Exclusive: DOJ will not conduct witch hunts for Obama
Remember Barack Obama’s attempt to silence TV stations running an independent ad by American Issues Project spotlighting The One’s ties to Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers? (link)
And remember the Obama campaign’s attempt to sic the Justice Department on the GOP donor behind the forbidden ad? (link)
A source sends the following report on DOJ’s public comments about Obama’s witch hunt. The comments were made September 12 and have not been reported yet by the MSM:
Justice Department Enforcement
Donsanto Says DOJ Does Not Pursue
Criminal Probes of Independent GroupsThe Justice Department does not pursue criminal investigations of contributors to independent political groups, even when they give $1 million or more and even when their money is solicited based on an appeal to support or oppose a candidate, according to DOJ’s top election crimes official.
“You don’t see a whole lot of cases” where DOJ is looking at independent groups, said Craig Donsanto, the veteran director of the Election Crimes Branch in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section.
Donsanto made his comments Sept. 12 at a conference on corporate political activities in Washington, sponsored by the Practising Law Institute.
Asked directly during a panel discussion at the PLI conference whether he would approve of a case against a hypothetical contributor to a Section 527 group who gave a seven-figure donation based on a request to help or harm the prospects of a particular presidential candidate, Donsanto said, “No.”
Gap Between DOJ, FEC
His comments appeared to distance DOJ from the legal position taken in recent years by the Federal Election Commission. For example, the FEC adopted a regulation (11 CFR 100.57) after the last presidential election saying that money solicited by a group to support or oppose a federal candidate can be considered a regulated campaign contribution, limited to $5,000 annually per contributor.
DOJ has backed the FEC in defending this regulation and others against a recent court challenge, but Donsanto’s comments indicated that department apparently does not view the FEC rules as a strong enough basis for a criminal case. That stance could disappoint campaign reform supporters and officials in the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who have called on the Justice Department to aggressively pursue alleged instances of independent groups being set up to intervene in the current race for the White House.
Following the 2004 campaign, the FEC pursued enforcement cases and levied large fines against some of the biggest so-called Section 527 groups active in that campaign, arguing that their activities were regulated under campaign finance law. Critics of the groups have suggested that their organizers and contributors now face an even greater risk of legal action now because of the precedents set by the past FEC enforcement cases.
Also, a federal judge in Richmond, Va., recently rejected a bid for an injunction to block FEC restrictions on independent groups operating in the current campaign season (The Real Truth About Obama Inc. v. FEC, E.D. Va., No. 3:08-cv-00483-JRS, filed 7/30/08).
RTAO Lawsuit, Keeney Letter
The Richmond case was brought by a group called the Real Truth About Obama (RTAO), which filed an appeal notice Sept. 12 saying it would ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to block the FEC rules. The Justice Department was named in the RTAO lawsuit, along with the FEC, and has joined in defending the FEC’s regulations in court.
In addition, John Keeney, the deputy assistant attorney general for DOJ’s Criminal Division, sent a letter in June to Fred Wertheimer, head of the reform group Democracy 21, saying that DOJ would “vigorously pursue instances where individuals or organizations knowingly and intentionally violate the clear commands” of the federal campaign finance laws. Keeney’s letter did not specify FEC rules for independent political groups, but it responded to a letter from Wertheimer calling upon DOJ to pursue criminal investigations of Section 527 groups that “knowingly and willfully violate the law” by spending unlimited “soft money” contributions to influence federal elections.
Other letters sent to Keeney in August by Obama’s campaign lawyer, Robert Bauer of the firm Perkins Coie, called on DOJ to pursue a criminal probe of a newly revealed independent group called the American Issues Project (AIP), which Bauer suggested was set up to collect unlimited funding for television ads attacking Obama in the presidential race. One of the Bauer letters specifically demanded a Justice Department probe of AIP contributor Harold Simmons, a Texas billionaire. The letter–citing the FEC regulation (11 CFR 100.57) on soliciting contributions–charged that Simmons violated campaign contribution limits by providing over $2.8 million to the American Issues Project.
WRTL Decision Called ‘Subjective.’
