WASHINGTON — John McCain’s campaign said Thursday that it is returning $50,000 in contributions solicited by a foreign citizen.
The move follows the disclosure that the money was being raised by a Jordanian man who is a business partner of prominent Florida Republican Harry Sargeant III.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Sargeant allowed a longtime business partner, Mustafa Abu Naba’a, to bring in some $50,000 in donations in March from members of a single extended family in California, the Abdullahs, along with several of their friends.
The Abdullahs and other Arab- Americans in California also contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
According to the Times, Abu Naba’a is a dual citizen of Jordan and the Dominican Republic. It is illegal for foreigners to contribute their own money to U.S. political campaigns, and McCain’s campaign said Abu Naba’a made none.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said some of the people solicited by Abu Naba’a had no intention of supporting McCain for president.
