Follow the Money: Palestinians Make Illegal Donations to Barack Hussein Obama

A review of Barack Hussein Obama’s Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reveals that he has accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and they exceeded the maximum allowed from individuals. Federal election laws forbid all campaign contributions from foreigners. If received, the law requires that such contributions be returned to the donors promptly. Moreover, the maximum amount allowed from any single donor is $2,300 per campaign.

Obama received illegal donations to his presidential campaign from Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, beginning in September 2007. The FEC records show three contributors: Monir Edwan (or Adwan), Hosam Edwan, and Osama Edwan. Monir, an accountant, has given $28, 380. Hosam, also an accountant, donated $7,502. Osama, a trader, has given $1,809. Thus, two have exceeded the limits for contributions by individuals.

These three brothers reside in the Tal Esaltan neighborhood of Rafah, a Palestinian refugee camp in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. They are not Americans living abroad, who would be allowed to make contributions; they are all Palestinians. The brothers claim not to be members of Hamas, but other members of their family are in leadership positions with this terrorist group.

In fact, the FEC filings from his campaign appear to be an attempt to disguise or hide these donations. These donations are listed under the state of Georgia (GA). The street address is listed as “Tal Esaltan” or “Tal esoltan 295/5”, the city as “Rafah,” and zipcode “972xx” in “GA.” (See http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppRefreshTran.do?tranComeFrom=stateMap&cand_id=P80003338&cand_nm_title=&tranType=stateZip&showType=all&stateName=GA&zip_3=972 and http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=GA&cand_id=P80003338 )

No atlas shows a town named “Rafah” in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia post office zipcodes range from 300xx to 398xx. The “972” in the filings is actually the telephone area code for Israel, including the Gaza Strip.

When caught, the Obama campaign claimed that these donations had been returned. However, according to Monir Edwan, “No, we did not receive any money back from the Obama campaign at any time.” He tried to deny these were political contributions to World Net Daily’s Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein. Instead, he claimed the brothers had purchased $29,000 worth of Obama T-shirts to sell to Obama supporters in Gaza. When asked, he could not explain how these supposed shipments could have been received. At the time, the Gaza Strip was closed by Israel to imports from June 2007 until June 2008. However, even if he had received the tee shirts, it would still constitute an illegal contribution. All monies used to purchase items in the “Obama store” on his website are considered campaign donations. (See “Illegal cash to Obama: WND stands accused. Website suggests donation scheme concocted to make Dem look bad,” Word Press, August 7, 2008: http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/illegal-cash-to-obama-wnd-stands-accused-website-suggests-donation-scheme-concocted-to-make-dem-look-bad/ )

Asked why he supports Obama, Monir said, “We just like Obama and believe he will be the best for the Palestinians and for the world." He went on to say, “Not just the people in Gaza but people from all over the world are rooting for this great man.” (See Aaron Klein, “Illegal Obama donors: Middle Eastern Arabs,” World Net Daily, August 4, 2008: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71431 )

The FEC has challenged Obama’s filings repeatedly for illegal foreign contributions. “On 4/15/08 the FEC sent a letter requesting additional information for 36 contributors the Obama campaign had submitted. There is an attachment to this letter with the names, dates and amounts,” including seven of Hosam’s donations. Obama filed the required amended filing on May 15, 2008 for contributions received between October 10 and December 31, 2007. On July 30, 2008, the FEC requested clarifications or corrections on an additional sixteen pages of this same filing. Twenty contributions from Monir Edwan were questioned. (See http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/ )

This may be just a small part of a much larger problem. According to Pamela Geller, author of the Atlas Shrugs blog who does extensive investigative reporting, “An auditor for the Federal Election Commission is attempting to have his bosses seek a formal investigation into the collection by the Obama for President campaign of more than $200 million in potentially illegal political donations, including millions of dollars of illegal, foreign donations, and has sought a request for assistance from the Department of Justice or Federal Bureau of Investigation.” (See Pamela Geller, “Obama Foreign Illegal Contributions: Infiltration at FEC, DOJ, and FBI,” Atlas Shrugs, October 2, 2008: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/obamas_foreign_contributions/ )

Researchers have found suspicious contributions from over 68 foreign cities and nations to Obama’s campaign in FEC filings. There are also suspicious patterns to some of these contributions. For example, the same donor makes multiple small contributions on the same day or over a period of a few days. Other donors listed have names, occupations, and cities of residence that are either gibberish or obviously phony. Examples include: A donor named “Jkbkj Hbkjb,” working for a fictitious Kuman Bank as a “Balanon Jalalan” and living in the city of “Jkbjnj,” gave $1,077.23 on April 30, 2008. A donor named “Doodad,” employed by “FDGFDGF” as a “DFGFDG,” gave 1,044 donations totaling $10,780. (See Pamela Geller, “Obama’s Foreign Donors: The media averts its eyes,” American Thinker, August 14, 2008: http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/obamas_donor_contributions_sil.html )

On Monday, October 6, 2008, the Republican National Committee (RNC) finally filed a complaint with the FEC over Obama’s alleged foreign contributions. The FEC will have no choice but to investigate and rule on this complaint. Unfortunately, it will happen long after Election Day, November 4th.