But, Donsanto’s comments called into question whether DOJ would pursue such a case. He called “subjective” the legal standard for activities of independent political groups established by the Supreme Court last year in its ruling in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc. (WRTL).
The 5-4 majority ruling in the WRTL case, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, said that financing of political messages by independent groups could be regulated only if the message was “susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a clearly identified federal candidate.”
Donsanto indicated that the legal standard established by the WRTL opinion was not clear enough for a criminal prosecution.
Donsanto is the top Justice Department career employee in charge of prosecuting campaign finance criminal cases. He reviews all such cases nationwide before they can proceed, he said.
DOJ currently has 77 active investigations of election crimes cases, Donsanto told the PLI conference.
No, Obama, the government will not do your bidding and intimidate conservatives exercising their free speech.
So call off your henchmen and back off.
And here, again, is the ad Obama doesn’t want you to see:
Pass it on!
***
Related: Video flashback: Obama touts experience at nonprofit founded by Ayers
Related: Obama goes after author David Freddoso. Ramesh Ponnuru: “If the Obama campaign wants to stay in the speech-suppression business, it ought to find some better thugs.”
Related: Obama’s plumbers.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- Camp Obama Strikes Again: It is frightening to see this type of behavior in the good old U.S.A. « Dianej’s Weblog
- WeatherOutpost12
- DOJ Said No Witch Burning Today Obama! « Mcnorman’s Weblog
- DOJ Cancels Obama Witch Hunt « Quipster
- Wake up America-Obama gives directive to Obamabots
- Speak up. Canada or USA? « Because No One Asked
- Running For Hypocrite-In-Chief? « I Took The Red Pill (and escaped the Matrix)
- Obama Attempts To Use DOJ to Silence Critics…Is this mean or OK because it is The One? « Zipline Conservative
- Lee’s Take » DOJ Will NOT Do Barack Obama’s Bidding
- We Can Stand Up
- F3 Coalition - [Faith. Family. Freedom.] » Blog Archive » You Can Stand Up
- We Can Stand Up | Adam's Blog
- Pissing on the “American Dream”; Where is “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”? « Northern Thoughts And Reflections
- Dave Lucas' Notes » Political Vibe 17 September 08
- The Saloon dot net
- The Baby Is Crying Again UPDATED | Democrat=Socialist
- Nothing like a little intimidation, eh? « The Iron Whirlygig
- A Blog For All
- Michelle Malkin » Chicago thug urges cult followers to get thuggish, too
- Why I’m NOT Voting for Obama « Popgun’s World
- Steynian 248 « Free Mark Steyn!
- “My love shall hear the music of my hounds.” « Republican Party of Jefferson County, TN
- Plumb Bob Blog » Chicago Annenberg Challenge: The Take
- Obama: Censoring Free Speech « Sooshi Soo
- UrbanGrounds » Blog Archive » More Stifling of Free Speech From Obama
- Barack Obama: The Strong-Arm Tactics of Team Obama | DBKP - The Worldwide Leader in Weird
- Obama Campaign Trying to use the FCC to Silence Critics « The TrueSoldier Rants
- Michelle Malkin » Columnist needs lesson on what “Stalinist” tactics are
- Michelle Malkin » Columnist needs lesson on what “Stalinist” tactics are
- Why I’m Not Voting For Obama - revisited « Popgun’s World
- Obama’s America: No criticism allowed. « One American Voice
- Michelle Malkin » Who says conservative bloggers don’t do reporting?
- LIBERAL MEDIA NEEDS TO LEARN THE MEANING OF STALINSIT TACTICS « The Florida Patriot
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Bill Ayers
Pundit & Pundette
» States in dire straits
Sister Toldjah
» Josh Marshall: Sarah Palin is “probably mentally unstable”Sister Toldjah
» A resolution honoring Michael Jackson? Are you kidding me?Stop The ACLU
» Radical Obama: Anti-American MilitarismRiehl World View
» Pali-mania Strikes The Right Blogosphere!Confederate Yankee
» "The Obama Administration is the Most Fiscally Irresponsible in the History of the U.S."
Contributors to independent political groups - 1
Obama - 0… kinda apropos, wouldn’t you say?
