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Donor in Richardson probe also gave to Obama

Questions raised about Democrats' vetting of money

By Jerry Seper and Jim McElhatton, THE WASHINGTON TIMES | Wednesday, January 7, 2009

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The political donor at the center of a corruption investigation that scuttled Bill Richardson's Cabinet nomination gave $28,500 to President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in September, one month after the existence of the investigation was already public, records show.

The money from businessman David Rubin, chief executive of Los Angeles-based CDR Financial Products Inc., raised new questions Tuesday about how thoroughly Mr. Obama's campaign and the Democratic Party vet their donors, an issue that has dogged the party since a 1990s Clinton-era fundraising scandal.

Mr. Richardson, the New Mexico governor, withdrew his nomination Sunday to be Mr. Obama's Commerce Department secretary, citing a federal grand jury investigation into whether any of Mr. Rubin's political donations in New Mexico influenced state government contracts awarded by Mr. Richardson's gubernatorial administration. Both Mr. Richardson and Mr. Rubin deny wrongdoing.

At the time Mr. Richardson withdrew his nomination, the Obama transition team made no mention of the fact that Mr. Rubin had donated $2,300 to Mr. Obama's campaign and $26,200 to the Democratic Party at a joint Obama Victory Fund fundraiser at a posh mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sept. 17.

On Tuesday, Obama transition spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to answer any questions about the donations, including how Mr. Richardson was vetted, what was Mr. Obama's reaction to the investigation and the donations' timing. The transition also declined to say whether they checked Mr. Rubin's background at any time after receiving the donations.

But a campaign finance watchdog said the episode demonstrates anew how little effort political campaigns make in vetting donors or their motives.

"The fact that people who want something out of government are giving lots of money is a recipe for exactly what's happening to Bill Richardson," said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for the nonpartisan ethics watchdog Common Cause. "I have no idea if this is a quid pro quo situation, but the fact is when you have special interests giving a lot of money to a politician, there are always going to be questions asked.

"People are under a tremendous amount of pressure to raise money, and so you tend not to be really picky when somebody wants to give," she said.

It's not the first time questions have surfaced over the Obama campaign's screening of donors. The Washington Times reported in October on dozens of donors listed with clearly questionable information, including more than 100 from donors identified as "anonymous," another from "JFGGJJFGJ" and one listing an occupation as "white collar drone."

According to FEC records, Mr. Rubin listed both CDR Financial and Chambers Dunhill & Rubin as his place of employment in the donations. Company officials have acknowledged that there are no partners named Chambers or Dunhill and that they were added to make the one-man shop sound more established.