Obama’s Foreign Contributions: Who is Ronald Hickel?

John and I, in continuing to pour  over these documents in the old fashion way, tedious line by tedious line, have found dozens, literally dozens of instances in which people have clearly made contributions over the applicable $2300 per individual limit, without consequence or direction to the Obama campaign to disgorge such illegally gotten funds. The documentation is on adjacent lines right before the F.E.C. staff ……

The F.E.C. has simply been  trampled by the Obama campaign.

This first and primary issue concerns “bundling,” the aggregation of small individual contributions,  submitted for verification for legality by the Obama campaign to the F.E.C.  John and I touched on this issue in my previous post, “Obama’s Foreign Contributions: Who is Jeanne McCurdy,” in which the bundling tactics of an Obama fund raiser named Jeanne McCurdy was disclosed.

Story continues below advertisement

We documented almost $800 worth of campaign contributions which simply cannot  be documented by anybody as to where they came from, or from whom, or whether the persons were American citizens or perhaps from person with interests violently opposed to American interests.

  Atlas reader Gadget doc upped us by a significant margin, and documented that a Rebecca Kurth contributed $3,137.38 to the Obama Campaign in 112 donations, including 34 separate donations recorded on 30-April-2008. Gadget doc said another $500,000 came into the campaign via “not employed” people, an estimate John and I can attest to, after looking over the records we have.

Look at this history of anonymous donors from April of 2008, over just 3 pages of F.E.C. records.  In contributions from $1 to $250 –over $800 came into the Obama coffers completely without attribution, and in a manner in which the sources can never be verified.  The F.E.C. did absolutely nothing to regulate this.

We continue to analyze Obama’s foreign contributions by 

a.) payments by contributors
way over the limits, and

b.) lack of oversight on the part of the F.E.C.
There is no indication the F.E.C
ever did anything about it: the entries go from pp. 89-90.Tabulations first, and then the entries from the FEC
document are at the bottom of the post.  

Here, for example  are the tabulations for how much a Karen Olsen, a free lance
interpreter from Geneva contributed to Obama’s campaign, and how much a Canadian
management consultant from Toronto named Ronald Hickel got away with.  In a way, Mr. Hickel’s misdeeds were even more brazen, as he did it in a number of days
and it is listed on contiguous entries on the FEC files.  Amazing.  Wildly
amazing that it would not attract any attention: one would think the goverment would
have computers that would sound alarms on stuff like this.

Karen Olson, geneva, switzerland
 
date.        amount.
 
02-feb-08   $  500.00
17-jan-08   $  100.00  (minus)(-)  redesignation from
02-feb-08   $  500.00
30-apr-08   $  437.38  (minus)(-)  a refund ***  (the distinction between
"redesignation" & "refund" is important)
17-jan-08   $  100.00
17-jan-08   $  100.00
02-feb-08   $  500.00
02-apr-07   $  115.79
16-apr-07   $    50.00
16-may-07 $    50.00
18-sep-07  $1,000.00
17-nov-07  $   100.00
12-nov-07  $2,300.00
16-dec-07  $  180.49
12-dec-07  $  106.12  (minus)(-)  redesignation
from
17-dec-07  $  100.00
17-nov-07  $   100.00  (minus)(-)  redesignation from
17-oct-07  $   100.00
12-nov-07  $1,285.10  redesignation to
12-dec-07 $   106.12  redesignation to
26-sep-07 $   185.10
17-oct-07  $   100.00
12-dec-07  $  106.00
12-nov-07  $1,285.00  (minus)(-)  redesignation from
total         $7,041.22

 
Now, there may be some quibble on this, but I did not subtract the $100
from 17 Jan-08, nor the 106.12 from 12-Dec-07, nor the 1,285.00 from the total,
as it appears to me that these are not really subtractions but switching the
accounts.  I did subtract the 437.38 from the total, as it was refunded to the
contributor, the Barrack Obama campaign.  I suppose they found a use for it
somewhere.  Quibble with my methods if you will, and I am not a bookkeeper nor
an accountant, nor familiar with how the F.E.C.. views these minuses (-), but
this account is seriously over the #2,300 spending limit, any way you look at
it.  For an F.E.C.. accountant or bookkeeper, I suppose the first clue that
something was amiss might have been the $2,300 contribution received on
12-Nov-07, but perhaps I am mistaken.
 
Ronald Hickel, Toronto, Canada
 
01-apr-08   $  250.00  (minus)(-)  redesignation from
01-apr-08   $  250.00  redesignation to ***
01-apr-08   $  250.00
09-jan-08   $  100.00
29-feb-08   $   550.00  (minus)(-)  redesignation from
29-feb-08   $   550.00  redesignated to ***
25-feb-08   $   250.00
29-feb-08   $2,300.00
total          $3,700.00
 
 
John Jay explains, I do not view these transactions as yielding $00.00.  Money was taken
from one account, where it had previously been placed available to the campaign
fund, and transferred to another count.  (minus)(-) When taken from one account and when put in another, the upshot is that the campaign, after the
switching of accounts, still had $250 at its disposal.  This is why I do not
subtract the "redesignated from" entries from the amounts available to the
campaign, because they have not left the campaign.  There has been no "refund,"
as in the Karen Olson "account." 
 
Even if I do not understand how the F.E.C. adds and substracts, and without
seeing the entire books, Mr. Hickel’s activity, taking
place mainly between 25-Feb-08 and 01-Apr-08 net  the Obama campaign a tidy
sum over and above the $2,300 limit.
 
