Foreign-Owned Firm Gives $1 Million to Romney Super-PAC

[Lakhota]

By Michael Beckel

Foreigners aren't allowed make campaign donations. But post-Citizens United, the rules have gotten hazy.

This story first appeared on the Center for Public Integrity's website.

A million-dollar donation by a foreign-owned corporation to a Republican super-PAC has raised legal concerns and opened up the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision to new criticism.

Restore Our Future, the super-PAC supporting Republican Mitt Romney's run for president, received a $1 million donation in mid-August from reinsurance company OdysseyRe of Connecticut, a "wholly-owned subsidiary" of Canadian insurance and investment management giant Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

Fairfax Financial's founder is Indian-born V. Prem Watsa. Watsa serves as CEO and chairman and owns or controls 45 percent of the company's shares. He is also the chairman of the board of OdysseyRe, the American subsidiary.

The law says that any foreign national is prohibited from "directly or indirectly" contributing money to influence US elections. That means no campaign donations, no donations to super-PACs, and no funding of political advertisements.

But campaign finance law is not as clear for US subsidiaries of foreign companies as it is for individuals.

More: Foreign-Owned Firm Gives $1 Million to Romney Super-PAC | Mother Jones

 

[Synthaholic]

This ties in with the thread I just started:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/elect...oncerned-with-chinese-money-in-elections.html

 

[GuyPinestra]

Track down the source of that $181 million and we can talk...

 

[Meister]

Your move



Was Obama rattled by developing donor scandal story?

President Obama's reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowledgeable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story.
Was Obama rattled by developing donor scandal story? | WashingtonExaminer.com

 

[Sherry]

Track down the source of that $181 million and we can talk...

Yeah, they might want to be careful about attempting to focus that spotlight.

 

[uscitizen]

So it is fine as long as the other sied is just as bad or worse?
A fine race to the bottom seems to be under way.

 

[Meister]

So it is fine as long as the other sied is just as bad or worse?
A fine race to the bottom seems to be under way.

My point is that there is nothing as of now but allegations.....probably no more than election gotchya's. If the hack can post a thread about the repubs, then the same can be for the dems.

 

[Trajan]

This ties in with the thread I just started:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/elect...oncerned-with-chinese-money-in-elections.html

Obama Advisor David Plouffe Paid $100,000 By Company Connected To Iran - Business Insider

what interesting is plouffe was on 3 Sunday shows, 2 weeks after this news hit and not one question on that 'allegation' from the host on any of the shows....

 

[syrenn]

Your move



Was Obama rattled by developing donor scandal story?

President Obama's reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowledgeable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story.
Was Obama rattled by developing donor scandal story? | WashingtonExaminer.com

 

[Lakhota]

NaziCons are hilarious. They have a tough time staying on thread topics.

 

[syrenn]

NaziCons are hilarious. They have a tough time staying on thread topics.

LOL....

and your boy is on track to be the first BILLION dollar champagne.


BILLION......

WASHINGTON — President Obama is on track to be the first $1-billion candidate.

$1-billion campaign in reach for Obama - latimes.com

 

[Meister]

NaziCons are hilarious. They have a tough time staying on thread topics.

You're hilarious.

 

[Lakhota]

Honor and truth are irrelevant to NaziCons.

 

[Stephanie]

man oh man people, WAKE up
links in article site

SNIP:
Obama bundler tied to Chinese government?

posted at 10:01 am on October 8, 2012 by Ed Morrissey
Most Republicans recall the Doodad Pro controversy from almost exactly four years ago, where Team Obama campaign websites turned off credit card security checks that allowed fraudulent and foreign donations to flow into the campaign. Could that be happening again? According to a new independent report from the Government Accountability Institute and reported by Breitbart, not only is it actually happening again — it’s actually gotten worse. A bundler for Barack Obama has set up a shady website operation to collect donations to the campaign, but it’s based in Shanghai, and the bundler has ties to the Chinese government:

In an explosive report set to send shockwaves through official Washington, the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) released a 108-page GAI investigation into the threat of foreign and fraudulent Internet campaign donations in U.S. federal elections (visit campaignfundingrisks.com to download the full report).

