Barack Obama Linked to Figure in Pay-to-Play Investigation

President-elect Barack Obama received more than $30,000 in campaign contributions from David Rubin, the central figure in a federal probe into an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving New Mexico state contracts. The investigation forced Obama's nominee to head the Commerce Department, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D), to withdraw from the confirmation process earlier this week. Obama accepted the federal maximum from Rubin, $2,300, and more than $28,000 that went to a special fund shared by the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Rubin is under investigation for allegations that in 2003 and 2004 he made contributions to New Mexico political leaders, including Richardson, in exchange for receiving state business. Both Rubin and Richardson say that thy did nothing wrong, however, this is not the first time that Rubin's business dealings has drawn the interest of federal prosecutors. An Internal Revenue Service investigation into ties between Rubin's firm and banks he did business with led to a 2006 Justice Department raid of his offices. No charges have yet been filed.

There are likely to be more links discovered between President-elect Obama and shady campaign donors. The record sum of money raised by the Obama campaign, more than $600 million, makes it a near certainty that some of the money came from donors the campaign might otherwise have steered clear of were it not so focused on filling the coffers. Obama's decision to forgo public financing of his presidential campaign, after initially stating that he would accept federal funds, is mostly to blame. That decision turned the campaign into a full-time fund raising machine, which needed to keep the money flowing in order to keep pace with the Republican National Committee and the McCain campaign. And all the while, Obama campaigned on a promise to reform the way Washington does business. Obama may have been better off worrying less about Washington, and more about who was funding his run for the White House.