Post by: Desertdog on August 06, 2008, 08:59:05 AM
Obama receives illegal funds from 'terrorist hotbed'
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow -
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Election2008/Default.aspx?id=204974
According to Federal Election Commission filings, Barack Obama has received illegal donations from Palestinians living in Gaza, a hotbed of Hamas terrorists.
Obama received more than $24,000 in campaign contributions over a period of two months last fall from three Palestinian brothers from the "Edwan" family in Rafah, Gaza, which is a Hamas stronghold along the border with Egypt. The story was uncovered by Pamela Geller of the Atlas Shrugs blog. (see Federal Election Commission report)
Attorney and conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel notes foreign nationals are barred from making contributions in connection with any election -- federal, state, or local -- and an individual is allowed to give only $2,300 per election to a federal candidate or the candidate's campaign committee.
"The donations are basically through and through illegal -- that's number one. And number two is how the Obama campaign tried to conceal it," Schlussel chides. "They listed the campaign contributions as coming from Rafah, Georgia. They used the 'GA' from Gaza so it makes it look like it's legal; and then for the zip code it says '972,' which is actually the area code to dial over to Gaza," she contends.
The attorney comments that if the Obama campaign is willing to "accept thousands of dollars beyond the legal limit and they're also going to flout [Federal Election Commission] restrictions...that's very indicative of what kind of president [Obama] is going to be."
"They're not going to be worried about the details and they won't mind if they break the law to get to the final result that they want," adds Schlussel. She believes it is a "major news story when a presidential candidate receives money from 'a bastion of Islamic terrorism.' And Schlussel argues that the media is "bending over backwards to help Barack Obama and cover up any negative news about him."
Schlussel says Pamela Geller will likely file a Federal Election Commission complaint against the Obama campaign for violating restrictions and limits on campaign contributions.
Post by: Desertdog on August 06, 2008, 04:24:33 PM
Candidate's staffers insist Gaza brothers refunded, but men say, 'We did not receive any money back'
By Aaron Klein
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71597
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign contends it returned $33,500 in illegal contributions from Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza, but the donors told WND today they have not received any money.
The Wall Street Journal reported it spoke to Obama officials who said the donations from three Palestinian brothers were received between Sept. 20 and Dec. 6 last year, and virtually all of the money was returned by Dec. 6. The campaign said, however, the refunds were not reported to the Federal Election Commission due to a technical error.
The Obama camp insisted the remaining $2,500 was refunded Monday and all of the refunds will be reflected soon in an amended report. The campaign said new controls are in place to prevent any similar attempts in the future.
But WND asked two of the brothers – Monir and Hasam Edwan – to respond to the campaign's claims.
"No, we did not receive any money back from the Obama campaign at any time," said Monir Edwan.
Last week, the blog Atlas Shrugs outlined the series of donations made last year by Monir Edwan and Hosam Edwan, totaling $29,521.54. A third brother, Osama, reportedly gave the campaign about $4,000.
The Edwans continue to maintain – as they told WND earlier this week – that the financial transactions made on Obama's campaign website were not actual donations but purchases of "Obama for President" T-shirts. The transactions, however, were listed as donations in U.S. government election filings.
The donations violate election laws, including prohibitions on receiving contributions from foreigners and against accepting more than $2,300 from one individual during a single election.
A WND investigation tracked down the Edwans in the Tal Esaltan neighborhood of Rafah, a large refugee camp in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The Edwans are a large clan that include top Hamas supporters.
The brothers denied their financial transactions were actual donations to Obama's campaign, claiming they purchased about $30,000 in Obama T-shirts from the presidential candidate's online store – a contention that did not hold up during a WND interview, when they changed their story several times.
"My brother Hosam and I knew that Obama will be a big hit even before he became a candidate. We knew the guy would be a celebrity in Gaza so we decided to invest the amount of $29,000 to buy Obama T-shirts from his website and sell them in Gaza," Monir Edwan told WND, speaking by cell phone from Gaza.
Asked how he managed to get shipments of T-shirts into the Gaza Strip during the time Israel imposed a tight closure, Edwan maintained the packages were sent to him by the U.S. Postal Service.
Monir Edwan said he wants Obama to be president.
"Not just the people in Gaza but people from all over the world are rooting for this great man," he told WND.
Post by: RevDisk on August 06, 2008, 04:34:58 PM
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do
Go to the bottom, change "Donor's Name" to "City", and change the next box to "Contains". Then type in "Rafah"
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on August 06, 2008, 04:45:22 PM
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do
Go to the bottom, change "Donor's Name" to "City", and change the next box to "Contains". Then type in "Rafah"
Post by: FTA84 on August 06, 2008, 05:00:38 PM
All I can say is wow. I see why he skipped on his offer of a publicly funded campaign.
Post by: RevDisk on August 06, 2008, 05:05:51 PM
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do
Go to the bottom, change "Donor's Name" to "City", and change the next box to "Contains". Then type in "Rafah"
Hrm. Something is odd.
http://www.revdisk.net/FEC/
I saved the documentation. Might be forged FEC entries.
