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Edwards returns some $44,000 in questionable contributions
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SAN ANTONIO — John Edwards is returning $44,035 in contributions raised by a wealthy Los Angeles lawyer for his presidential primary campaign.
The decision to return the money was made because the fund-raising activities of lawyer and longtime Edwards supporter Pierce O'Donnell are being investigated by federal and California elections officials, the Kerry-Edwards campaign said Sunday. Newsweek first reported the story.
"Sen. Edwards has held himself and the campaign to the highest standards, which is why all the contributions associated with this law firm are being returned," said Kerry-Edwards official David Ginsberg.
O'Donnell's fund raising recently is being looked into by the Federal Election Commission after California officials alleged that he had made improper contributions to the 2001 campaign of Los Angeles Mayor Jimmy Hahn.
Some of the suspect contributions were made in the name of persons associated with O'Donnell's law firm, including one person who was not registered to vote and two who had filed for bankruptcy, Newsweek reported.
The magazine said that some of the same purported contributors were listed as $2,000 donors to the Edwards' campaign.
All the money in question was raised by Edwards before he abandoned his presidential bid in March, campaign aides said.
"We just want to avoid any appearance of impropriety, so we are giving the money back," said Edwards spokesman Mark Kornblau, traveling with the North Carolina senator on a campaign stop in San Antonio. |
