Free Republic

Anna Wintour is officially a political-fundraising groundbreaker. The Vogue editor's "Runway to win" initiative -- which had famous designers like Tory Burch and Marc Jacobs creating bags, shirts and other gear for the Obama campaign -- brought in a lot more dough than some predicted. Campaign manager Jim Messina tells Bloomberg Businessweek that the venture, which had been mocked by some pundits, raised "just north of $40 million."

The government’s bailout of the automobile industry was rife with cronyism that bagged Obama bundlers and Administration insiders millions and left taxpayers holding the bill. That’s the conclusion Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer reached when he investigated little-known details surrounding the Obama Administration’s auto bailout, an action President Barack Obama touts as one of his most sterling presidential achievements. The government’s actions involving Chrysler resulted in a net loss to taxpayers of $2.9 billion, and the government is currently sitting on a $14.5 billion loss for its actions involving General Motors. But Mr. Schweizer says few Americans realize the...

Sufyan Ben Qumu was classified as a 'medium to high' national security risk before his release from American custody Qumu reportedly was Osama bin Laden's driver and worked for the al-Qaeda founder's company in Sudan Libyans promised to keep him behind bars, but he was released in 2010 Qumu was a former Libyan army tank driver and became a leader of the rebels during the uprising A former al-Qaeda terrorist released from Guantanamo Bay is believed to be the leader of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the US Ambassador, it was...

DNC delegate and partisan Democrat lawyer Gloria Allred attended the “30 Days to Victory” Obama fundraiser at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on October 7th…featuring George Clooney and musical acts Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Bon Jovi and Earth, Wind & Fire. After the fundraiser, Allred admitted to O’Reilly Factor correspondent Jesse Watters that she “just had a few words with the President” backstage, “he had some very kind words for me,” and “knows of my work…” but would not elaborate more on the details of her conversation. Now, two weeks later Allred is spearheading an “October surprise”...

The Free Beacon has a brief profile of Kareem Ahmed from TPM, one of the few million dollar donors to Obama’s SuperPACs. You’d be forgiven if you don’t recognize Ahmed’s name. Before this year, his political giving was limited to a few four-figure checks to California candidates. Several veteran California politics watchers contacted for this story had no idea who Ahmed was, either. But here’s the thing: so far in 2012, Ahmed’s contributions to Obama, Democrats, and the outside spending groups that support them have totaled more than $1.1 million. Ahmed’s wife, Tayyaba Farhat, has contributed another $75,000. At...

As the administration’s false narrative about the events leading up to the sacking of our consulate in Benghazi and the killing of our ambassador continues to unravel, a sordid detail has come to light. The leader of the the attack is believed to be an alumnus of Guantanamo Bay who was released from custody via an anti-American left wing group headed by an Obama donor. First, the terrorist: Abu Sufian bin Qumu. Bin Qumu, according to his Guantanamo file, was picked up in Pakistan in early 2002 after being identified by the Libyan government (that would be the same government...

President Barack Obama’s campaign raised more than $150 million in September, which was a record haul for the 2012 cycle, but the campaign may be actively trying to block a story in the works about a “blockbuster donor scandal” that could put its fundraising numbers under intense scrutiny.

President Obama reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowlegable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story. Sources told Secrets that the Obama campaign has been trying to block the story. But a key source said it plans to publish the story Friday or, more likely, Monday.

How 'bout a little refresher re. Obama political Godfather  and actual (16-count!) convicted felon Tony Rezko...? The Syrian-born Rezko is an infamous Chicago slumlord, fast-food restauranteur, and sleazy political operator who played a key role in the Blagojevich case- as well as the unlikley ascension to power of Barrack Hussein Obama.Obama's longtime ally, friend, and top fundraiser was found guilty of 16/24 counts of felony influence peddling back in June 2008. Of course the story was mostly buried/detached from his bud Barry in the run-up to that year's most unfortunate (for us) presidential election whilst the jury convicted Rezko of wire...

Will the real Obama stand up???As Islamic bigot's dirty money contaminates Barack Obama - Is Obama leaning towards the "ideology" of Khalidi's OK of 'Islamic States Apartheid' and lying about Israel's true free & equal for all democracy smearing its will to survive against Arab racist terror with The poisonous myth of 'Israeli apartheid'? Follow the Money: Obama contributor Talat M. Othman 23 Feb 2008 by to be announced Khalidi, a "virulent critic of Israel", has "denounced Israel as an 'apartheid' state." Pipes wrote that Othman is "president of the founding committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater...

