1. Search IRI in wikileaks and you'll find endless discussions on fake polling, training rebels & goverment officials, financing muslim countries, etc.

2. Podesta's research on McCain found in wikileaks (see attachments)! https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/58978

LOBBYING & FRAUD:

Lobbying Industry

McCain Accepted $689,704 from the Lobbying Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain accepted $689,704 from the lobbying industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 1/18/08]

• McCain Voted Against Landmark Ethics Bill. In 2007, McCain voted against the final version of S. 1, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which required disclosure of bundled campaign contributions over $15,000 in a six-month period, institute a two-year waiting period for former senators to become lobbyists, require quarterly lobbying disclosure reports, deny congressional pensions to members who’ve committed certain felonies, require senators and candidates to pay for charter planes, and alter House and Senate rules. McCain was one of only 14 Senators (all Republicans) to oppose the legislation. Senators Obama and Clinton both voted for it. The legislation passed 83-14. [S. 1, Vote #294, 8/2/2007]

• McCain Voted to Weaken New Lobbying Disclosure Rules. In 2007, McCain voted for an amendment to the ethics and lobbying overhaul legislation that eliminated requirements for grassroots lobbying organizations to disclose their fundraising activities. Both Senators Obama and Clinton voted against the amendment. The amendment passed 55-43. [S 1, Vote #17, 1/18/2007]

• McCain Voted Against Expanding Lobbyist Gift and Meal Ban. In 2006, McCain voted to kill an amendment that would have expanded the definition of a lobbyist, as it relates to the gift and meal ban, to include not only an organization or person required to register as a lobbyist, but any employee of a registered lobbyist. Senators Obama and Clinton both voted in favor of the amendment. The motion to kill the amendment passed 68-30. [S 2349, Vote #80, 3/29/2006]

• McCain Led Effort to Maintain Lobbyist Donations. In 2001, McCain made a motion to kill an amendment that would ban members of the House and Senate from accepting contributions from a registered lobbyist, lobbyist employee or lobbyist PAC while Congress is in session. McCain’s motion to kill this amendment passed 74-25. [S 27, Vote #40, 3/20/2001] Defense McCain Accepted $443,869 from Defense Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has accepted $443,869 from the defense industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 1/18/08]

• McCain Voted Against Allowing Competition For Defense Contracts. In 2002, McCain voted to kill a Kennedy amendment that would allow private and public agencies to compete for new Defense Department contracts based on current department standards. It also would codify a contracting prohibition on work currently performed in the public sector unless the agency can show a savings of at least 10 percent. Motion to table passed 50-49. [S2514, Vote #162, 6/25/2002]

• McCain Voted Against Stricter Penalties For War Profiteering And Fraud. In 2004, McCain against the Leahy amendment that would make profiteering on contracts in connection with military or rebuilding activities in Iraq, Afghanistan or other countries punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and $1 million in fines. Amendment rejected 46-52. [S 2400, Vote #120, 6/16/04]

• McCain Voted To Protect Administration War Profiteering. In 2003, McCain voted against prohibiting the use of Iraqi reconstruction funds for any contract or financial agreement with an entity that pays deferred compensation to the president, the vice president, or a Cabinet-level official, or any entity in which the president, vice president, or Cabinet-level official holds options to purchase more than 1,000 shares of stock. It would be effective 90 days after the bill's enactment. Motion to table passed 65-34. [S 1689, Vote #386, 10/16/03]

Oil and Gas

McCain Accepted $447,962 from Oil & Gas Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has accepted $447,962 from the oil and gas industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 1/08/08]

• McCain Twice Rejected Windfall Profits Tax for Big Oil in 2005. In November 2005, McCain voted against imposing a temporary 50% tax on oil company profits from the sale of any crude oil above $40 a barrel. Revenues from the tax would be used to provide income tax rebates to consumers. [S 2020, Vote 331, 11/17/05; S 2020, Vote # 341, 11/17/05; Houston Chronicle, 11/17/05; Las Vegas Review-Journal, 11/18/05; Environment and Energy Daily¸ 11/18/05]

Nuclear Power Industry

McCain Accepted $72,600 from Nuclear Power Industry. Between 1997 and 2002, McCain received in $72,600 Nuclear Power Industry Contributions to Senators. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 2/21/08]

• McCain Voted to Dump Nuclear Waste at Yucca Mountain. In 2002, McCain voted for a motion to proceed to the resolution which, pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, approves of the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada for the development of a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Nuclear Energy Institute was “the nuclear power industry’s trade association, representing 260 corporations in 15 countries. NEI is reportedly the mastermind behind the Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy, a coalition of pro-nuclear groups.” [S.J. Res 34, Vote #167, 7/09/02]

TELECOM

McCain has Taken At Least $1,163,727 from the Telephone Utility and Telecom Services Industries – More than Any Other Senator. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has taken at least $1,163,727 in campaign contributions from the telephone utility and telecom service industries, more than any other Senator. [Center for Responsive Politics]

• McCain Voted to Grant Retroactive Legal Immunity to Telecommunications Companies. In 2008, McCain voted for Passage of the bill that would amend the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to authorize warrantless surveillance of foreign targets, even if they are communicating with someone in the United States. It would give the FISA court authority to approve several aspects of how such surveillance is conducted. It also would grant retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies alleged to have participated in the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program. It would sunset in six years. As amended, the bill would allow court reviews of the administration's compliance with "minimization" procedures, which are the steps the government takes to minimize retention of sensitive information about U.S. citizens that it collects incidentally. It also would include prohibitions on the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in FISA. It would clarify FISA's applicability to those suspected of seeking to spread weapons of mass destruction. The bill passed 68-29. [S 2248, Vote #20, 2/12/08]

SOROS TIES:

McCain’s Reform Institute Linked to George Soros. McCain’s think-tank, The Reform Institute, has reportedly received grants from George Soros’s Open Society Institute. Many conservatives believe, “the OSI funding implicates the Arizona senator in all the progressive and libertarian causes that the Soros foundation has supported - - including reproductive rights, drug law and sentencing reform, public financing of elections and abolition of the death penalty, to give a short list.” [Salon.com, 2/7/08]

CONNECTIONS TO CHILD ENSLAVEMENT IN DUBAI

McCain Fundraiser Hired to Fight Child Enslavement Claims. Peter Madigan, a top McCain fundraiser, lobbies for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE, “facing a class-action lawsuit over alleged enslavement of boys as jockeys in camel races, has hired several top Washington lobbyists and PR firms to present their case to Congress and the public.” The lawsuit alleged “that senior ministers from Dubai conspired to force thousands of underage boys to race camels.” According to The Hill, “The yearlong contract with Johnson Madigan could cost the sheikhs’ more than $800,000. Jeffrey Peck, Sen. Joseph Biden’s (D-Del.) former counsel, and Peter Madigan, once a State Department official under the first President Bush, signed the subcontract.” [ABC News, 2/1/08; The Hill, 4/4/07]

ENDLESS TALKS OF HIS WARMONGERING WAYS.