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Amy Goodman of the Marxist Democracy Now! network reported yesterday on the arrest of a “leading Democratic donor” named Hassan Nemazee. Here is the story, in its entirety: Back in the United States, a leading Democratic donor has been arrested and charged with seeking to defraud the financial giant Citibank. Hassan Nemazee is accused of submitting forged documents to secure a $74 million loan. Nemazee has given at least $150,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since 2006 and supported several other leading Democratic politicians. Not much to sink your teeth into there. Could it be that Goodman is downplaying...

Near silence from the American mainstream media, but this news item from the Brits about Obama appointing one of his key fundraisers as Ambassador to Great Britain: Barack Obama has been embroiled in a cronyism row after reports that he intends to make Louis Susman, one of his biggest fundraisers, the new US ambassador in London....

<p>A founding member of the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois met in New York City tonight with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p> <p>Jodie Evans, who co-hosted Obama's first major fundraiser in Hollywood in February 2007 just after Obama announced his candidacy and is a top fundraiser and donor to Obama's campaign, led a delegation of leftist anti-American groups that held a private meeting near the United Nations. The stated purpose of the meeting was to "serve as an opening for diplomatic resolution" to prevent war between Iran and the United States.</p>

John McCain’s campaign is scrapping, rescheduling or offering surrogates for nearly every one of the fundraisers Sarah Palin was to hold this month, instead having her campaign jointly with McCain, prepare for her sole debate next month and get some foreign policy exposure. According to an internal fundraising calendar put together in late-August just before McCain’s vice presidential selection, Palin was to have headlined nine fundraisers across five states by now. She’s attended just one to date. And she’ll miss several more that had been in the works for this week, having reunited with McCain to stump in suburban Philadelphia...

Obama, totally not saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Photo: Getty Images Barack Obama must be wondering how the worst press he’s received practically all campaign season came down just before today’s primaries — his chance to close the deal. He can look inward for answers. The big story, of course, is the meeting an Obama advisor, Austin Goolsbee, had with a Canadian official about NAFTA. After Canadian TV reported that Goolsbee had assured the Canadian official that basically all Obama’s tough talk on NAFTA was political maneuvering, the Obama campaign denied the meeting ever took place. Then, on cue,...

John Rich, one half of the hit duo Big & Rich, is co-hosting a fundraiser and concert for Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on Thursday Nov. 8. Tickets start at $100 to attend the concert, $500 for a reception with Sen. Thompson and $2,300 per person for a photo with the candidate. John, who sits on Sen. Thompson’s Tennessee fundraising committee, will provide the evening’s musical entertainment. John also played at a fundraiser in August, before Sen. Thompson had officially declared his candidacy. Although it's not clear whether the date of the fundraiser is intentional, Big & Rich had a...

PA GOP: Fast Eddie Robs Peter Paul to Pay Hillary Friday, September 14, 2007 Contact: Michael Barley HARRISBURG —Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. was not surprised to see that Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton are involved in more fundraising scandals with another convicted felon, named Peter Paul. Paul alleges that Ed Rendell, then Chairman of the Democrat National Committee, told him to lie about his involvement with a 2000 Clinton for Senate fundraiser. “Apparently, when Sen. Clinton and Gov. Rendell need campaign donations, they dial up the list of America’s most wanted as...

March 23, 2007 Edition > Section: National > Printer-Friendly VersionFund-Raisers Show Clinton's Obama Strategy BY JIM GERAGHTYMarch 23, 2007URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/51077 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT WASHINGTON ? What does the Bill and Hillary Clinton Fund-Raising Tour, starting in New York this week, moving on to Washington on Tuesday, and concluding in Los Angeles this weekend, tell us about the New York senator's strategy in dealing with rising challenger Senator Obama?Size matters. Everything about this week's event in Washington screamed big. From the ballroom at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, designed to hold more than 3,000 people, to the Patton-esque flag backdrop,...

LOS ANGELES - With intense competition under way for California political dollars, John McCain's campaign announced Wednesday it had enlisted dozens of fundraisers in the state to help him bankroll his 2008 White House run. The list includes names both familiar and obscure. The senator previously announced a national fundraising team that includes Californians Donald Bren, chairman of The Irvine Co. and Univision chief A. Jerrold Perenchio. His 70-member state finance team includes J. Gary Shansby, chairman of TSG Consumer Partners private equity group, Orange County investor George Argyros, a former ambassador to Spain appointed by President Bush, and Marty...

January 29, 2007 A Giuliani fund-raiser will be held Jan. 29 in Pacific Palisades, Calif., at the home of Bill Simon, the 2002 Republican candidate for governor of California, costing $2,300 a person and $4,600 per couple. January 30, 2007: Mary Bono’s campaign is sponsoring a golf event to raise funds for Giuliani’s committee on Tuesday, at the Rancho Mirage home and golf course of Edra Blixseth, Porcupine Creek Golf Club. Information: (310) 500-4284 or by e-mail at events@marybono.com February 1, 2007: Texas Republican contributors are being solicited to spend $30,000 for dinner with former New York City Mayor Rudolph...

