Obama Gives Charity $40,000 in ‘Questionable Funds’
January 22, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Sen. Barack Obama plans to donate to charity $40,000 from past political contributions linked to a former fund raiser who now faces federal corruption charges, reports the Associated Press.
Antoin Rezko, a Chicago real-estate developer, is charged with fraud, attempted extortion, and money laundering. The money came from seven people who gave money to Senator Obama’s House and Senate campaigns; none was for his current campaign to become the Democratic presidential nominee.
“Recent public information has called into question contributions to the Obama campaign from a donor and fund raiser,” said Bill Burton, a spokesman for Senator Obama. “Our consistent practice in these circumstances is to give the funds to charity out of an abundance of caution.”
The article does not say to which charities Mr. Obama will donate the money.
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