Petrelis Files

Disney/ABC Director Gave $30,500 To Obama

In my post a few days ago on donations from members of the board of directors of the Disney Company, parent company to ABC TV, I mentioned the possibility that one member, Judith Estrin of JLabs LLC, may have donated $28,500 in July to Barack Obama. I sent her an email seeking clarification.

Well, Estrin left me a voice mail message the other day, confirming that she had indeed given that large amount to him. In part, she said:

"You asked whether or not the [FEC] filing by the Obama office was a typo, and, in fact, it was not a typo. I just wanted to confirm that filing was public information, and that the filing is correct. And I think that is what you needed to know."

The confirmation from Estrin on the $28,500, means her total amount given to Obama, adding in her $2,300 donation in June, comes to $30,800. By the way, those are her only donations to a Democrat. All of her other donations, and they're substantial, have gone solidly to GOP candidates, including George W. Bush.

So at this point in the 2008 race, Disney directors have given $30,800 to Obama, versus $8,900 to McCain, spread out over a few years.

That concludes today's exercise in adding a small degree of transparency to a corporate media giant's board of directors and their FEC files and donations.