FEC Audits Obama's 2008 Campaign

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/04/ceo-4192011.html

FEC AUDITS OBAMA’S 2008 CAMPAIGN: The Federal Election Commission has initiated an audit of President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, with Roll Call reporting that the agency has been probing Obama for America’s financial records for nearly two years. But the size of the investigation is still not known.

What prompted the FEC’s decision is the numerous letters it submitted to Obama for America, which questioned the campaign’s financial filings – in all, it sent 26 letters to the president’s 2008 campaign apparatus.

Obama for America showed signs of a possible federal audit as evidenced by the amount of money it spent on legal fees in the past two years. As of March, the campaign spent $3 million to hire law firms such as Perkins Coie to represent it in court. Perkins Coie has a long history of representing Democratic politicians, including Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire. The firm also offers government relations services to clients, and in 2010 alone, the law firm spent $280,000 on lobbying.

Typically, presidential campaigns are required to be audited by the FEC if they receive federal funds. However, Obama decided not to take $84 million from the U.S. Treasury after securing his party’s nomination. This made him the first candidate of a major party to decline public financing since the public financing system had been initiated, and it allowed Obama to raise large amounts of money from private contributors and expend more than the $84 million spending cap in the general election.

More at the link --