Posted on 03/27/2008 8:10:08 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
Are Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elton John breaking U.S. laws by allowing the British pop singer, a foreign national, to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign by performing a concert on her behalf?
That's the question Inside the Beltway put to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) yesterday, which does not rule out the possibility.
First, some background supplied by the FEC: The goal of the 1966 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was to "minimize foreign intervention" in U.S. elections by establishing a series of limitations on foreign nationals. In 1974, the prohibition was incorporated into the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), giving the FEC jurisdiction over its enforcement and interpretation.
According to the FEC, FECA "prohibits any foreign national from contributing, donating or spending funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the United States, either directly or indirectly. It is also unlawful to help foreign nationals violate that ban or to solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations from them. Persons who knowingly and willfully engage in these activities may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment."
The question now is whether Elton John is contributing "indirectly" to Mrs. Clinton's campaign and whether the candidate herself has sought to "solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations" from a foreign national, which is unlawful.
That said, the act does provide a volunteer "exemption" as long as the foreign national performing a service is not compensated by anyone. But this exemption gets tricky and might not apply to Elton John.
Consider that in a 1987 advisory opinion, the commission allowed a foreign national student to provide uncompensated volunteer services to a presidential campaign.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Two women kissing - ick.
It would be OK if both were hot, though ;)
I remember when I was young,
Me and Billy had so much fun.
Hold’n Concerts and breaking laws.
That was before Lewinsky
with her blue dress and all
Me and Bill didn’t have a care,
Vincent Foster is still sucking air,
Sandy Burger wasn’t yet a thief.
We made a fortune selling nukes as Commander in Chief.
But the biggest kick I ever got,
Was Meeting Hsu is a parking lot.
He wrote a check for my campaign,
I’ll steal the China, some rugs and Your AR15s.
Laaaaaa Laaaa laa lla la..... Lala lallllaaaaaaaaa............
Obama Fans (Rocket Man)
I packed my bags last night, preflight.
Got a call at 3:00 am.
And I’m gone to Fly
to Bosnia again.
They send me here too much
They like risk my life.
I took sniper fire twice,
but we’re here alright.
And I think it’s gonna be a long long ride.
‘Til my lie is straight and the papers write
“’She’s not a man, but she sure can fight-
No! Ho don’t go”
They’re all Obama fans
Obama Fans
Burnin’ up my last few
Super Delagates
It takes a village
to raise your kids.
In fact, the government does it well
And they’d all turn out like Chesley
If we did.
And Health Insurance,
I got a better plan
Just sign your check
to me each week.
There all Obama Fans
Obama fans
And I think it’s gonna be a long long ride.
‘Til my lie is straight and the papers write
“’She’s not a man, but she sure can fight-
No! Ho don’t go”
They’re all Obama fans
Obama Fans
Burnin’ up my last few
Super Delagates
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