Pardon-Seeker’s Check Prompts Firing at Pro-Obama Nonprofit

A nonprofit “social welfare” group that advocates for President Obama’s agenda has dismissed a consultant who solicited a donation from a New Jersey doctor seeking a pardon for a 1990s Medicare fraud conviction and who seemingly promised access to the president, NBC News and the Associated Press report.

Organizing for Action said the solicitation by Samantha Maltzman, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, “fell short” of its standards for transparency. Emails obtained by NBC show Joseph Piacentile sent a $100,000 check in response to an appeal from Ms. Maltzman to a fellow doctor that listed that amount as the price to attend a planned dinner with Mr. Obama and a more intimate gathering beforehand.

After learning of Dr. Piacentile’s 1991 felony conviction, Organizing for Action returned his donation. However, Ms. Maltzman then advised him through the acquaintance to contribute instead to a nonprofit “partner organization” that does not identify contributors, according to NBC.

As a 501(c)(4) entity Organizing for Action is not legally required to disclose donors but does so voluntarily. The group has asserted since its founding last year that it does not offer backers face time with the president for a set price.