Comic Relief held its 20th event Saturday night from the Harrah's property in Las Vegas to help raise money and awareness for victims of Hurricane Katrina. That's a noteworthy cause, to be sure, and we in South Mississippi were gratified to hear that more than a year after the storm, people still recognized we need help here. Of course, that was before the pre-event press releases came out, advertising appeared and the show itself was aired simultaneously on HBO and WTBS. The media advances talked about how bad New Orleans was affected. The billboards and at least one full-page ad...

If you hate vanities I'll take no offense as you click elsewhere. If you hate the idea of vanity crossbreeding with greed and opportunism of the rankest order, read on and feel your blood boil. Mine hit Fahrenheit 213 when I read that Democratic Senator Charles Schumer was now actively using the aftermath of hurricane Katrina as a partisan fundraising tool. Tragedies bring out the best in some the worst in others. After this week, I've come to believe that tragedy, like advancing age, just makes us all more of what life has taught us to be. In the case...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Charities who hire commercial fund-raisers in 2003 received back an average of 41 percent of the revenue raised in their names, according to a report released Thursday. That figure represents a slight increase over last year's average return of 38 percent. But one-quarter of commercial fund-raising campaigns turned over 15 percent or less to the nonprofits, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer's report on charitable solicitations found. "Charities need to carefully assess whether employing commercial fund-raisers is the wisest, best way to raise money for valuable programs that serve our communities," he said in a statement. Most of...

This week's media attack on Tom DeLay has a top Washington lobbyist telling Newsweek magazine that the Republican House leader "knew everything" about allegedly shady fundraising on DeLay's behalf. But if the claims of former fundraisers are the standard by which political trouble is measured, Sen. Hillary Clinton's problems are much bigger than DeLay's. For years Jack Abramoff, who is currently the subject of a Justice Department probe, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for DeLay's political causes and hired DeLay's aides, reports Newsweek. For his part, DeLay and his aides say he knew nothing about the suspicious fundraising. That...

Rosie O'Donnell addressed a nearly vacant Club Ovation Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., during a get-out-the-vote rally for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, reports Matt Drudge at his Web site. " 'You know, there's only like, you know, maybe 38 of us here, and maybe we can just like tap a keg and put on some disco, and totally party,' " Miss O'Donnell deadpanned. "The debacle came one night after only a couple hundred came out to see Cher rally for Kerry at Miami Beach's Crobar disco," Mr. Drudge said. " 'There were supposed to be thousands of...

http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/kerry101804.htm KERRY CAMPAIGN FINANCED BY TERRORISTS October 18, 2004 Written by: Andy Wilcoxson Introduction John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, is being given money by an Albanian terrorist organization known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA or UCK in Albanian). The KLA is currently smuggling weapons into Kosovo as part of a plot to attack American and other UN peacekeepers, should the UN Security Counsel refuse their demand for Kosovo's secession from Serbia and Montenegro. About the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UCK) In order to fully understand the significance of John Kerry's involvement with the KLA it is first necessary to...

George Soros and John Kerry By Cliff Kincaid | October 18, 2004 Some of the biggest Kerry supporters and fundraisers are hedge-fund managers. The first of many anti-Bush ads purchased by George Soros appeared in the Wall Street Journal at the end of September. Some of the questionable statements made in the ad concern Soros himself. He described himself as someone who "accumulated a large fortune through an international investment fund." In fact, he is a billionaire and his "investment fund" is not available to investors like you or me. There are some interesting facts about the ad itself. It...

YOUTH FOR BUSH ACTION ALERT GOP "Welcome" for John Edwards When: Friday, October 15 - meet between 4-4:15pm Where: Anne Arundel Community College, Meet in Parking Lot D (Directions below) Who: You and All of Your Bush Supporting Friends Why: The Democrats Are Making Another Attempt To Break Into Anne Arundel County, And We Must Stand Our Ground - Anne Arundel County is Bush Country! Thank you to everyone who passed along information that Senator John Edwards will be at Anne Arundel Community College on Friday. What a great team we have that you all shared this information as soon...

Washington - A South Korean embassy official who met with John Kerry fund-raisers to talk about creating a political group for Korean-Americans was in fact a spy for his country, raising concerns among U.S. officials that he or Seoul may have tried to influence the fall presidential election. South Korean and U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Chung Byung-Man, a consular officer in Los Angeles, worked for South Korea National Intelligence Service at the time he was meeting with Kerry's fund-raisers. A spokesman for the South Korean consulate office said Chung was sent home in May amid "speculation" he...

