Obama Lawyer: Pro-Clinton Group Violating Law

Feb. 21, 2008— -- Sen. Barack Obama's lawyer argued today that American Leadership Project, a 527 group producing pro-Clinton issue ads, is breaking the law and warned that those involved with the group could face criminal as well as civil liability.

The group's ads are set to launch by Monday in Ohio and Texas, two states whose primaries on March 4 could determine the fate of Sen. Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

"This is not a case where there's shades of gray. This is not a case where there is room for argument. This is not a case where they will be spared by some version of Philadelphia lawyering," Obama lawyer Bob Bauer said during a conference call with reporters.

"This is absolutely a cold, calculated move to violate the law to the benefit of the candidate and to assume that any penalty will be so deferred into the future that the immediate benefits can be taken now without consequence."

"The calculation on their part is that the penalties will be bearable for them," he added. "But I think in the end, the penalties will be unbearable for them. This is going to wind up being a very, very miserable experience for the people involved. Maybe, in some cases, life changing."

Bauer argued that A.L.P.'s activity is "so brazen" that it raises "very serious questions about knowing and willful misconduct."

"It was established only now, has no prior operating history, and press accounts make it very clear that it responded to the financial difficulties announced by the Clinton campaign to provide resources the Clinton campaign could not provide for itself on the air in two primary election states," Bauer said. "The advertisement makes a very clear reference to Clinton's opposition candidate, but even more explicitly airs material that is meant to be highly supportive of Sen. Clinton."

You can preview the group's Ohio ad HERE.

"At the end of the day, there will be a reckoning here," he added, "and I think it will be rough on the officers. It's going to be rough on the employees. It is going to be rough on the donors. But I think there certainly is going to be a reckoning here."

You can read more about the group from ABC's Jake Tapper HERE.

The blistering attack from Obama's lawyer followed an email to Obama supporters from campaign manager David Plouffe, attempting to use the creation of the group to pad the Democratic frontrunner's fundraising lead.

An ALP spokesman defended the legality of his group and charged that Bauer was engaged in "legal bullying."

"There isn't anything in what we've been doing that would warrant this type of quelling of free speech with the type of unsupported legal bullying we heard today," ALP spokesman Roger Salazar said.

"The bottom line for us is that we've put together this committee in a way that complies with all of the rules and regulations that have been set forward," he said. "We are not going to be airing any advertisements that contain express advocacy on behalf of a federal candidate. These are issue ads that focus on issues that are important to the middle class."

While 527 groups are allowed to receive unregulated sums of money because they are not supposed to engage in express advocacy, Salazar noted that 527s like his group are still subject to certain reporting requirements.

"Every time we spend $10,000 or more on electioneering we have to within 24 hours list all of our donors with the Federal Election Commission, accessible on the FEC's website," Salazar said.

In addition to charging that ALP was breaking the law, Bauer said that the Obama campaign will "wait to see if Clinton will take steps to shut it down."

The Clinton campaign, which has not issued a letter calling on the group to halt its activities, responded to Bauer's challenge by saying that it has no connection to ALP. It also charged that Obama benefited from outside group spending in California.

"Talk about chutzpah," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said. "I don't recall the Obama campaign's expressions of outrage when the VoteHope 527 was set up to help their efforts in California and elsewhere."

"Mr. Bauer is well aware that we have no connection to this group," he added.

The Obama campaign responded to the Clinton camp's VoteHope criticism by providing a copy of a Dec. 28, 2007, letter in which Bauer called on the pro-Obama VoteHope 527 group to disband immediately.

"If Hillary Clinton said, 'stop,' and made clear that it was her wish, it might not work," Bauer told ABC News in a short interview following his conference call with reporters. "But there is no reason not to try. By saying nothing, the Hillary Clinton campaign is sending a very clear signal to this group that she has no objection to them continuing."

ABC News' Talal Al-Khatib contributed to this report.