Obama campaign accepted foreign Web donation -- and may be hiding more
By ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN
Last Updated: 10:11 AM, October 21, 2012
Posted: 12:34 AM, October 21, 2012

EXCLUSIVE

The Obama re-election campaign has accepted at least one foreign donation in violation of the law — and does nothing to check on the provenance of millions of dollars in other contributions, a watchdog group alleges.

Chris Walker, a British citizen who lives outside London, told The Post he was able to make two $5 donations to President Obama’s campaign this month through its Web site while a similar attempt to give Mitt Romney cash was rejected. It is illegal to knowingly solicit or accept money from foreign citizens.

Walker said he used his actual street address in England but entered Arkansas as his state with the Schenectady, NY, ZIP code of 12345.
’NET PROFIT: President Obama and Hillary Clinton are joined at a 2011 state dinner by Robert Roche (to Clinton’s right), who registered the site Obama.com, which directs visitors to a donation page.

“When I did Romney’s, the payment got rejected on the grounds that the address on the card did not match the address that I entered,” he said. “Romney’s Web site wanted the code from the back of card. Barack Obama’s didn’t.”

In September, Obama’s campaign took in more than $2 million from donors who provided no ZIP code or incomplete ZIP codes, according to data posted on the Federal Election Commission Web site.

The Obama campaign said the FEC data was the result of “a minor technical error.”

“All the ZIP codes and numbers are real and can be verified,” spokesman Michael Czin said.

The Obama campaign’s apparent lack of safeguards makes it possible to violate the law, says a report released by the Government Accountability Institute, a Florida-based watchdog group.

The report found that one Obama site — Obama.com — gets almost half of its traffic from foreign computer addresses. The site directs users to an Obama donation page.

“We are not suggesting that just foreign traffic by itself is a problem,” said Peter Schweizer, president of the GAI. “But for a campaign that is very sophisticated in its fund-raising capabilities, they do not make one effort to try to even see or ask somebody to check a box that says they are a US citizen.”

Obama’s re-election campaign took in $130,867 from donors who provided no ZIP codes and $2 million from those with incomplete ZIPs in September.

That same month, Romney’s campaign recorded $2,450 from donors without ZIP codes and $2,500 from those with incomplete ZIPs.

Walker said it should have been clear to the Obama campaign’s computers that his donations came from a computer with a foreign IP address.

The Obama campaign says it “screens all credit-card contributions that originate from a foreign IP address” and requests proof of citizenship if questions arise.

But not only did Walker’s Obama donations go through, but he said he began receiving two to three e-mail solicitations a day to give more. The e-mails asked for $188 or more.

If Walker gave $188, his total contribution to Obama would be $198 — less than the $200 threshold at which campaigns have to identify the donor to the FEC.

“I have not had any e-mails asking for proof of identity,” Walker said.

The GAI report found the Obama campaign Web sites do not ask donors to provide their three-digit card-verification value, or CVV, numbers to ensure they are the legitimate holders of the card. Romney’s campaign asks for such information, which is considered a standard security measure.

One conduit for Obama donations is Obama.com, which was registered in 2008 to Robert Roche, an American who lives and works in China, where he owns an infomercial company.

Roche is also a bundler for the Obama campaign and was given a seat at the head table for a 2011 state dinner with the Chinese president

The GAI report said that the site registration was changed in 2010 to make it anonymous and that it was unclear whether Roche still owns it.

Roche’s mother in Chicago referred calls to the Obama campaign. The campaign declined to comment.

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A chronic political paralysis in Iraq

Keeping national partnerships aside, those who get more votes in the elections ought to be given a chance to run the country
By Mohammad Akif Jamal, Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 October 20, 2012



When Iraqi President Jalal Talabani left for Germany last April on a therapeutic journey, the Iraqi political crisis was at its peak. However, upon his return to the country after four months, the crisis remained as it was — as though it was waiting for the president’s return.

The president has recovered, but the Iraqi political crisis remains a problem for all Iraqis.

The no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki is no more an issue in Iraq; neither is calling him for accountability by the parliament.

Talk, however, has resumed about reforms and the National Assembly, which was called for by the President of Iraq before his departure and after the Iraqi political crisis started at the Erbil summit, then Najaf, then in Erbil once more between the Kurdish Province President, the Chairman of the Al Iraqia Coalition and the Chairman of the Sadrist Movement.

Article continues below


Media outlets have circulated news about a reform doctrine that is being prepared by a committee from the National Alliance presided by former prime minister Ebrahim Al Jafari, though some parties inside the alliance are denying the existence of such a paper.

