The Washington Post -- Obama's campaign recommended where money from his PAC should go

[wyldwolf]

"Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign helped recommend several of the donations his political action committee made in recent months to politicians in key primary states as the campaign was working to secure endorsements, campaign officials said yesterday. The acknowledgment alters the campaign's original account of how donations were directed and raised questions among some legal experts about whether the presidential committee was using Obama's leadership PAC to benefit his campaign.

Obama's Hopefund Inc. distributed more than $180,000 in donations to political groups and candidates in the early presidential voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and more than $150,000 to federal candidates in other states with primary dates through mid-February. The donations accounted for nearly three-quarters of the money the PAC has given out since this summer.

An Obama campaign spokesman last week said that "there is no connection" between the PAC donations and the presidential campaign.

But Bob Bauer, the private counsel for both Obama's campaign and Hopefund, said yesterday that campaign workers were involved over the summer in identifying and recommending possible recipients when Hopefund was deciding how to spend its remaining money. In particular, Bauer said, senior campaign strategist Steve Hildebrand was consulted "multiple times" on potential donations.

Bauer said he is confident that the PAC and the campaign complied with rules the Federal Election Commission enacted in December 2003 governing how leadership PACs can operate when their candidate is running for office. "There's not even a remote question about whether this is legal," he said.

Campaign law experts, however, said they were less certain. They noted that the 2003 rules state that any leadership PAC expenditure coordinated with the politician's campaign should be treated as "in-kind contributions" subject to a limit of $5,000. The rules define a coordinated expense as any made in "cooperation or concert with or at the request or suggestion" of a campaign.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902229.html

[Zueda]

1. Hello?....hello?...hello?...

Is there anybody there?...there?...there?

Where did everbody go?...go?...go?

Oh, this is the same Solomon guy who just couldn't get over Edwards haircut. Nevermind then.
:rofl:

[wyldwolf]

2. so you have a problem with his writing style of you're disputing the facts in the piece?

[Zueda]

3. Both.

When you note that Solomon has nothing to say about the Hsu foundation. In fact has nothing to say about Hillary at all.

[wyldwolf]

4. ok. Which facts do you dispute and what are you basing your dispute on?

[sufrommich]

6. You know,all you have to do is google

" john solomon washington post hillary clinton" to realize how fact free your post is.

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. Yikes...this is another stupid move by Obama

Even if it turns out not to be illegal, it certainly looks as if the direction he sent the funds could be construed as improperly attempting to buy support.

Dang, if this were a Clinton story--you can imagine the outrage. Watch the DU double standard unfold.