can you say cover up? On Nov 21, 5:34 pm, Zebnick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Obama got hundreds of thousands of dollars of contributions that he > will not identify. It is outrageous. We are letting foreign influence > into our elections, willingly. The FEC should be replaced. > > On Nov 21, 4:51 pm, Travis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > From: *Travis* > > Date: Thu, Nov 20, 2008 > > Subject: Elections Officials May Audit Obama's Fundraising > > > Or, more likely, not. How about auditing his birth certificate and > > passport? > > > B > > > *Newsmax.com* > > > *Elections Officials May Audit Obama's Fundraising* > > > Wednesday, November 19, 2008 6:01 PM > > > *By:* Kenneth R. Timmerman > > > [image:http://images.newsmax.com/headline_vertical/Obama%20Fundraising2.jpg] > > > According to a published report earlier this week, the Federal Election > > Commission is unlikely to vote to audit the Obama campaign finances, and > > will sweep aside a formal demand for an full audit that was filed by the > > Republican National Committee on Oct. 6. > > > But interviews with current and former FEC officials, as well as a review of > > public statements by FEC commissioners, suggest that the commission could > > pursue an "audit for cause" of the Obama campaign, based in part on > > allegations of widespread fraud and illegal donors as reported by > > Newsmax.com and other publications during the election season. > > > "There are standards in a bureaucratic sense for who might be eligible for > > an audit for cause," said FEC spokesman Bob Biersack. "Those are objective > > standards. Committees that meet those standards are eligible to be audited." > > > Confusion or concern with information in the campaign finance reports > > submitted by the committees are generally what trigger such an audit, > > Biersack added. > > > Such concerns can include a significant number of donors who have exceeded > > the limits of $2,300 per election. According to the Obama campaign's own > > disclosures, more than 4,000 of its donors fit that bill. > > > Those concerns can also include receiving money from foreign donors. The FEC > > compiled a list last month of more than 16,000 contributions from overseas > > sources. A Newsmax survey of roughly one-fifth of those names found 118 > > individuals who appeared to be foreign citizens. > > > The Republican National Committee based its demand for an audit of the Obama > > campaign on reports from Newsmax and other media organizations that > > suggested widespread irregularities, including taking money from foreign > > donors and from donors with fictitious names. > > > "We're still awaiting action on our complaint and will press forward," RNC > > spokesman Alex Conant told Newsmax on Friday. > > > Three Republicans and three Democrats now sit on the FEC as commissioners. > > But until June of this year, the commission was crippled because of partisan > > wrangling. > > > Helping to cripple the FEC was the junior senator from Illinois, Barack > > Obama, who placed a "hold" on a Republican nominee in October 2007. That > > action had the effect of keeping the commission on the sideline for the > > entire primary season. > > > But will the commission act now? Incoming commissioners Don McGahn, a > > Republican, and Cynthia Bauerly, a Democrat, insisted that they would hear > > cases at the FEC in terms of their merits, not party affiliation. > > > Even though they had both worked on partisan campaigns in the past, Bauerly > > told senators during her confirmation hearing in May that "the most > > important determination is to be objective and to read the law as > > objectively and fairly as possible." > > > McGahn said that in his view, commissioners were no longer partisans. > > "Ultimately, the commission's core constituency is the general public," he > > said at the May 21 hearing. > > > Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt dismissed talk of an audit earlier this > > week. "We have had a first rate compliance operation for an unprecedented > > national grassroots fundraising effort," he told reporters. > > > But the Obama campaign more often than not failed to respond within the > > statutory 60 day limit to the more than dozen letters it received from the > > FEC asking for clarification of apparent foreign donors, or the refund of > > excess contributions, a Newsmax review of the correspondance shows. > > > For example, on April 15, 2008, the FEC asked the Obama campaign to refund > > or reassign contributions from two brothers in the Gaza Strip, Hosam and > > Monir Edwan. Together, they had given over $31,000 to the Obama campaign. > > And yet, three months later, much of the money had yet to be returned. > > > Most of the contributions from the Edwan brothers were made in October 2007, > > so the Obama campaign was able to use the money for cash-flow when it needed > > it the most and when the FEC was down to just two