There is another aspect of all of this, and is is vaguely reminiscent of a
ponzi scheme.  The federal government is never actually in possession of this
money.  It stays with the campaigns.  In effect, from the day of receipt until
the day the money is spent, it is in control of the Obama campaign, totally
without interest.  And, if it is refunded, it is without interest.  And, if the
money is directed from one accounting scheme to another, there is no loss to the
campaign.  Only if the money is directed to be refunded or if the campaign
indicates that it has refunded the money,  its use has been for free, and it has
been replaced at that point anyway by further "ponzi" type contributions.
 
It would appear  the ineptness of the  F.E.C. and the slyness of  the Obama
campaign has rendered  BO awash in so
much money. And having found the sheer weight of keeping track of it has buried
the government, the Obama campaign may have nearly unlimited freedom in how it
describes the money received, and appears untrammeled in how it accounts for or
spends it. 
 
There are very many more examples of this, available for subsequent
posts.
 
The raw data is below, and all tabs are
derived from it, and accurately reflect the information in the data, taken from
the file.    
 
Page 94
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",500,02-FEB-08,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",328366
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","01203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",-100,17-JAN-08,"REDESIGNATION FROM","","REDESIGNATION FROM","SA17A",344001
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",500,02-FEB-08,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",328366
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","1203","","",-437.38,30-APR-08,"Refund","","","SB28A",341078
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","01203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",100,17-JAN-08,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",344001
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","01203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",100,17-JAN-08,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",344001
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","GE","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",500,02-FEB-08,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",328366
Page 139
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","NA","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",115.79,02-APR-07,"","","","SA17A",319100
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","NA","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",50,16-APR-07,"","","","SA17A",319100
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","NA","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",50,16-MAY-07,"","","","SA17A",319100
Page 142
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",1000,18-SEP-07,"","","","SA17A",325774
Page 180
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",100,17-NOV-07,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",338948
p. 187 bingo, seen you before karen olson, just as maureen dowd said. over the limit. 
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",2300,12-NOV-07,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",338948
p. 188
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","NA","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",180.49,16-DEC-07,"","","","SA17A",338948
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",-106,12-DEC-07,"REDESIGNATION FROM","","REDESIGNATION FROM","SA17A",338948
Page 212.
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","NA","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",100,17-DEC-07,"","","","SA17A",338948
Page 243
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",-100,17-NOV-07,"REDESIGNATION FROM","","REDESIGNATION FROM","SA17A",338948
p. 248
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",100,17-OCT-07,"","","","SA17A",338948
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",1285.1,12-NOV-07,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",338948
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",106,12-DEC-07,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",338948
Page 255
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",185.1,26-SEP-07,"","","","SA17A",325774
page 366
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA","NA","1203","FREELANCE","INTERPRETER",100,17-OCT-07,"","","","SA17A",338948
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",106,12-DEC-07,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",338948
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",-1285.1,12-NOV-07,"REDESIGNATION FROM","","REDESIGNATION FROM","SA17A",338948
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","OLSON, KAREN","GENEVA, SWITZERLAN","NA","01203","SELF EMPLOYED","FREELANCE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER",100,17-NOV-07,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",338948
Ronald Hickel
Page 89
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",-250,01-APR-08,"REDESIGNATION FROM","","REDESIGNATION FROM","SA17A",341078
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",250,01-APR-08,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",341078
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",250,01-APR-08,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",341078
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",100,09-JAN-08,"","","","SA17A",344001
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","547","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",-550,29-FEB-08,"REDESIGNATION FROM","","REDESIGNATION FROM","SA17A",328366
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","547","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",550,29-FEB-08,"REDESIGNATION TO","","REDESIGNATION TO","SA17A",328366
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","547","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",250,25-FEB-08,"","","","SA17A",328366
C00431445,"P80003338","Obama, Barack","HIKEL, RONALD","TORONTO","CN","547","SELF EMPLOYED","MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT",2300,29-FEB-08,"","","ORIGINAL TRANSACTION","SA17A",32836

Over at CQ: "The table below is based on data from a Campaign Finance Institute pdf
that lists donation totals from January 2007 through May 2008.  I
highlighted in red the higher figures for each category of totals
received from "big" donors, and “mil” means “million”:

       $201-$999        $1000-$2299 $2300+  $1000+ (all)
Obama
$50 mil . $42 mil        $48 mil $91 mil
McCain $14 mil . $24 mil $43 mil $67 mil

I did not make up the categories.  Obama’s campaign chose $200 as a cutoff point between big and small donors, as evinced by a statement that his staff made to the New York Times last month:

"The Obama campaign highlighted Thursday the fact that 93 percent of the more than three million contributions it had received were for $200 or less." (NY Times, emphasis added)

The $200 cutoff likely stems from the fact that the Federal
Elections Commission doesn’t require itemization for donors who give a
total of $200 or less. If the FEC and Sen. Obama use $200 as a cutoff,
who am I to argue?

To prevent confusion over the New York Times quote, I’ll
mention (as I did a few weeks ago) that small donors contributed 49% of
Obama’s total donations (from January 2007 – May 2008), meaning that
big donors contributed 51%. (From CQ)

Previous related post: Obama’s Foreign Contributions: Who is Jeanne McCurdy

The Truth Must be Told

Your contribution supports independent journalism

Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.

Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.

Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.

Please contribute here.

or

Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding. Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.

Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.

Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.

Follow Pamela Geller on
Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.

Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.

If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Sponsored
Geller Report
Thanks for sharing!