McCain stretches T-shirt story to suggest money was a shady foreign contribution

By JIM KUHNHENN , Associated Press WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain on Monday raised the specter of illegal foreign contributions to rival Democrat Barack Obama by suggesting that a bulk purchase of T-shirts was sinister. McCain said at a campaign rally that Obama had to return $33,000 to Palestinian donors. He left out that the donors were two Palestinian brothers from the Gaza Strip who bought $33,000 in T-shirts from Obama's campaign Web site. McCain's remark came the same day that the Republican National Committee filed a complaint against Obama with the Federal Election Commission, questioning contributions he has received from donors living in foreign countries. It is illegal for foreign citizens to contribute to U.S. political campaigns, but U.S. citizens living abroad may do so. THE SPIN: "Why has Sen. Obama... [read full story]