Breitbart News obtained an advance copy of the bombshell report which reveals that the Obama.com website is not owned by the president’s campaign but rather by Obama bundler Robert Roche, a U.S. citizen living in Shanghai, China. Roche is the chairman of a Chinese infomercial company, Acorn International, with ties to state-controlled banks that allow it to “gain revenue through credit card transactions with Chinese banks.”

There’s more.
The unusual Obama.com website redirects traffic directly to a donation page on the Obama campaign’s official website, my.barackobama.com, which does not require donors tob enter their credit card security code (known as the CVV code), thereby increasing the likelihood of foreign or fraudulent donations. The website is managed by a small web development firm, Wicked Global, in Maine. One of Wicked Global’s employees, Greg Dorr, lists on his LinkedIn page his additional employment with Peace Action Maine and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights. According to the GAI report, 68 percent of all Internet traffic to Obama.com comes from foreign visitors.

GAI notes that the connections between the bundler and the Beijing regime come through China’s state-run media:
Obama.com Purchased By An Obama Bundler In Shanghai, China With Questionable Business Ties to State-Run Chinese Enterprises: In 2008, Obama.com was purchased by an Obama fundraiser living in Shanghai, China, whose business is heavily dependent on relationships with Chinese state-run television and other state-owned entities. (see page 62)
And not surprisingly under these circumstances, more than two-thirds of all traffic to Obama.com comes from outside the US:

68% Of Traffic To Anonymously Registered Obama.com Is Foreign: According to industry leading web analytics site Markosweb, an anonymously registered redirect site (Obama.com) features 68 % foreign traffic. Starting in December 2011, the site was linked to a specific donation page on the official BarackObama.com campaign website for ten months. The page loaded a tracking number, 634930, into a space on the website labeled “who encouraged you to make this donation.”
That tracking number is embedded in the source code for Obama.com and is associated with the Obama Victory Fund. In early September 2012, the page began redirecting to the standard Obama Victory Fund donation page

all of it here
Obama bundler tied to Chinese government? « Hot Air

 

[Lakhota]

 

[Meister]

You're a riot, Lakhota.....why not give a thought out reponse to what Steph has posted.
Or, isn't it part of your partisan rhetoric?

 

[Lakhota]

You're a riot, Lakhota.....why not give a thought out reponse to what Steph has posted.
Or, isn't it part of your partisan rhetoric?

Get real. Steph is as dumb as you.

 

[Meister]

You're a riot, Lakhota.....why not give a thought out reponse to what Steph has posted.
Or, isn't it part of your partisan rhetoric?

Get real. Steph is as dumb as you.

I think you just don't have the intellect to state a case against what's in the news about Obama. Not like this is the first time I have discussed your shortcoming with you. That's what I think

Mother Jones articles and cartoons is about the extent of your intellect.

 

[Lakhota]

You're a riot, Lakhota.....why not give a thought out reponse to what Steph has posted.
Or, isn't it part of your partisan rhetoric?

Get real. Steph is as dumb as you.

I think you just don't have the intellect to state a case against what's in the news about Obama. Not like this is the first time I have discussed your shortcoming with you. That's what I think

Mother Jones articles and cartoons is about the extent of your intellect.

Dear Meister: Why don't you start a thread about "Obama" and I'll comment on it - if I wish to do so...

 

[Political Junky]

You're a riot, Lakhota.....why not give a thought out reponse to what Steph has posted.
Or, isn't it part of your partisan rhetoric?

Get real. Steph is as dumb as you.

I think you just don't have the intellect to state a case against what's in the news about Obama. Not like this is the first time I have discussed your shortcoming with you. That's what I think

Mother Jones articles and cartoons is about the extent of your intellect.

Mother Jones will go down in history for derailing the Romney campaign.