Well, I have made it a practice my whole consulting career of finding the problems where people squawk the loudest. Obviously Obama is telling us all that this is a VERY sensitive area, and no doubt for good reason. He protesteth too much.
The DOJ won’t act as Hopenchange’s henchmen — for the moment. What’s important is to keep him out of the White House, so he can’t change that state of affairs.
It was the Clintons, after all, who turned the IRS into a means of punishing his enemies with audits and who misappropriated FBI files on people they didn’t like. Hopenchange would do the same damn thing, only with politically-motivated investigations and prosecutions.
Finally, some back-bone! Good.
Yeah!
You’re not Emperor yet, Obama.
Amazingly, the Obamaniacs can inferentially read all kinds of “rights” into the First Amendment (abortion, sodomy, etc.) but, somehow, cannot see the right to free speech that is EMBLAZONED in the actual text. That is change we cannot afford.
I pray (Yes… to God) that he will finally be exposed for who he really is.
Not going to dig for dirt on Obama then they need to start digging for oil.
I knew this was going to be the outcome.
What can we now do to pressure the MSM to pick up on this story? And we don’t just want them to cover the DOJ response, we need to educate the public-at-large with what was just attempted by the Obama campaign.
I don’t think the people would be too thrilled to hear that Obama tried to stifle free speech and trampled on the First Amendment.
Great news and thrilled to know the DOJ will not be doing the marxist bidding of Obama.
Its getting Worse. Biden said that if any corporation wants a government loan then it must subject itself to a complete public opening of its books which will hurt businesses by exposing its weaknesses to competitors.
Rush just reported that along with blowing up buildings 40 years ago, that bastion of good citizenship, Bill Ayers, along with wifey Bernardine, received rings from the North Vietnamese for their service. The rings were made from the metal of U.S. bombers that were shot down.
Uh, uh, that’s irrelevant. Uh, uh, he just lives in my neighborhood.
Want something to investigate? These two make Jane Fonda look like a piker.
If it’s not biased left wing reporting, then they want to make it silent. If no one is around and a terrorist falls in the forest, dose anybody hear it? Should anybody hear it? Not according to the moonbats!!!!!
Obama Campaign
Nice to have some good news for a change. Of course, the trend is set and we know that sometime in the not too distant future the DOJ will be giving a very different response. In fact for those interested in the future, click here for a vision that looks rather plausible actually (HT to Debbie S.) and funny too, I guess. Language and gesture alert.
ajmontana, right on target! A P-51D shooting down a BF-109E. Great graphic.
As my father, a B-17 pilot, used to say, “You know you’re over the target when you start getting flak.”
McCain up 2 points in Colorado in the latest poll. If that holds, that means for the first time McCain holds over 270 electorial college votes. Keep it up Obama. Its working
Still, the Richmond case demonstrates that there is work to be done. McCain-Feingold must be dismantled! It boggles the mind that a Crucifix in a jar of urine is ‘free speech’, but you can’t say anything against a political candidate 60 days before an election!
Not yet, anyway.
If we want to keep it that way we need to make sure we get off our hinders and vote for McCain, even if we have to hold our nose to do it.
I am over the top shocked that youtube has not pulled the ad.
New Anti-Obama ad. 100% acurate and to the point.
Black socialist POS!
Does this mean, since DOJ will not prosecute, that the current regulations can be ignored?
Ya’ll are looking at this as the DOJ not going after The Obama’s enemies, but not seeing that it means The Obama’s friends can safely ignore the law since no prosecution will happen.
Wow…I’m pleasantly surprised.
Watch your back folks. Obama cornered is a dangerous thing. He is going to go ballistic before this is over. He will try to keep the lid on till the first debate and when he comes out of that looking like a plucked chicken he is going to go for broke. You have no clue how bad the loons are going to behave.
what is this guy trying to hide?
If the DOJ want’s to something constructive, investigate bho and his past.
L
On September 16th, 2008 at 1:53 pm, cheapseat said:
His past. The truth. His agenda.
BHO’s refusal to really throw Ayres under the bus is peculiar. BHO seems to have had longer and closer ties to Wright, but once the words of the Jeremiad became known, under the bus he went.
