been using and operating a so-called leadership PAC, in apparent contravention of campaign finance laws, taking in money from lobbyists despite the fact he said he doesn't take money from lobbyists, taking in money from lobbyists and giving money out to candidates in New Hampshire and Iowa to support his presidential campaign," Wolfson said.
"Senator Clinton does not have such a PAC. Others have shut theirs down. I would call on call on David; David, will you shut down Senator Obama's slush fund," he added.
Axelrod then fired back that he wasn't aware there was any money left in the fund. He didn't address the issue of Obama contributing money to politicians in early states.
The Washington Post first raised the issue of Obama's PAC last week when it reported that Obama has contributed more than a third of his PAC's money to groups and politicians in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
A statement earlier in the week from Obama campaign finance lawyer Bob Bauer said the donation did not in any way violate campaign laws and that the Clinton attack on Obama's use of the fund was "completely meritless."
Clinton's PAC was made dormant early in the year when she entered the Democratic presidential contest.
At a press avail in Des Moines on Sunday, Sen. Obama , D-Ill., connected his good polls numbers to the influx of attacks from other campaigns. "Folks from some of the other campaigns are reading the polls and starting to get stressed and issuing whole bunch of rash allegations, everything we've done has been in accordance to the law. They should focus on getting their supporters to caucus in Iowa."
December 2, 2007 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (8)
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Finally someone calls Obama out on his LIES!
Posted by: Ryan | Dec 2, 2007 12:49:17 PM
Wolfson is beating a dead horse. Obama answered this weeks ago. Wolfson is one of the slimiest political operatives in the business. Humerous that he would be the point person on this issue. Howard best clean up his own campaign before pointing fingers at others.
Posted by: bob | Dec 2, 2007 12:55:18 PM
the way things lool, pretty soon obama will have the go ahead to tell hillary to just "shut up" WE'RE GETTING SICK OF YOU HILLARY!
Posted by: jimmey | Dec 2, 2007 1:00:36 PM
after watching the Clinton spokesman I have made up my mind Obama, changing from Clinton. I want a person who will tell me something that they will do rather than attacking otheers
Posted by: emanuel gary | Dec 2, 2007 1:27:20 PM
In looking at Hillarys Federal Election Campaign PAC report, $10 million was transferred to "other authorized committee's", before closing her PAC. I wonder what "other authorized Committee's" are?
Posted by: GC | Dec 2, 2007 1:28:22 PM
Former Federal Elections Commission chairmen have come out and spoken on this issue already, saying that Obama's campaign has not broken the law. The laws require limits on contributions, but not on expenditures because that would limit a candidate's free speech, whereas limiting contributions to candidates (or PACs) just keeps the system fair.
Obama was right to empty out his PAC money. Such emptying out is considered an expenditure for legal purposes. His expenditures were made to Democratic candidates across the 50 states (which is what he did, if you look beyond what the Clinton campaign is saying and at the actual expenditures), including many candidates who now have endorsed Clinton.
Without a "quid pro quo" (i.e. proof that the Hopefund PAC gave money with the direct requirement that those candidates then do something for Obama, which legally speaking requires specific proof that there was an actual agreement of this nature), Clinton's claims are baseless in law and in fact! What else is new.
Posted by: MK | Dec 2, 2007 1:45:37 PM
a blogger wrote:
Obama's fact check has an good rundown on this issue.
57% of his 2007 PAC donations went to states other than NH, IA, NV and SC, and of those he did donate to, over half either didn't endorse or endorsed Senator Clinton.
The PAC has also donated over $4,000 to Sen. Clinton. Not sure if he won her endorsement with that money. Anyone know?
Posted By: Dave | December 02, 2007 at 02:33 PM
REPORT ABUSE
Posted by: Lyn,MD | Dec 2, 2007 2:57:29 PM
Mr. Wolfson is pathetic and desperate to change the focus of a failing campaign. Poor Hillary, she has lost her 'inevitable' title and her poll numbers continue to plummet. I guess they expect us to forget all of their scandals, including Norman Hsu donating stolen money to her campaign, and now they are accusing Obama of PAC issues? The FEC said it was all legal. I wonder what ever happened to the ten million dollars from Hillary's PAC fund?
Posted by: WashingtonPete | Dec 2, 2007 5:38:58 PM
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