WASHINGTON (AP)--A South Korean man who met with John Kerry's fund-raisers to discuss creating a new political group for Korean-Americans was an intelligence agent for his country, raising concerns among some U.S. officials that either he or his government may have tried to influence this fall's election. South Korean officials and U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Chung Byung-Man, a consular officer in Los Angeles, actually worked for South Korea's National Intelligence Service. A spokesman for the South Korean consulate office said Chung was sent home in May amid "speculation" he became involved with the Kerry campaign and...

let's find the tape!!!

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's record-setting fund-raising first took off in large part because of an outpouring of support from the gay community. With just one exception, every fund-raiser Dean attended outside Vermont in 2002 was organized by gay men and lesbians, as were more than half the events in the first quarter of 2003, Dean advisers say. "The early foundation of Governor Dean's presidential campaign -- both in fund-raising and organization -- was built by the support of the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community around the country," said Dean finance director Stephanie Schriock. The gay community "was...

<p>Leading campaign-finance watchdog organizations as well as Republican activists intend to challenge the new network of independent groups gearing up to spend as much as $300 million on voter mobilization and pro-Democrat TV ads.</p> <p>The organizations -- the Center for Responsive Politics, the Campaign Legal Center, and Democracy 21 -- contend that the pro-Democrat groups are violating prohibitions on the use of corporate and labor money for partisan voter registration and mobilization drives.</p>

President Bush was opening a heavy week of fund raising. Wedged in between fund raisers in Michigan and New Jersey, Bush was talking about his economic agenda at Dynamic Metal Treating Inc. in Canton, Mich., appearing with the owners and employees of Dynamic Metal and another area small business, Spectrum Automotive, in a public "conversation" about rebounding from tough times. Both companies were forced to lay off workers, but now have rehired them. Bush's 11-hour day on the road was devoted mostly to fund raisers. The first fund raiser was in Dearborn, Mich. A second event, in Whippany, N.J. The...

<p>Sacramento -- Just two weeks after he will be inaugurated as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to launch an aggressive drive to raise money from big- money contributors to repay as much as $7 million in campaign debts, according to people familiar with his plans.</p>

<p>September 23, 2003 -- Some of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's top New York fund-raisers last night jumped on board the surging candidacy of retired Gen. Wesley Clark, as a stunning new poll shows him running a bit ahead of President Bush. A trio of city cash bashes for Clark were hosted by Democratic donors who have given steadily to Clinton: Sally Minard, Gail Furman and Eve Stuart.</p>

Hillary's Hollywood flimflam manMichelle Malkin (archive) June 20, 2003 | Print | SendIf Hillary Rodham Clinton is so smart, so savvy, so razor sharp, how did she allow celebrity scam artist Aaron Tonken to dupe her and her husband?And if she denies being duped -- nobody can pull the wool over those steely blue eyes -- then what exactly did Hillary know about Tonken's fraudulent charity schemes and when did she know it?Federal investigators are now probing Tonken's involvement with a $1 million Hollywood political event for Hillary's 2000 Senate campaign, according to the Los Angeles Times. Earlier this week,...

