The National Jewish Democratic Council is calling on Mitt Romney and other 2012 Republican candidates to stop accepting donations from billionaire Sheldon Adelson in the wake of reports that the GOP mega donor personally approved of prostitution at his Macau resorts.
The group, which aims to build Jewish support for Democrats at the federal and state levels of government, issued its charge in response to a seven-page allegation that Adelson allowed prostitution at his Macau casinos and was also aware of other illicit activity. The claim was submitted by the former chief executive of Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Macau casinos, who had been fired from his position in July 2010. An attorney representing Adelson's company vehemently denied the allegations, calling them false and "scurrilous."
But that hasn't stopped the council from raising the issue along with Sen. John McCain's recent claim that Adelson injected "foreign money" into the election. The council is trying to pressure Romney and other Republicans to forgo further donations from Adelson until both matters are investigated.
"First, Sheldon Adelson was accused by Sen. John McCain of injecting Chinese 'foreign money' into our presidential election. Now Mr. Adelson is alleged to have 'personally approved of prostitution' in his Macau casinos," David Harris, the council's president and CEO, told The Huffington Post. "Until these serious questions are fully resolved, Republicans must immediately stop accepting donations from Mr. Adelson, one of their most prolific donors and one of Gov. Romney's leading supporters."
Adelson recently pledged $10 million to Romney-backed super PAC Restore Our Future, bringing his total amount of political contributions to at least $71 million during this election cycle. His donations have been seen as critical during the 2012 elections for the Republican Party, which has been significantly outspending Democratic forces.
Adelson is also a major player in conservative Jewish circles and sits on the board of the Republican Jewish Council.
Republicans have remained silent on the latest wave of allegations against Adelson, but a spokesman for Las Vegas Sands Corp. denied any wrongdoing on Adelson's part in an official statement:
"Mr. Adelson has always objected to and maintained a strong policy against prostitution on our properties and any accusation to the contrary represents a blatant and reprehensible personal attack on Mr. Adelson's character."
The Romney campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.