McCain Hits Up Russian Envoy for Donation

According to a letter released by the Russian envoy to the United Nations, John McCain contacted Vitaly Churkin seeking a campaign donation.

Ben Smith picked up the story from Russian news agency, RIA-Novosti:

Russia's permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday.

"We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia's permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries," the statement said.

According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter dated September 29 and signed by McCain, was addressed to Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the UN, and arrived on October 16.

It is illegal to accept money from foreign nationals.

The story had impeccable timing as the McCain campaign attacks Senator Barack Obama's massive small-dollar donor base that helped the Democratic presidential nominee shatter the single-month fundraising total with more than $150 million in September.

Interestingly enough, McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis has several ties to Russia. Last January, the Washington Post reported that Davis set up a meeting between McCain and a controversial Russian billionaire with some unsavory ties back in 2006:

A top political adviser in Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign helped arrange an introduction in 2006 between McCain and a Russian billionaire whose suspected links to anti-democratic and organized-crime figures are so controversial that the U.S. government revoked his visa.

Rick Davis, who is now McCain's campaign manager, helped set up the encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in Switzerland during an international economic conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking to do business with the billionaire.

Earlier this month, Ari Berman and Mark Ames wrote about Davis' ties in Russia for The Nation.

Reported by Democratic National Committee.

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