McCain Campaign hits up Russian envoy for loan

[ArcturusMengsk]

Link

Russia's permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday.

"We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia's permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries," the statement said.

According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter dated September 29 and signed by McCain, was addressed to Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the UN, and arrived on October 16.

The ambassador's title was not included in the letter, and was not clear why the letter had taken over two weeks to arrive.

Enclosed was a request for a donation of up to $5,000 to McCain's election campaign to be returned with a check or permission to withdraw the money from the donor's credit card until October 24.

Is this even remotely legal?

[Aratech]

I'm not sure. It cannot look good, regardless, with how McCain's been painting the Russians of late, and then to turn around and try and bum money off of them?

Someone truly is getting desperate, I suspect.

[General Zod]

Is this even remotely legal?

I'm more interested in whether or not it's legitimate. If it is it's a massive dent in McSame's credibility.

[Darth Raptor]

Yeah, it's really weird. I can't see McCain wanting their support any more than Russia wanting to support him. He can't be that hard up for money.

[General Zod]

Yeah, it's really weird. I can't see McCain wanting their support any more than Russia wanting to support him. He can't be that hard up for money.

Especially after all the hoopla he's been making about Obama's campaign accepting foreign money. This is really almost too good to be legitimate.

[Guardsman Bass]

The fact that it was specifically addressed to Russia's envoy to the Union bothers me, although perhaps they simply fucked up and got his name and the address on one of those mailing lists, and nobody bothered to check and see if it was legit. Does it seem likely that there is another Vitaly Churkin living in New York City who might be a McCain supporter?

[RedImperator]

This has to be a hoax or mistake (or we're missing information). The McCain campaign is taking public financing; they don't need to beg for money (and in fact, by law, they can't--not from Russia, not from anybody else, either).

[The Spartan]

The article says that the letter was signed by McCain. My first thought is does the McCain campaign have signature stamps? I've seen these before, especially when I was in high school, and it's exactly like what it sounds: a rubber stamp of someone's signature. So my gut reaction is that an over-eager staffer filled it out and "sig stamped" it before sending it off. Alternatively, he could have filled it out, handed it to McCain, said, "Sign this," and then taken it to the mail box, without McCain really knowing what he was signing.

But then, they are getting desperate...

[Mr Bean]

I'm guessing more this is an automatic donation letter they send to all Republicans and some data plugger somewhere did not connect the fact that one of their list of Donars was one Vitaly Churkin, at Number 1 Russian Way was in fact not a US citizin but a Russian.

Trust me, despite registering to vote independent in DC years ago, I get the Democrats and the Republicans sending me letters every two years hitting me up for cash.

*Edit
Yes my letter from McCain this year is "signed" by him. I'm thinking it might even be the same letter our Russian friend got. If nothing else it's amusing that they are screwed for money to send it to any live body in the US in hopes of getting money.

[The Spartan]

Quick edit: Sorry, I should have pointed out in my post above that I'm presuming it to be real and not a hoax.

[ArcturusMengsk]

The story is now being confirmed by Politico:

On a day on which McCain campaign manager Rick Davis hinted that Obama was taking foreign money, the Russian Mission to the United Nations has released a standard-issue fundraising letter gone a bit astray: It was addressed to the Russian envoy to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, at the mission's address, but without his title. [...]

"We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia's permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries," the statement said.

[Darth Raptor]

This reminds me of that scene from Billy Madison where he shouts, "NO I WON'T GO OUT WITH YOU!" I'm inclined to believe this is a simple mistake on the part of the McCain campaign (mostly because it makes no sense otherwise), but I just can't conjure up any sympathy. Russia has a golden opportunity to exploit this for great lulz.

[SirNitram]

This has to be a hoax or mistake (or we're missing information). The McCain campaign is taking public financing; they don't need to beg for money (and in fact, by law, they can't--not from Russia, not from anybody else, either).

Actually, need is probably the right term. McCain looks to be down to 47M, and Obama's got huge reserves still. This doesn't make it kosher, or any less wierd.

[RedImperator]

This has to be a hoax or mistake (or we're missing information). The McCain campaign is taking public financing; they don't need to beg for money (and in fact, by law, they can't--not from Russia, not from anybody else, either).

Actually, need is probably the right term. McCain looks to be down to 47M, and Obama's got huge reserves still. This doesn't make it kosher, or any less wierd.

It doesn't matter if he's down to pocket lint and Monopoly money; he can't appeal for campaign donations because he took public money. If you could keep taking private donations after you opted for public financing, Obama would have done that and would be crushing McCain by an even bigger sum of money.

Now, what McCain can do is make an appeal for donations to the RNC. That's perfectly legal, even though a lot of that money will wind up going back to McCain (an obvious loophole, but still legal). That still leaves the question of how a fundraising letter wound up in the mailbox of the Russian ambassador to the UN, but the simplest answer is "stupid mistake". Nothing else makes the least bit of sense: if you want to illegally solicit campaign donations from a foreign government, there are smoother and quieter ways to do it, and of all the foreign governments, why Russia?

[Gil Hamilton]

McCain loves the delicious taste of Stolichnaya?

Really, this is easily explained as a stupid mistake. Political campaigns send out literally tons of these things, and some of them are bound to get to the wrong people. I think the Russian envoy was more making subtle fun of American politics by bothering to respond.

[Sidewinder]

If I recall all the shit the Republicans flung during the Clinton Administration, it's illegal for non-US citizens to contribute to a political campaign. But,

The ambassador's title was not included in the letter

This makes me think the Russian envoy received the letter by mistake, i.e., some Republican Party campaign worker simply went down a list of potential donors and sent the letter to the wrong guy (if McCain was serious about asking the Russians for money, wouldn't he include the envoy's title along with "The Honorable," "The Esteemed," and other flattering titles to win the Russians' not-hatred?).

[RedImperator]

(if McCain was serious about asking the Russians for money, wouldn't he include the envoy's title along with "The Honorable," "The Esteemed," and other flattering titles to win the Russians' not-hatred?).

No, if a four-term US Senator wanted to illegally solicit campaign donations from a foreign government, he would have an intermediary, preferably one he could deny knowing or knowing well, quietly make contact with someone in the network of diplomats, foreign officials, and influential private citizens the senator has met in the last quarter-century in Washington, and arrange for the money to be transfered through back channels and thoroughly laundered before finally arriving in the campaign coffers. Also, he probably wouldn't ask for money from a country he angrily denounced two months ago for invading a neighbor for which the senator has whole-heartedly cheerled.

[Vendetta]

Ah, but remember what Palin said. Russia is the US' neighbour, she can see them from her doorstep and everything. Borrowing some spare change to get elected is like borrowing the lawnmower.

[K. A. Pital]

I imagine Churkin had a day of very good laughter when he received that.