Post by: Scout26 on August 06, 2008, 05:33:29 PM
Post by: seeker_two on August 06, 2008, 05:41:15 PM
Quote
Candidate's staffers insist Gaza brothers refunded, but men say, 'We did not receive any money back'
Who are you gonna believe?....a Chicago politician or a Middle Eastern terrorist organization?......
Post by: RaspberrySurprise on August 06, 2008, 06:32:43 PM
Quote
Who are you gonna believe?....a Chicago politician or a Middle Eastern terrorist organization?......
The terrorists, every time.
Post by: taurusowner on August 06, 2008, 07:11:17 PM
Post by: Ezekiel on August 06, 2008, 08:25:38 PM
Post by: De Selby on August 06, 2008, 08:35:51 PM
Quote
Candidate's staffers insist Gaza brothers refunded, but men say, 'We did not receive any money back'
Who are you gonna believe?....a Chicago politician or a Middle Eastern terrorist organization?......
Which terrorist organization is involved here?
Post by: RaspberrySurprise on August 06, 2008, 10:41:55 PM
Post by: El Tejon on August 07, 2008, 03:18:35 AM
Post by: MicroBalrog on August 07, 2008, 10:09:04 AM
If not, why are they donating? If yes, what is the problem?
Post by: MicroBalrog on August 07, 2008, 10:10:18 AM
Hamas maybe? How many Palestinian terrorist groups are there by the way? If I remember there's more than a few.
I see no evidence that these people are terrorists or supporters of Hamas.
Post by: RevDisk on August 07, 2008, 11:49:32 AM
Hamas maybe? How many Palestinian terrorist groups are there by the way? If I remember there's more than a few.
I see no evidence that these people are terrorists or supporters of Hamas.
Doesn't matter. By US law, only US citizens can donate money.
Post by: MicroBalrog on August 07, 2008, 11:54:39 AM
Hamas maybe? How many Palestinian terrorist groups are there by the way? If I remember there's more than a few.
I see no evidence that these people are terrorists or supporters of Hamas.
Doesn't matter. By US law, only US citizens can donate money.
Which is why I asked if they were citizens. There are US citizens living abroad, remember?
Post by: FTA84 on August 07, 2008, 12:52:41 PM
Post by: De Selby on August 07, 2008, 04:23:54 PM
Hamas maybe? How many Palestinian terrorist groups are there by the way? If I remember there's more than a few.
Yeah but which one is donating the money? I don't see even an allegation here that any terrorist group actually put up the money for Obama, or that a terrorist organization made any statement about the money.
Post by: RocketMan on August 07, 2008, 06:01:44 PM
If it was donated to McCain's campaign, however...
Post by: Boomhauer on August 07, 2008, 07:28:13 PM
Quote
In any event, it is clear that the Obama group is fudging something. The FEC have the donations coming from a 3-digit zip code. Now we all know that is fishy. You can't even mail Grandma with only 3 digits of her zip.
But the Messiah ain't your grandmother. He can recieve donations from 3 digit zipcodes, and so what if they come from foreign countries...he can do no wrong...
Post by: dogmush on August 07, 2008, 11:37:08 PM
Quote
Are these people US citizens?
If not, why are they donating? If yes, what is the problem?
If not, why are they donating? If yes, what is the problem?
No, they're being reported as Palestinians, and indeed, why are they donating is a very good question.
To add fishiness to the whole thing, the brothers in question are saying it wasen't a donation, but rather a purchase of T-Shirts. That should be easy to verify, No? But there's definatlly a disconnect somwhere in the story.
Post by: El Tejon on August 08, 2008, 02:50:19 AM
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I don't see even an allegation here that any terrorist group actually put up the money for Obama, or that a terrorist organization made any statement about the money.
That would be Billy Ayers.
Post by: MechAg94 on August 08, 2008, 07:05:14 AM
Post by: MicroBalrog on August 08, 2008, 08:21:31 PM
Quote
Are these people US citizens?
If not, why are they donating? If yes, what is the problem?
If not, why are they donating? If yes, what is the problem?
No, they're being reported as Palestinians, and indeed, why are they donating is a very good question.
To add fishiness to the whole thing, the brothers in question are saying it wasen't a donation, but rather a purchase of T-Shirts.
We are expected to believe there are hundredds of people in the Gaza Strip now wearing Obama shirts. That is a hilarious mental image.
Post by: seeker_two on August 09, 2008, 04:46:18 AM
We are expected to believe there are hundredds of people in the Gaza Strip now wearing Obama shirts. That is a hilarious mental image.
Well.....the big "O" on the front would make a great aiming point for Israeli troops if Hamas wears them during an attack....
Post by: RaspberrySurprise on August 09, 2008, 07:18:06 PM
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Well.....the big "O" on the front would make a great aiming point for Israeli troops if Hamas wears them during an attack.... cool
Perhaps that's how these mystical shirts passed import inspections.