FOX & ABC: RNC Asks for Federal Probe of Obama Campaign Video

[Patricia M. McBride]

There really is no limit to the liberties Mr. Obama will take, legal or not, and this is yet another example of the lengths he will go to.  The video used for his fund raising efforts in this video was taken in the map room of the white house which is definitely off limits since it is paid for by the taxpayers and can't be used in any way for his campaign efforts.  What should be of real concern is that the news media did not cover this in any real sense and should have since it is an obvious violation of the law.

 

Here is the video in question which was done in the map room of the white house paid for by taxpayers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idN06LgizUw

 

The news piece from Fox is below:

RNC Asks for Federal Probe of Obama Campaign Video

Republicans haven't settled on their pick for the 2012 presidential election yet, but the Republican National Committee made it clearer Monday who they are running against.

"It is with grave concern that I write to request a Department of Justice investigation into an apparent crime committed by President Barack Obama," begins a letter from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to the Department of Justice Monday.

In it, Priebus asks Attorney General Eric Holder to look into whether or not Mr. Obama broke any federal laws by filming a campaign-related video in the White House last month.

White House Spokesman Eric Schultz challenged the RNC's assertions citing several analyses saying otherwise. "As we've said in the past, this is wholly appropriate and routinely done in past administrations, as evidenced by an abundance of examples spanning the past three decades," he told Fox News.

A senior administration official also provided a link to a political news story highlighting a similar pitch that then-president George W. Bush made for GOP nominee John McCain.

"[E]xperts and lawyers have said publicly that all that this administration is doing is above board," Schultz said.

The issue at hand was whether or not the video crosses the legal line between official and campaign-related business.

The video was the president's personal pitch to get supporters to enter a raffle, the winner of which would be rewarded with a dinner with the president.

Read more from Fox News here: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/07/18/rnc-asks-federal-probe...

 

And from ABC:

RNC Says Obama Fundraising Video 'Apparent Crime,' Seeks DOJ Probe

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) reports: The Republican National Committee has asked the Justice Department to investigate what it calls a matter of “grave concern:” President Obama’s appearance in a campaign video filmed inside the White House.

“If President Obama recorded the video in the Map Room, then it appears he has committed a crime under federal law,” RNC chairman Reince Priebus wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

The letter attempts to revive an issue Republicans first raised weeks ago but that has failed to gain much attention or traction. Many good government groups and independent legal experts have dismissed the claims.

Still, Priebus says Obama’s use of a “place of official government business” to solicit political contributions is against the law, and that all money collected in response to the video should be returned. He stopped short of calling for the appointment of a special counsel.

The Map Room has been “used for a myriad of official functions, including the administration of the oath of office” and the launch of the administration’s effort to reduce government waste, Priebus wrote in the letter. “As the facts of this case strongly suggest a crime was committed,” he said.

 

Read more of the ABC story here and there is also a video of an interview with the reporter:  http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/07/rnc-says-obama-fund...