Globe: Dole Has A Non-Citizen Fund-Raiser

WASHINGTON (CNN, Oct. 21) -- Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, who has recently made an issue of President Bill Clinton's taking campaign money from non-citizens, has a finance committee vice chairman who is a Cuban citizen with a Spanish passport, according to The Boston Globe.

Jose "Pepe" Fanjul, whose Flo-Sun Inc. is a top beneficiary of federal sugar price supports, helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Republicans, has hosted fund-raisers for Dole and has contributed to his presidential campaign, according to an Oct. 18 article.

"This is the same basic principle that Bob Dole is criticizing the president on," Clinton campaign spokesman Joe Lockhart told the Globe.

Since Fanjul is a U.S. resident and heads a U.S. company, election law allows him to contribute and raise money for a presidential candidate, the paper said.

The Dole campaign has attacked Clinton over the last week for contributions to the Democratic Party from members of an Indonesian banking family.

The Globe quoted Dole campaign spokeswoman Christina Martin saying there was a "bright line" separating Fanjul's situation and the Clinton "Indonesian connection" because Fanjul was a "legal immigrant and a permanent resident of the United States."

The Indonesians were also legal residents, but only temporary and they returned to Indonesia. Fanjul's fund-raising efforts for the GOP and Dole include an April 1995 event at his Palm Beach, Fla., estate in which $100,000 was raised for Dole's presidential campaign, the report said.

The newspaper report quoted figures provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which said that Fanjul, his family and company have given $24,000 directly to Dole in the last two years.

Flo-Sun gave $253,000 in "soft money" to the Republican Party and contributed another $109,000 to Democrats in the last two years, the report said. Fanjul's brother has also made large contributions to Democrats, it said.

Fanjul and his business have a large stake in the federal sugar price support program. The paper quoted federal reports that said Flo-Sun has been paid $65 million a year under the program. Dole voted against a measure to phase it out earlier this year.

Globe: Dole Has A Non-Citizen Fund-Raiser

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