When staying at George Clooney's Italian villa you might end up in the lake - without your clothes on! Access Hollywood caught up with the actor at the premiere of this latest movie, "The Ides of March," where he told us that his Lake Como palazzo has a long history of inspiring distinguished newscasters to take a dip in the pristine waters. ... "George said, 'Walter Conkrite was here, when Conkrite was here he jumped in the lake! And he did it on the second night. Now, we're here on the first night, we're having wine, we're having a beautiful...

File this one under culture of corruption. Obama supporters just can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can they? This latest scandal involves a former Tarheels basketball player and a $21 million bank fraud scheme. New York Daily News reports: Courtney Dupree was convicted of vastly overstating the billings of his Long Island City-based lighting company GDC Acquisitions in order to fraudulently obtain a loan from Amalgamated Bank.Dupree, 42, sat stone-faced as the verdict was read in Brooklyn Federal Court. He faces up to 30 years in prison and has to pay back at least $18 million. …Dupree, who attended...

Municipalities in California are considering a scheme whereby they seize home mortgages that are underwater through the process known as eminent domain, pay off investors at reduced rates, and allow new investors to refinance the underlying homes at current value. “The eminent-domain gambit is being advocated by Steven Gluckstern,” reports the Wall Street Journal, “the chairman of Mortgage Resolution Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has been the guiding force behind three California municipalities that are considering the approach.”  And like all schemes weird and wacky in this Occupy Anything country we have become, it’s the brainchild of...

Emigrant Bank was recently identified to receive a waiver that would allow the bank to opt out of rigorous Dodd-Frank requirements. These of course are the same new rules and regulations that Barack deems essential to the nation. Yet when the bank’s owner, Howard Milstein, who is a close friend and was a bundler for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, protested that the new rules would seriously crimp operations of his bank, the Obama Administration worked with members of congress to grant him a waiver from the new rules. Other financial institutions and banks have consistently and vehemently argued that...

Interesting stuff!!! Interview done by Stephen K. Bannon.

Four of the top officials at the Department of Justice were all big money fundraisers for President Obama’s 2008 campaign with strong ties to Wall Street—the very entity the Obama Administration has said must be criminally prosecuted for bringing about the biggest financial crisis in U.S. history. Attorney General Eric Holder: formerly of Covington & Burling law firm, in 2008 Holder himself represented big banks such as UBS and MBNA Bank. Holder was Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign co-chairman and raised $50,000 for the president’s campaign. Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli: a managing partner at Jenner and Block law firm, whose...

MEN OF HONOR Apparently, if you want to cheat on your wife or spurn the mother of your unborn child, cover up and easily settle your institution's criminal efforts to help Americans avoid paying their federal income taxes, or just avoid paying your own fair share, the place to be is on President Barack Obama's economic-recovery advisory board. Because that's where Robert Wolf, chief executive of UBS Group Americas, the U.S. arm of one of Switzerland's largest banks, UBS AG, sits, as do Charles E. Phillips, President of Oracle Corporation, Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management of...

MIAMI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The jailed whistleblower in a landmark tax evasion case against UBS AG is accusing a top U.S. Justice Department lawyer of "criminal conduct" for thwarting his efforts to cooperate with investigations of the Swiss bank by federal regulators and the U.S. Senate. Bradley Birkenfeld, who was instrumental in exposing widespread tax evasion by wealthy American clients of UBS, detailed the alleged misconduct involving the Justice Department's Kevin Downing in a telephone interview on Thursday. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. The 45-year-old former UBS banker spoke to Reuters from the federal prison in Pennsylvania...

Obama’s Vineyard Foursomes Include UBS’s Wolf, Lawyer Jordan. Bloomberg Business Week link only: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-27/obama-s-vineyard-foursomes-include-ubs-s-wolf-lawyer-jordan.html

A former banker who blew the whistle on thousands of secret bank accounts rich Americans held at Swiss giant UBS claimed Thursday some U.S. politicians also kept off-shore accounts with the bank. "We had an office in Washington that we all referred to as the PEP office - for 'Politically Exposed People,'" Bradley Birkenfeld said. He was speaking by phone - on tax day, no less - from Schuylkill County federal prison in Pennsylvania, where he is serving a 40-month sentence for his role in the tax evasion scheme. "Only top managers from the bank knew the names of the...