Hardline Gingrich donor has ‘more influence than any person should have’

He’s an ardent supporter of Israel. A megabillionaire casino mogul whose Las Vegas Sands Corporation is under federal investigation.

And the self-proclaimed “richest Jew in the world.”

Sheldon Adelson is also, far and away, the biggest patron of Newt Gingrich’s surging Republican presidential bid.

The son of a cab driver, Adelson now ranks as the eighth wealthiest person in America, according to Forbes Magazine, which places his net worth at $21.5 billion.

Adelson and his wife, Miriam, have pumped $10 million into a political action committee backing Gingrich that is run by the former House speaker’s one-time aides. Campaign finance experts say the two $5m contributions are among the largest known political donations in US history.

It’s been made possible by last year’s Supreme Court rulings — known as Citizens United — that recast the political landscape by stripping away restrictions on contributions and how outside groups can spend their money.

Sheldon Adelson is Citizens United come to life.

“The bottom line is that it creates that potential for one person to have far more influence than any one person should have,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of the campaign finance watchdog group Democracy 21.

When any candidate is beholden to a single donor for so much money, Wertheimer said, “it opens the door to corruption and influence peddling”.

Wertheimer said the infusion of cash would raise questions about any decision Gingrich would make that touches on gambling, for example. And similar questions could be raised about Gingrich’s Mid-east policies.

Indeed, without recent disclosures by news organisations, voters would not have even known about the large contributions until campaign filings due on February 20. That would be long after a number of key primaries.

The outsized contributions are stirring some unease among the evangelical voters whom Gingrich is counting on to help him defeat Mitt Romney.

Richard Land, head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, called the gambling cash fuelling Gingrich’s bid “discomforting”.

Land said Gingrich should make clear his views on legalised gambling.

Gingrich spokesman RC Hammond said the candidate believes it is a states’ rights issue and does not gamble.

Friends say Adelson and Gingrich met when Gingrich was House speaker and Adelson was lobbying to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Gingrich backed the legislation and the two bonded over a shared hardline stance on Israel.

In Cocoa, Florida, Gingrich on Wednesday called Adelson “very deeply concerned about the survival of Israel” and the threat of a nuclear Iran.

Those who have followed Gingrich’s career say he has long staked out a tough stance on Israel that predated his friendship with Adelson.

Meanwhile, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Adelson for possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to a filing with the SEC. The company denies any wrongdoing and says the investigation stems from the allegation of a disgruntled employee.