Republican
presidential candidate John McCain speaks in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Photograph: Joshua Lott/Getty
A US campaign watchdog has
accused presumptive Republican president nominee John McCain
of violating election laws by accepting campaign contributions
from two prominent Londoners.
At issue is a fundraising
luncheon held in March at London's Spencer House, during
McCain's swing through the United Kingdom. An invitation to
the event lists Lord Rothschild and Nathaniel Rothschild as
hosts, and indicates the event was made possible with their
"kind permission".
Judicial Watch, a Washington
organisation instrumental in the March release of Hillary
Clinton's White House schedules, has asked US election
monitors to investigate whether the Rothschilds improperly
sponsored the fundraiser. US political campaigns are forbidden
from accepting contributions from foreign nationals.
"The question is whether or
not the Rothschilds paid for the event, the venue, the
catering, or any other related costs," said Judicial Watch
president Tom Fitton.
Tickets to the event cost
$1,000 to $2,300, and the luncheon dress code was "lounge
suits," the Washington Post reported in March.
The McCain campaign did not
immediately return a call seeking comment.
Judicial Watch also
complained to the US election authority, the federal election
commission, about Elton John's involvement in Clinton's
campaign. The group alleged the British rocker broke US
campaign laws by performing at a fundraiser for the New York
senator. The Clinton campaign argued US law allowed the
British musician to volunteer his time and solicit Americans
for contributions.
The federal election
commission is unlikely to act soon on the group's McCain
complaint. It is currently short-handed, a result of a
political squabble between the Democratic-led senate and the
Bush administration, and lacks a quorum to take action.
