Campaign Finance Complaint Filed Against McCain

A nonprofit campaign finance watchdog group called Campaign Money Watch is going on the offensive against John McCain.

The group, which bills itself as nonpartisan, is filing a complaint today asking the Federal Election Commission to look into two possible campaign finance violations by McCain's campaign. It has also released an advertisement in the Washington, D.C. market on McCain's connection to lobbyists.

The ad focuses on the battle between Airbus, a French company, and Boeing, an American company, for a Pentagon contract.

"Seven of McCain's staff and fundraisers lobbied for Airbus," an announcer says in the spot. "McCain got more money from Airbus' U.S. executives than any other politician. And guess what? John McCain intervened, which helped Airbus get that Pentagon contract."

"Tell John McCain to kick those lobbyists off the Straight Talk express," the announcer adds.

The Republican National Committee sent out an email this morning in response to the ad and filing calling Campaign Money Watch "a partisan organization that routinely attacks Republicans."

"It has accepted contributions from radicals like George Soros and has a connection to the Obama campaign," adds the RNC. "Long and short of it, they have no credibility, and their baseless and unfounded attacks should be completely disregarded."

The complaint suggests that a lobbying firm called The Loeffler Group LLP may have subsidized the salary of McCain's National Finance Director, Susan Nelson, a former Loeffler Group employee. It also questions a contribution of more than $100,000 to the McCain campaign from a company called 3eDC that is party owned by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.

Read the full complaint to the FEC here.