So what will be discussed inside the new National Assembly? And what points will be accepted?

The concept of reforms does not mean amending the constitutional structure, which is being demanded now. However, it reflects the re-distribution of interests, authorities and the area of participation in decision-making between political blocs.

Frankly, this is unlikely to happen as it will be at the expense of the vast authorities enjoyed by the prime minister himself. Moreover, it will neither suit the prime minister nor the national alliance he belongs to, because Al Maliki is in a stronger position than his opponents. He succeeded in aborting all efforts to topple his government and consequently the attack against him subsided, despite the fact that the roots of discontent are still alive.

However, although Al Maliki has become strong enough to stand against challenges inside Iraq, he has weakened himself against the US, which has signed the Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) with Iraq through his controversial policies towards Syria. It seems Al Maliki’s relationship with the US is verging on the cold side after the US accused his government of backing the Syrian regime and overlooking the arms shipments crossing over to Syria through Iraqi skies.

The National Assembly is not expected to succeed in solving the country’s problems.

It is not wise for Iraqi political bloc leaders to count on the remaining months of this current Iraqi government, which is dominated by political, ethnic, sectarian and regional imbalances. Their true interest is to look beyond than that as the parliamentary elections are not too far away. The coming days and months will offer a golden opportunity to these political blocs to rally for elections.

And in as much as the opposing blocs will benefit from pushing Al Maliki and his bloc towards isolation, Al Maliki’s bloc will also work systematically to weaken its foes. As a result, a lot of changes are expected to take place in the current political equations in Iraq.

The coalition headed by Al Maliki will work on weakening its foes. On top of that list comes the Sadrist movement, especially since the movement no longer enjoys the kind of regional support or cover that it used to. The Kurdish Alliance, on the other hand, is suffering from internal strife, which, no doubted, will affect its stand. It is no longer a secret that many Kurdish politicians are concerned about the continuous retardation in the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil and the confrontation policy adopted by the Kurdish Province Presidency.

The Kurdish Province President, Masoud Barzani, is also facing trouble as the National Kurdish Union, headed by Iraqi President Talabani, decided to bury the hatchet with the Kurdish opposition Gorran movement, led by Nushirwan Mustafa, and agreed to adopt policies that could weaken Barzani through amending the Kurdish constitution. This amendment will change the political system in the province into a parliamentary one and not a presidential system, exactly as the system followed in the Iraqi constitution. This move resembles a frank challenge to the authorities of the Kurdish Province’s president and a refusal for his extended authorities given to him by the constitution. This will also escalate tensions with Baghdad.

The Al Iraqiya Coalition, headed by Dr Eyad Allawi, on the other hand, is suffering splits. The coalition itself does not resemble any threat to Al Maliki’s coalition anymore, as was the case during the March 2010 elections.

The political crisis in Iraq has become chronic and the inability to find a solution is also chronic. Maybe, the whole concept of national partnership has paralysed the political process in the country and needs to be substituted with another system which gives those who get more votes in the elections a chance to run the country in a more appropriate manner.

Dr Mohammad Akif Jamal is an Iraqi writer based in Dubai.

Iraq seeks ousted cenbank chief's arrest in graft probe




BAGHDAD | Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:25pm BST

(Reuters) - Iraqi authorities have issued arrest warrants for the former central bank chief and other bank officials after a probe into corruption, a decision likely to fuel investor worries the government is interfering with the bank's autonomy.

The warrants were announced after Iraq's cabinet on Tuesday ousted director Sinan al-Shibibi over parliamentary charges bank officials were abusing dollar sales. An independent integrity watchdog had been investigated the charges.

"The judicial panel of the Integrity Court is investigating the matter," said Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar, a spokesman for the Supreme Judiciary Council. "They issued the arrest warrant against Sinan al-Shibibi and other officials in the bank."
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The Integrity Court is part of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, which supervises the courts and judicial issues.

The central bank said this week it did not object to the investigation. Shibibi's whereabouts were not immediately clear. But the bank chief recently travelled to Tokyo and Europe on business and it was not clear whether he returned to Iraq.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last year won a court ruling that put the central bank and other independent bodies under cabinet supervision, a move his opponents said would allow the Shi'ite premier to consolidate his power.

Iraq's political system has mired in infighting among Shi'ite, Sunni Muslim and ethnic Kurdish blocks, some of whom accuse Maliki of failing to fulfil power-sharing agreements in the cross-sectarian government.

But corruption is rife in the OPEC nation as its oil industry rebuilds and foreign investors seek to reconstruct its infrastructure after years of war and sanctions even before the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

(Reporting by Aseel Kami; writing by Patrick Markey)