A Military Earmark’s Ties to Obama Money Man
By Matthew MoskSen.
Barack Obama requested $8 million for a military defense contractor that has close ties to one of his most prodigious fundraisers.
Obama disclosed the 2006 request on a long list of earmark requests his campaign made public today. The $8 million was for something called a “High Explosive Air Burst Technology Program.” The request led to $1.3 million in funding for the program. According to the campaign’s earmark disclosure, the defense project was overseen by General Dynamics, one of the nation’s largest military contractors. Obama’s Illinois finance chairman, James S. Crown, serves on the company’s board of directors and his family holds a sizable stake in the company.
Crown and his wife Paula Crown are members of Obama’s National Finance Committee and have raised more than $200,000 for the Obama campaign, according to a list of fundraisiers posted on Obama’s campaign web site.
The Obama campaign had already made public his 2007 funding requests, but had for months resisted requests to share letters written earlier in his tenure to budget committees.
Obama’s release of his earmark requests today came with a challenge for Sen. Hillary Clinton to do the same.
“Bringing real change requires changing the way we do business in Washington,” said Obama for America communications director Robert Gibbs.
Talk about change you can believe in!
