Obama Asks DOJ To Block Terrorist Ad, Investigate Donors

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The Politico has the story that Barack Obama has appealed to the Department of Justice in his efforts to fight a Republican billionare's ads that connect the Democratic candidate to foreign and domestic terrorists:

Obama's campaign has written the Department of Justice demanding a criminal investigation of the "American Issues Project," the vehicle through which Dallas investor Harold Simmons is financing the advertisements. The Obama campaign - and tens of thousands of supporters - are pressuring television networks and affiliates to reject the ads with some success: CNN and Fox News are not airing the attacks, and some local affiliates have also refused.

Obama has also launched his own response ad, directly addressing Simmons' attempt to link him to domestic terror.

The project is "a knowing and willful attempt to violate the strictures of federal election law," Obama general counsel Bob Bauer wrote to Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Keeney last week in a letter provided to Politico. Bauer argued that by advocating Obama's defeat, the ad should be subject to the contribution limits of federal campaign law, not the anything-goes regime of issue advocacy.

The Huffington Post's Seth Colter Walls had previously reported on this ad's questionable legal status.

The Ayers ad mentions Obama's name, uses the word "elect" (in the form of a question), and mentions not a single legislative issue, and quite obviously takes a position on his character and fitness for office. Thus, if an incorporated 501c(4) produced the ad and paid for its broadcast with corporate funds, it should be filing FEC disclosure reports.

Click here to read that story, and to see the ad in question

Obama has also rolled out a new ad that denounces the McCain attack. Click here to watch Obama's ad.

Simmons, who put out the ad, is an economic powerhouse for Republicans.

The spokesman for the American Issues Project, the independent group whose ad is the most negative of the cycle and links Obama to terrorism, says the group just filed a report naming its sole donor.



The donor, spokesman Christian Pinkston said, is Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, who made his first fortune in chain pharmacies and is now listed as the 73rd richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated by Forbes at $2.1 billion.



Simmons, a major Republican donor, gave maximum $2,300 contributions to Senator John McCain last year, as well as to former Governor Mitt Romney and to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Click here to read that story

Earlier: Experts: Obama-Ayers Ad May Be Illegal

Comments

[CaptainStormfield]

So why is some anonymous rich guy coughing up 3 million bucks for an attack add?
With that kind of money he could make his own commercial and air his case.

"The offspring of riches: Pride, vanity, ostentation, arrogance, tyranny."
- Mark Twain, a Biography

[Justsaynodeal]

Maybe he doesn't think 0bama is qualified for POTUS,

[rwe]

Be careful what you ask.. The DOJ just might investigate again Ayers and Move on and George Soros

[JLee]

Without suspicion of criminal activity? That's known as an abuse of power, bud.

[Aleka4]

Well that is what the republicans are all about, didn't you notice? They've been abusing power for 8 years.

[BlackBuddha]

The DOJ might have to investigate them to put off investigating itself.

R-WE incapable of understanding the rape of the Constitution?

[flydoghead]

O will be appointing the next Attorney General

[SurrealPumpkin]

I don't know about MoveOn and George Soros but Ayers is clean as far as a DOJ investigation. He's done a massive turn around. As for his thinking that the Weather Underground didn't go far enough? It's called Free Speech and it means that not only can people say what you like but they can say what you don't like.

[macaframa]

swiftboat my A$$

[PKSSK]

Obama needs to do a rebuttal ad that describes the creator of the ad in terms of his wealth and his support for the republican agenda. The wealthy will, again, swift boat the democrats to continue with the same policies that have destroyed our middle class and moved many into poverty without health care. Obama needs to put these people in front of the American people so we can see who is responsible for giving us the last 8 years that have destroyed many American lives, while enhancing their own wealth. They will lie to the American people by creating swift boat attack ads against democratic canididates in order to continue the policies that enhance a wealthy few.

