Political watchdog group retracts charges, issues apology to Sheldon Adelson

A progressive political group that called this month for a federal investigation of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson retracted several of its statements Tuesday and apologized to the billionaire casino owner.

In a statement, the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Accountability said it "made certain statements regarding Mr. Adelson that it now retracts.

"(Campaign for Accountability) apologizes to Mr. Adelson and his family for resurrecting allegations that have caused him deep hurt," the group said in a statement.

Campaign for Accountability on Nov. 4 asked the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether foreign money is illegally fueling campaign contributions to American politicians. In doing so, the group repeated several allegations about ties to reputed Chinese organized crime figures that were raised in 2012 by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which also subsequently retracted its remarks and made a public apology.

A spokesman for Las Vegas Sands dismissed the initiative as an "obvious political propaganda stunt" aimed at Adelson, who is a prolific financial contributor to Republican candidates and conservative causes.

Much of the information submitted by the group surfaced long ago in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Las Vegas Sands by the former head of the company's Macau operations. The case is pending trial in Clark County District Court.