commissioners. > > > In the April 15 letter, the FEC failed to point out that the two brothers > > had listed their address as "Gaza Strip, Rafah," and had obviously used a > > foreign currency credit card to make the donations. > > > On May 6, the FEC questioned excessive contributions from a woman identified > > as Deborah Heitz of La Canada, Calif. As of Jan. 31, 2008, she had given > > $17,900 to the campaign, nearly eight times the limit per election. > > > In this case, the Obama campaign began refunding the money soon afterwards. > > But once again, they had gained precious cash flow at the peak of the > > primary campaign, without ever paying a price. > > > On June 25, FEC analysts sent the Obama campaign a sharply worded notice > > with a 58-page single-spaced list of donors whose contributions were over > > the limits. > > > The June 25 letter first identified excess contributions from a donor named > > "Will, Good" from Austin, Texas. > > > The list of Mr. Good Will's contributions the FEC sent the Obama campaign > > ran seven pages. And yet, the campaign was slow to start returning the > > money. > > > As Newsmax revealed in September, the Obama campaign still showed a positive > > balance from Mr. Good Will of $8,950 as of their Sept. 20, 2008 report to > > the FEC, three months after they were warned about these contributions in > > June. > > > *[Editor's Note: See "Secret, Foreign Money Floods Into Obama > > Campaign."<http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/Obama_fundraising_illegal/2008/09/29...> > > ]* > > > The FEC letters all include a stern warning, "Failure to adequately respond > > by the response date noted above could result in an audit or enforcement > > action." > > > And yet, despite repeated delays or just downright refusals to respond to > > the FEC letters, the Obama campaign has yet not been audited nor has the FEC > > announced any enforcement action. > > > Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, saw > > little reason for an audit. "The assumption is, the more money you raise, > > the less potential there is for any single individual or groups of > > individuals to corrupt your campaign." > > > There had been "a few instances of contributions that shouldn't have made > > their way into the Obama campaign or the McCain campaign," he added. But > > when it came to Obama, "the corrupting influence of a few contributions here > > or there that shouldn't have made it in the door is negligible." > > > CPR lobbied heavily for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act of > > 2002, which imposed limits on how much federal candidates could raise and > > spend in their campaigns. The Washinton, DC based group calls itself > > "nonpartisan, independent, and nonprofit." > > > In case you thought that position would have brought them to criticize the > > Obama campaign for abandoning the McCain-Feingold campaign finance limits, > > think again. > > > "Obama's victory in the general election was aided by his tremendous > > fundraising success," the CPR website says. > > > "After becoming his party's nominee, Obama declined public financing and the > > spending limits that came with it, making him the first major-party > > candidate since the system was created to reject taxpayers' money for the > > general election." > > > On the day after the election. RNC chairman Mike Duncan told reporters at > > the National Press Club that public financing of presidential campaigns was > > dead. > > > "Presidential campaign finance as we know it died last night," he said. "No > > major candidate will ever again submit to public funding restrictions. Less > > than two election cycles since the passage of campaign finance reform, the > > system has failed." > > > On Thursday, the RNC filed filed two additional complaints, one in > > Louisiana, and the other in Washington, DC, challenging the > > constitutionality of key parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, the > > official title of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. > > > . > > > __._,_.___ > > Messages<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZGp...> > > MARKETPLACE > > ------------------------------ > > From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods > > <http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=13rppjede/M=493064.12016295.13271503.1083...> > > [image: Yahoo! > > Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJldGZrdDNtBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycEl...> > > Change settings via the > > Web<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJnYjZ0Y2d...>(Yahoo! > > ID required) > > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily > > Digest<[EMAIL PROTECTED]:+Digest>| > > Switch > > format to Traditional<[EMAIL PROTECTED]:+Traditional> > > Visit Your Group > > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcjdsbzV1BF9T...>| > > Yahoo! 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