sailingaway
07-01-2011, 06:03 PM
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/BarackObama-2012PresidentialElection-Fundraising/2011/07/01/id/402258
Obama’s stellar fundraising numbers are certainly drawing notice – but not necessarily the type of attention he would like.
CNSNews.com reported Friday that election law experts are questioning the legality of a presidential video, filmed in the White House, in which Obama dangled a raffle for a dinner with him and the vice president, in return for a campaign donation.
Title 18, subsection 607, states it is unlawful for the president “to solicit or receive a donation of money or other thing of value in connection with a federal, state, or local election, while in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties.”
A 1979 Justice Department ruling found that presidential fundraising in the White House is legal, but only when it occurs in the residential portion of the historic mansion.
But election-law experts told CNSNews the raffle video was taped in an area frequently used for official business.
“It’s a criminal offense,” high-powered GOP attorney Cleta Mitchell, who sits on the ABA’s election-law committee, told the website.
It appears the Obama video, which has been criticized by some observers for demeaning the presidency, was taped in the Map Room.
The Map Room is located on the ground floor of the White House. Obama has used it for media interviews and for a meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Most voters know the Map Room as the venue for the second Obama oath-of-office ceremony, which was conducted by Chief Justice John Roberts in January 2009 after the first ceremony was flubbed.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Obama's Record Fundraising Comes Under Legal Scrutiny
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
Obama’s stellar fundraising numbers are certainly drawing notice – but not necessarily the type of attention he would like.
CNSNews.com reported Friday that election law experts are questioning the legality of a presidential video, filmed in the White House, in which Obama dangled a raffle for a dinner with him and the vice president, in return for a campaign donation.
Title 18, subsection 607, states it is unlawful for the president “to solicit or receive a donation of money or other thing of value in connection with a federal, state, or local election, while in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties.”
A 1979 Justice Department ruling found that presidential fundraising in the White House is legal, but only when it occurs in the residential portion of the historic mansion.
But election-law experts told CNSNews the raffle video was taped in an area frequently used for official business.
“It’s a criminal offense,” high-powered GOP attorney Cleta Mitchell, who sits on the ABA’s election-law committee, told the website.
It appears the Obama video, which has been criticized by some observers for demeaning the presidency, was taped in the Map Room.
The Map Room is located on the ground floor of the White House. Obama has used it for media interviews and for a meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Most voters know the Map Room as the venue for the second Obama oath-of-office ceremony, which was conducted by Chief Justice John Roberts in January 2009 after the first ceremony was flubbed.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Obama's Record Fundraising Comes Under Legal Scrutiny
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!