GOP seeks Obama fundraising probe

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Republican officials will ask the U.S. Federal Election Commission to investigate fundraising by Barack Obama's presidential campaign, a GOP lawyer said Sunday.

Republican National Committee Chief Counsel Sean Cairncross told The Washington Post the Democratic nominee's campaign "looked the other way" as it received large numbers of small-dollar donations the RNC contends are suspicious -- and might be illegal.

"We believe that the American people should know first and foremost if foreign money is pouring into a presidential election," Cairncross said.

Citing a Newsweek story about a small number of cases in which donors used phony names to make repeated small donations, Cairncross said there was growing evidence the Obama campaign was raising money improperly.

Newsweek reported the Obama campaign has returned $33,000 to two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who bought large numbers of T-shirts through the Obama campaign's online store. The purchases counted as campaign contributions.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told Newsweek the campaign regularly reviews its fundraising procedures, and noted that "no organization is completely protected from Internet fraud."

Obama campaign officials pointed out that Republican nominee John McCain's campaign has returned about $50,000 in donations solicited by a Jordanian citizen who raised money for a Florida McCain fundraiser.