[liseworks]

He also needs to do a GAFFE ad - showing every one of McCain's many gaffes !
EG :
"I promise we will never again send your sons & daughters to fight a war for OIL !!"
"In the 21st Century, Nations don't invade other Nations."
"President Putin of Germany." etc. etc.

[alguien]

that'd have to be an entire infomercial.

[rollingdivision]

Address the issue, show them how wrong they are, expose the lies and shame and defeat your opponent.

[marinade]

Equal time for McCain's shining moments with the S & L scandal?

[Justsaynodeal]

That is so old news................for all you pre-teens.

[CostaMesaJoe]

Finally.
However, will Bush's DOJ do a damn thing about it? No.
Good step in the right direction though, Obama needs to step up the jabs, right back at the Republicans.......

[rollingdivision]

Censorship, yeah that's the ticket.

[macaframa]

lies should be censored............

[rollingdivision]

Who determines which political remarks are lies and to be censored?

[jeg]

I know it's difficult to believe, but there are rules for elections. Why should we stand by and let the Republicans break them, knowing they'd be the first the scream foul should anyone on the DNC break the same rules?

[Eoin45]

How many times do you have to be educated RollingDiv? No network, company or person has any obligation to provide a platform for another's views. It is not an infringement on freedom of speech to refuse to air a commercial with which one disagrees. All citizens or groups or groups are entitled to speak in a public place but no one is entitled to their own show. Would you be infringing on my freedom of speech if you refused to let me into your house so I could express my views there? You've pulled the censorship card before but you're still wrong.

[rollingdivision]

The purposeful restriction of political speech is censorship. Typically, those who advocate the restriction, regulation or elimination of our first amendment rights do so in the most lofty and high minded terms. But, in the end they want political they find objectionable banned.

[conservativesoncrack]

Free Speach does not include the right to tell lies about someone without the reasonable expectation that you can be sued. Instead of talking about the issues, the Reich Wing continues with these lies instead. I think this time the result might be quite different though. Why doesn't this Repug do a pro ad on McCan't and his policies or perhaps a glowing tribute to the past eight years and how it has helped the typical American worker? Why? Because THAT cannot be done with an reasoanble amount of honesty.

[singer1poet]

Now THAT IS how you fight back!! Once this shameful and totally out of the sense of reality attack is eliminated and shown to be the lie that it is, Barack can continue forward in knowing that he took the higher road.

[loper2008]

CNN has aired this ad.

[toddausaurus]

What a whiner. Maybe he should have used his judgment in the first place and not sought the council of a terrorist.

[patrice37]

It's hard to be persuasive when you don't know the difference between "council" and "counsel."

[WFV]

Exactly. I have trouble taking advice from people who can't even spell.

[Eoin45]

Agreed. Only revealing his ignorance for all to see.

[Naajoa]

You're an idiot! What council did he seek from Ayers? They lived in the same neighborhood and and sat on the same board, Barack did not have control over that. Got it?

[toddausaurus]

Ayers was obviously some kind of mentor to him and take it easy on my spelling! Have you ever heard of a whinier candidate? "hey you guys stop running that add boo hoo" I'm just like you America, except a terrorist was/is a friend of mine.

[Bagger]

That's a smear.

They served on the same board which Obama had no control and Ayers donated $200 to his campaign. That's it.

[Naajoa]

When did he seek Ayers council? Do you even know what you're talking about? They lived in the same neighborhood and and sat on the same board, Obama has no control over that. Got it?

[PlainBread]

Whiner? You? Oh, OK.

[cdub1991]

Does the Obama campaign actually expect a positive response from this corrupt Justice Department of a corrupt administration that specializes in stealing elections?

If they are going to make a legal attack, they should make sure that they tie McCain--the lord of campaign reform--to this illegal campaign ad and force him to either renounce or embrace it.

[JadedAggie]

Obviously if it doesn't get stopped they'll tie it to both him and W.

[Justsaynodeal]

Did McCain approve it?