Washington (CNN) - The head of the Republican National Committee is calling on President Barack Obama to return half a million dollars in fundraising Jon Corzine raised on the president's behalf, now that the former one term New Jersey governor's bankrupt brokerage firm is under investigation by the federal authorities.
"In light of the FBI Investigation into Jon Corzine's company, President Obama should immediately return the $500,000 that Corzine raised on his behalf," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, in a statement released Thursday.
A government regulator said in court Wednesday that roughly $600 million is missing from the books of bankrupt brokerage MF Global, which is headed by Corzine, a former Goldman Sachs CEO and former Democratic governor of New Jersey and U.S. senator. Corzine's firm filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday following a panic from investors over its holdings of risky European debt.
The FBI and federal prosecutors are now investigating how some $600 million of MF Global customers' money went missing, CNN learned Tuesday from sources close to the probe.
According to federal election records, employees of the company contributed more than $100,000 to the president's re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee. And this year Corzine has contributed the maximum legal limit to both the Obama campaign ($5,000) and the DNC ($30,800).
Separately, Corzine is one of 31 people this year who have raised at least $500,000 for the Obama Victory Fund, as a so-called "bundler," a person who solicits campaign contributions from their personal and business networks. Much of that money was brought in at an Obama re-election fundraiser in April that Corzine hosted at his home on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Democratic sources say that if Corzine is charged with any wrongdoings, the contributions he made to both the Obama campaign and the DNC will be returned.
But the RNC says that doesn't go far enough.
"As Obama's 'great friend' and designated 'Wall Street guy,' Corzine did much more than give the maximum $5,000 to the Obama campaign: he bundled at least 100 times that much from his Wall Street friends and fellow executives. While the Obama campaign has entertained the idea of returning the $5,000 Corzine gave himself should he be indicted, that's simply not enough. The entire amount he bundled should be returned immediately.
From CNN Politics
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only if we get Santorum and Bachmann to return all of the cash they have raised since their candidacies are a joke and a waste of everyone's money!
blah freakin blah from the GOP – WHERE ARE THE JOBS!!
He will get a raise and start working for the Government as a Czar.
Real bad luck for Corzine.... Had he been the CEO of a green energy scam company, he could have probably gotten several BILLIONS in illegal loans from the incompetent Obama administration.
President Obama dont give them nothing back if it was the republican they wouldnt give back the money.
Republican party stop being a hater just play the game fair.
Change we need? Nope. More of the same...
Just more corrupt Democrats running amuck.
Dems and Unions... getting rich off your dime since the beginning of time.
The republicans are so desperate, they are trying any everthing to change the dialogue off of JOBS! The nerve of them with all that filthy, dirty money from the Kochs and others, it is pathetic they way they are and Herman Cain is finding out just how trifeling and cruel this bunch of nuts can be.
He should return it, only if all contributions that Tom DeLay secured have been returned, if they haven't, then Priebus is needs to stop speaking and do more fundraising, because a half a million dollar lead makes for alot of ads exposing the no vote to end oil subsidies.
We repugs are the party of the right and being so we would follow our own advice. LOL!!!!!!!
So THIS is the Wall Street guy that the Republicans are going after
I'm up for a new conspiracy. Maybe this ios where the Solyndra money went!
Honestly, I should stop reading the ticker. it is turning me into a very angry person. every article I read about the GOP and every comment I read supporting the GOP makes my blood boil. I hate the person I turned to because of this blood sucking, selfish, people user, scare artist party. The party I once stupidly thought that it is there to protect me and my freedom only to find out it is to screw me and my future to make sure I am always a slave and a servant to the wealthy and rich (there is a difference between the two if you are ignorant and do not know) a party that plays on the American dream knowing very well that they will do what it takes ofr you not to acheive it so you can stay a salve to the wealth and again the rich. SICK
Of course they do: Obama already indicated they were going to do so yesterday. Clearly, the RNC needs to get in the jabs before he does what he said he was going to do..that way they can then claim it was because they told him to do it.
Does the RNC really want to get into an argument about taking dirty money? Really?
I really didn't know that being the head of this party meant you had to be demwitt. He hosted a fundraiser and the people who gave should be looked at as shady characters because they contributed.
Will someone please pull our politics out of the gutters.
They are missing 600,000,000 so the Republican's want obama to return 500,000. In other words, less than one tenth of one percent of what was missing.
That is ridiculous.
Get lost RNC.
Reince Priebus IS SUFFERING FROM LITTLE MAN problem.
Come on RNC...get real!
Ha, now the RNC is complaining about shady political contributions? I'm sure it wouldn't have been an issue for them if the contributions had gone to Mitt Romney instead of Barack Obama.
That's ridiculous but that pretty much describes the GOP. Now, about those funds Cain got...
Let's focus on the massive amount of greed involved here. We Americans are in a situation where the deck has been stacked for a long time.
"RNC calls on Obama to return Corzine contributions"–Yeah–Like that's going to happen -In your dreams–
It's LMS, Preibus is suffering from Little Man Syndrome.
So of course he (and all Repubs) are trying to compensate for that "little something". How else could they be such a bitter little clan of – always the victim?
How appropriate... The leftist socialist collapse of Greece has taken down the leftist socialist Corzine's company and might take money away from our leftist socialist President. Gotta love it.