This thread at Ace stuck in my memory; it was off the page when I speculated this response, based on another post at LGF that caused a couple of pieces to fall into place.
Is it possible that this is Obama’s Watergate: he was asked to help free Susan Rosenberg, and this action ended up involving many reasonably powerful people who could not afford to be seen as supporters of domestic terrorists?
Alternatively, will a close inspection of the funding pattern of Public Allies, The Woods Fund, The Joyce Foundation and CAC show very strong links to Leftist/Marxist organizations, ACORN and several very influential people (who have somehow managed to benefit from these organizations and ACORN)?
Perhaps the thing to be hidden is the social circle and its members. Ayres Sr. seems to have had much influence (Sidley Austin, for one). Ayres and Dohrn are well-placed at U of I (and influential and very trendy), and they know people who have/had much influence: Leonard Boudin, Kathy Boudin’s father.
To paraphrase another poster (I forget who):
“It seems that every time we turn over a rock, BHO and Ayres are seen to be franticly wiggling away.”
This really seems to smell like Watergate: the crime itself and perps are minor, but the parties involved ……
Now that we are getting closer expect the vitriol to increase. The more they hate, the more missteps they will make.
Hmmm a rhyme!
On September 16th, 2008 at 12:19 pm, Mister P said:
Bingo!
We need to keep digging - we haven’t even scratched the surface.
There is one thing that I appreciate about Barack Hussein Obama (a.k.a Barry Soetoro)…
He is the “Rosetta Stone” to deciphering the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.
Really.
Looks Obama wants people who have been evicted from their homes to be able to use that address to vote in Michigan. This is only the beginning of a very protracted legal battle to diminish our representative democracy. Their internal polls in Michigan must have them extremely desperate.
With the overwhelming number of public people wanting to advance Obama’s cause by whatever means necessary, I wonder what will happen if McCain/Palin are voted in. What will it take to get the raging libs to stop shoving their warped ideology down our throats? Ttheir perspective is.
Sorry, last line should be;
The more they talk, the more warped their perspective is.
On September 16th, 2008 at 12:20 pm, Regulus said:
You know who else uses that tactic?
Vladimir Putin.
I am probably smoking funny things, but with all of the available ammo out there you have to ask yourself if things like Ayers are going to be used on Obama in October as part of a “Shock and Awe” type of strategic stike that overwhelms his ability to respond.
That’s one more reason why we need to abolish the IRS and institute the Fair Tax.
Obama can not stand up to The Truth.
On September 16th, 2008 at 12:25 pm, greenfairie said:
Naked Emperor News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxoiZdBSi-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV_h-XwchkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpcTCH5zWfs
Hey, DOJ, if Obummer wants you to pursue investigation of those who criticize him, can McCain have you investigate Obummer’s ties to ACORN and the fraud that group has committed?
How much did Obummer know and when did he know it?
Obama couldn’t be expected to know what kind of nefarious activities his benefactors are up to. He didn’t have time and resources to do a background check on Ayers. He was just a teacher and guy in the neighborhood trying to help underpriveleged youth same as Obama. Nothing to see here. Move along.
He wasn’t convicted of anything. No prison bars on his house. yada yada.
But now he knows…….and he doesn’t seem to concerned. I would be burning my bridges there. There are plenty more good decent citizens to work with than that guy.
Oops.. forget..Chicago politicians are like a pot of bad stew. They can’t take out the bad ingredients so they just add more salt & pepper hoping people don’t notice the bad taste. People who don’t have enough to eat think it tastes great.
Running For Hypocrite-In-Chief?
Obama’s friends can safely ignore what law?
What law? What law can be ignored?
Or are you trying to say that it means Republican’s can’t ask DOJ to conduct witch hunt investigations of Americans simply because they support Obama? No problem.
So let me get this straight. A former constitutional law professor believes:
1. The first amendment rights of a person who doesn’t believe as he does should be squelched by the DOJ.
2. It’s OK for him to defy the Logan Act because he knows nothing will happen to him.
3. Detainees from a foreign country should be extended constitutional rights after being captured on the battlefield.
Anyone else scared?
Thanks Michelle!