Goldman Donations to Obama Campaign Totaled Nearly $1 Million ------------------------------------------------------------- April 20, 2010, 2:12 PM EDT By John McCormick April 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias pushed his Republican opponent in Illinois to give back donations from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. without saying whether President Barack Obama should return almost $1 million that bank employees contributed to his White House bid. Obama, a political mentor and basketball buddy to Giannoulias, received the money from employees and their family members, making Goldman Sachs second only to the University of California as his biggest single source for donors in 2007 and 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud lawsuit against Goldman Sachs has politicians gauging the fallout from taking donations from the bank. Giannoulias and his opponent, Congressman Mark Kirk, are competing for the seat once held by Obama in a race that will help determine whether Democrats retain control of the Senate. "This would be a lot more interesting if Wall Street banks, joined by Mark Kirk, weren't fighting tooth and nail against the needed reforms the administration is advocating for," Hari Sevugan, Democratic National Committee spokesman, said in a statement. Sevugan didn't respond to an e-mail query when asked whether Obama plans to return money from Goldman Sachs employees. Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman, deferred questions about Goldman Sachs contributions to the DNC. `Tainted' Contributions Giannoulias, 34, the Illinois treasurer, criticized Kirk yesterday for taking what he called "tainted" contributions that he said totaled $21,600 from Goldman Sachs employees. Kirk, a five-term congressman from Chicago's northern suburbs, responded that he had decided to return the money to the bank's workers before being prompted by Giannoulias. "I want to set an example on ethics for others to follow," he said yesterday at a Chicago news conference. "I will err on the side of caution and watch this case unfold." A Goldman Sachs spokesman, Lucas van Praag, declined to comment today on the question of contributions to Obama and Kirk. Kirk, 50, said that his campaign is still determining how much Goldman Sachs employees donated to him, and that he hasn't accepted money from the bank's political action committee. "Obviously, this hits a number of other candidates as well," he said. Goldman Giving Goldman Sachs and its employees and family members gave $5.9 million to candidates in the 2007-2008 election cycle, according to the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics. Three-quarters of that went to Democrats, the non- partisan group said. Obama and Democrats in Congress are proposing the most sweeping financial regulation since the Great Depression. The personal push by the president, who plans to deliver a speech on the subject on April 22 at the Cooper Union in New York, comes as Goldman reported its net income almost doubled in the first quarter. The SEC filed a civil suit on April 16 alleging the firm failed to tell investors in a 2007 collateralized debt obligation that hedge fund Paulson & Co., which planned to bet against the CDO, helped select the underlying assets. Accusations Denied Goldman Sachs has denied the SEC's accusations and Greg Palm, co-general counsel, told analysts on a conference call today that the firm didn't intentionally mislead anyone. Wall Street provided three of Obama's seven biggest sources of contributors for his presidential bid. In 2007 and 2008, Goldman Sachs employees and family members gave him $994,795, Citigroup Inc. $701,290, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. $695,132. Kathleen Strand, a Giannoulias spokeswoman, declined to provide a yes or no response when asked whether Obama should give money back to Goldman employees. "Unlike President Obama, Republican Congressman Mark Kirk takes Wall Street money hand over fist and then votes their way every single time, including voting against Wall Street reform," she said in a statement. Kirk raised $2.2 million during the first quarter of 2010 and ended the period with more than $3 million in the bank, his campaign said April 7. Giannoulias Lagging Giannoulias raised $1.2 million during the first quarter and ended the period with that amount in the bank, his campaign said last week. The Senate seat in Illinois is held by Democrat Roland Burris, who isn't seeking a full term. Republicans are trying to take advantage of ethical problems experienced by Illinois Democrats, including a public corruption trial set to begin June 3 for former Governor Rod Blagojevich, who appointed Burris to complete Obama's term. A poll by Public Policy Polling released April 6 showed Kirk leading Giannoulias by 37 percent to 33 percent, with 30 percent undecided. The survey of Illinois voters was conducted April 1 to April 5 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. --With assistance from Christine Harper in New York. Editors: Flynn McRoberts, Brenda Batten. To contact the reporter on this story: John McCormick in Chicago at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jim Kirk at jkirk12@bloomberg.net.