<p>The Bush-Cheney fund-raising locomotive steamed out of the station this week and is on track to haul in upward of $175 million for the 2004 presidential election, putting the field of nine Democratic challengers at a dollar disadvantage that will last right up to Election Day. Just days after the president announced his intention to run for re-election, the Republicans brought in $22 million at a dinner Wednesday for congressional candidates. A few days before the President's Dinner, top Republicans had projected the take at about $7 million. "I think our efforts so far definitely show that we're united and energized as we head into the 2004 cycle," said Dan Allen, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, one of the groups that organized the dinner. "We're committed to go out and raise the resources, and that's what we're doing." Mr. Bush has a crowded fund-raising schedule next month, stopping at events in the District on June 17; in Greensboro, Ga., on June 20; in New York City on June 23; in San Francisco and Los Angeles on June 27; and in Miami and Tampa on June 30. "Along the same lines, in 2000, the president's compassionate conservative message and record of leadership attracted broad support across the country," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Friday. "We are hopeful that the president's strong leadership and bold vision for the future will again attract support in the coming months." If the success at the President's Dinner is any indication, the Bush-Cheney fund-raising operation could set records, as it did in 2000. While the dinner raised money for congressional candidates, it also showcased Mr. Bush's power to draw donations. The $22 million haul in one night nearly equaled the fund-raising operations for the nine Democratic presidential candidates in the first three months of the year — $25.8 million. The dinner is seen as a barometer of how the Republican Party will do under the new McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. The law — named for sponsors Sens. John McCain, Arizona Republican, and Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat — is in limbo until the Supreme Court takes up the matter. It strictly limits donations by individuals and bans contributions of "soft money," unregulated donations to political parties from corporations and other large entities. While a similar dinner last year brought in a record $30 million, including a slew of six-figure "soft money" contributions, the event this time, at $2,500-a-ticket, fell under the new law, which limits to $25,000 per calendar year individual donations to political committees. The $22 million draw, three times the estimate, shows that the new law may not have any adverse effect on fund raising, said one top Republican official. "I think the dinner showed people ... that the Republican Party has a broad base of financial support. I think the party with a broad base of support rather than a few rich donors is a healthier party," the official said. Just as Mr. Bush and running mate Dick Cheney did in 2000, the pair plans to reject federal matching funds for their 2004 campaign, which would limit their spending during the primaries and general election. If Democrats take the matching cash, as they did in 2000, they will face a spending limit of about $50 million between now and the political conventions in August 2004. The Bush-Cheney ticket could spend at least three times as much as their Democratic opponents, who are likely to have spent much of their money by April, with nine candidates vying for the nomination. Democrats concede Republicans have the money edge. "Obviously, we're going to be facing a $250 million White House fund-raising machine. We're realistic about it," said Guillermo Meneses, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. "But we will have enough money to be competitive, and we will have a strong candidate. We have the issues on our side, and we will have the American people on our side," the spokesman said. "President Bush has failed the American people, and no amount of money will help him get re-elected in 2004." Jano Cabrera, spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman, said: "At the end of the day, it really won't matter how much money Bush raises for himself, it will matter how much money the American people feel they have and whether or not they think the economy is on sound, stable footing." The Democratic candidates are scrambling to come up with an effective strategy to draw big cash. "The one who figures out the puzzle may be the one who takes the nomination," said one top Democratic official. Mike Siegel, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said his organization is working to create a way to draw cash under the new regulations. "We have constructed a very new fund-raising apparatus that allows to reach out both from the boardrooms of Wall Street to the donors of Main Street at the grass-roots level. We feel very comfortable not only about our ability to raise money, but also the nature of our message," he said. The Bush-Cheney ticket also has a new strategy to draw dollars. In 2000, more than 200 cash collectors dubbed "pioneers" raised at least $100,000 each. This time, Mr. Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, is adopting the name for a new team of volunteer fund-raisers who are expected to raise at least $200,000 each for his re-election campaign. The "rangers" will not be as numerous as the pioneers, but they will work to draw donations of hard money from individuals, who can give $2,000 to candidates directly, twice the 2000 limit. Although the Bush-Cheney ticket drew about $100 million for the 2000 election — twice that of the Gore-Lieberman team — the Republican official said there is no truth to estimates reported by news organizations that they will collect upward of $250 million. "Two hundred and fifty [million] dollars is a wrong number. Maybe $170 [million]. There will be more money but there won't be twice as much money," the official said.</p>

Feds Taking a Look at Hillary Clinton Fundraisers by Michael Sneed Chicago Sun Times Columnist Is Hillary Clinton sniffin a trouble brewing? Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun TImes hears that the feds are snooping around all over the Senators campagin fundraisers from coast to coast. Are the feds so worried about Clintons rising popularity that they are checking into hard and soft money raised by her campaign? Or did someone forget to dot all of the 'I's and cross the 'T's.Stay tuned..

CAMPAIGN 2003 Governor's race now a battle for bucks FUND-RAISERS TRUMP FORUMS UNDER NEW RULES By Ryan Alessi HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU FRANKFORT - The race to become Kentucky's next governor is starting to look like a throwback to the old days of spend-to-win. That might not be good news for voters, some election watchdogs say. Many of the candidates say they devote at least a dozen hours each week courting potential donors by phone or in reception halls, museums and swank living rooms. To make time, debates and door-to-door campaigning are pushed off the schedule. "I would like to get...

WASHINGTON -- Republican contributors who gathered at Washington's Willard Hotel Tuesday for "an evening with the President" were stunned by the surprise appearance of boxing promoter Don King (accompanied by his usual bodyguard). Nobody had ever before seen King at a Republican event. Attendance Tuesday was limited to Eagles, who must pay $15,000 membership dues. From the Willard, King went to a $15,000-a-ticket Democratic fund-raiser at the Washington mansion of Bill and Hillary Clinton. A footnote: Federal records reflect only $10,000 in contributions by King in the 1996 and 2000 election cycles, with but $1,000 given Bush (in 1999). He...

<p>Bill Simon, the Republican nominee for governor, on Tuesday pressed his attack on Gov. Gray Davis for raising money from special interest groups while hundreds of bills await his signature or veto.</p> <p>Simon called on Davis to release the names of those invited to a Davis fundraiser sponsored by TechNet that was supposed to take place Tuesday at Spago restaurant in Palo Alto. Davis postponed the event at the last minute, saying he didn't have time because he needs to decide on the bills by Monday's deadline.</p>