"McCain campaign sought illegal contributions from the Russian ambassador to the United Nations"

[ProSense]

October 20, 2008

MCCAIN: BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A RUBLE?....

Some campaigns just don't have good timing. Today, the McCain campaign decided to cast aspersions on the Obama campaign's extraordinary fundraising success, referencing "secret donations" and "illegitimate money."

Now, as a substantive matter, McCain aides whining that Obama has more donors than McCain seems like a rather pointless exercise. There's nothing "secret" or "illegitimate" about Obama's contributions -- every dollar is reported, and donors who meet the legal threshold are disclosed. McCain should be familiar with these rules, since he helped write them. (McCain wants Obama to itemize every donor, including small donors. The Obama campaign has said there are too many of them to make this feasible.)

But more importantly, the same afternoon McCain aides were complaining about Obama's fundraising success, we also learn that the McCain campaign sought illegal contributions from the Russian ambassador to the United Nations.

The Russian Mission to the United Nations issued a bizarre statement to the UN press corps today stating simply, "We have received a letter from Senator John McCain requesting financial contribution to his Presidential campaign. In this connection we would like to reiterate that Russian officials, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations or the Russian Government do not finance political activity in foreign countries."

Intrigued, I called the Russian Mission and a press officer there directed me to this item on the Mission's website. It seems that the McCain-Palin campaign sent a generic fundraising letter to Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly I Churkin.

Accepting foreign money is, of course, against the law. The McCain campaign was, in effect, asking the Russian ambassador for an illegal campaign contribution.

Now, in fairness, this was almost certainly the result of some kind of innocent mix-up. Churkin received a generic email solicitation, probably by accident. Russian officials don't believe the McCain campaign was deliberately asking for an illegal donation. Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, told Ben Smith, "We just find it amusing." As do I.

more

Everything McKeating does backfires.

[EFerrari]

1. The Gang that Couldn't Cheat Straight. n/t

[ProSense]

2. Someone should scrutinize

McCain's fundraising.

[EFerrari]

3. The thing with McKlan is that you have to be careful where you prod.

Because wherever you poke, there will be corruption. You have to be 100% committed to the question you ask.

[ProSense]

4. Oops! McCain asks Russia’s U.N. envoy for money

Oops! McCain asks Russia’s U.N. envoy for money:

A spokesman for McCain, a long-time critic of Russia, had a simple explanation for the fundraising letter’s arrival at the Russian mission in New York: “It was an error in the mailing list.”

The letter was addressed to Churkin and sported a McCain signature near the bottom.

How on earth does the Russia mission's address wind up on a campaign mailing list?

[ProSense]

5. DNC: McCain Hits Up Russian Envoy for Donation

McCain Hits Up Russian Envoy for Donation

The story had impeccable timing as the McCain campaign attacks Senator Barack Obama's massive small-dollar donor base that helped the Democratic presidential nominee shatter the single-month fundraising total with more than $150 million in September.

Interestingly enough, McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis has several ties to Russia. Last January, the Washington Post reported that Davis set up a meeting between McCain and a controversial Russian billionaire with some unsavory ties back in 2006:

A top political adviser in Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign helped arrange an introduction in 2006 between McCain and a Russian billionaire whose suspected links to anti-democratic and organized-crime figures are so controversial that the U.S. government revoked his visa.

Rick Davis, who is now McCain's campaign manager, helped set up the encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in Switzerland during an international economic conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking to do business with the billionaire.

Earlier this month, Ari Berman and Mark Ames wrote about Davis' ties in Russia for The Nation.

This is linked to from the DNC front page.

LOL!

[ProSense]

6. AP and BBC

AP: Russians say 'nyet' to McCain fundraising appeal

BBC: Russians reject McCain cash plea

:rofl:

[Democrafty]

7. Kick! n/t