California State GOP's finance chief resigns. Repugs have immigrant problems.

From The San Francisco Chronicle, 6/25/07:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/25/GOP.TMP

State GOP's finance chief resigns

Top Republicans shocked by Aussie's immigration troubles

Carla Marinucci and Lance Williams, Chronicle Staff Writers

Michael Kamburowski, an Australian immigrant who served as the

California Republican Party's chief operating officer, abruptly

resigned Sunday -- less than 24 hours after The Chronicle reported he

had been ordered deported in 2001, jailed in connection with the

order, and now has a $5 million wrongful arrest lawsuit pending

against U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.

The move was reported in a terse statement late Sunday by state party

chair Ron Nehring, who said the state GOP's Operations Committee

accepted Kamburowski's resignation during a teleconference with him.

"We thank him for his service,'' Nehring said in his e-mail statement.

The news came as GOP officials and leaders expressed shock and fury at

the troubled -- and apparently unknown -- immigration history of the

person who handled the multimillion-dollar budget of the nation's

largest state Republican party.

Former White House adviser Steve Schmidt, who ran the re-election

campaign for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, angrily described the

appointment of Kamburowski as "almost a parody of incompetence and

malfeasance.''

"Somebody who has been imprisoned, faced deportation, has never worked

on a state political campaign ... and who is suing the government for

harm inflicted by his deportation order defies description,'' Schmidt

said.

"The bylaws of the Republican Party invest enormous authority in the

position of chief operating officer -- and it's clear that this person

brings no experience and qualifications to run a state party of the

size of California, not to mention the assorted legal issues

involved.''

The harsh words from Schmidt -- who ran the Bush 2004 presidential

campaign war room, advised Vice President Dick Cheney and was a member

of White House adviser Karl Rove's inner circle -- underscored the

concern in the California GOP following The Chronicle's story on

Sunday that detailed Kamburowski's immigration history and

multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the government.

Kamburowski was a surprise pick who was largely unknown to top state

GOP leaders when he was named in March to be the chief operating

officer of the party.

The 35-year-old Australian citizen was handpicked for the post by

Nehring, who became party chief in February.

Kamburowski is a former registered lobbyist for Americans for Tax

Reform and a top operative for the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, both

founded by conservative activist Grover Norquist.

Nehring -- also a former senior adviser and consultant to Norquist's

Washington, D.C., operation -- worked with Kamburowski at Americans

for Tax Reform in the 1990s.

The Chronicle reported Sunday that court records indicate Kamburowski,

who arrived in the United States in 1995, was ordered deported by U.S.

immigration officials in 2001.

He was jailed three years later for about one month at the Wachenhut

prison in Jamaica, N.Y., in connection with the immigration matter,

according to federal court documents.

Kamburowski's attorney, Michael DiRaimondo, said his client challenged

the government's deportation order and an immigration court overturned

it.

Both Kamburowski and DiRaimondo said Kamburowski is a lawful permanent

resident.

In 2005, Kamburowski filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New

York alleging wrongful arrest and imprisonment.

His lawsuit, which details his immigration history, seeks $5 million

in damages for "severe emotional stress and embarrassment" and loss of

his job.

Kamburowski, reached on Saturday, declined to answer questions about

the matter, saying, "I can't jeopardize the case by making any

comments."

He didn't immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment on his

resignation Sunday night.

The government maintains that its agents acted lawfully in executing a

valid warrant for Kamburowski's arrest and deportation; a hearing in

the civil lawsuit is set for September.

Nehring, in an e-mail to the Chronicle before the resignation was

announced Sunday, declined to answer whether he had been aware of

Kamburowski's immigration background when he recommended the

Australian to handle the finance operations of the state party.

"This is a personnel matter that we will review and comment on

following that," Nehring wrote.

But GOP Web sites and California Republican Party board members

expressed surprise and even outrage at Kamburowski's past.

Jon Fleischman, the Southern California vice chair of the GOP, told

The Chronicle that board members who approved the appointment last

March were completely unaware of the Australian's background.

"Mr. Kamburowski did not disclose anything to the board of directors

that even hinted at any of this stuff prior to our voting to retain

his services," he said.

Fleischman, in his popular GOP Web site, the FlashReport, bannered The

Chronicle story with the alarmed comment:

"Are you kidding me?"

And his Sunday blog asked fellow Republicans:

"Is our COO suing America?"

Fleischman, in a letter distributed to GOP board members Sunday,

warned that "needless to say, if any of this is true (especially

alleged jail time, and alleged litigation against the U.S. government)

it is a very serious matter."

Red County San Bernardino, another GOP blog site, called the

revelations jaw dropping, and added that "if it is true that

Kamburowski did not disclose this arrest to the party, it suggests

serious deficiencies in his character."

Tom Del Beccaro, the party's northern California vice chair, declined

comment, saying, "I think these are shrill times on the topic of

immigration and a patient, thoughtful look at all these things is

probably good."

But Schmidt, considered one of the nation's top GOP strategists, said

the controversy threatened the viability of the state party, and

represented a slap in the face to loyal volunteers and donors.

"Clearly, (Kamburowski) has no qualifications to serve as the chief

operating officer of a major state party, and every person in the

state of California who has ever donated a dollar to the state GOP has

every right to be furious over this,'' he said.

He said that there are still questions to be answered about the

appointment, and GOP party members deserve an immediate "accounting

for who, what and when did (top GOP officials) know about his

immigration and legal status.''

News of Kamburowski's immigration past comes on the heels of

revelations in The Chronicle earlier this month that the state GOP

used a highly sought-after H1B visa to hire another immigrant as a top

consultant.

Christopher Matthews, a Canadian citizen with no experience in

statewide politics, was hired recently after the California Republican

Party applied for, and received, an H1B visa specifically to fill the

role of political director, according to U.S. Department of Labor

data.

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Repug bag o' worms, eh?

Harry