By Ali Carey, Contributing Writer

Update: Casey isn’t the bundler after all!

President Obama’s campaign made it official in a statement to the press this week. Said Ben Finkenbinder, Obama for America’s Regional Press Secretary:

“Sen. Casey and a number of donors who had previously given to Sen. Casey attended a fundraiser for the President in Philadelphia.  The funds raised were misattributed to Sen. Casey – Mark Alderman raised the funds from those donors and therefore we are updating our website to reflect that Mark Alderman is the volunteer fundraiser who raised those contributions.  Sen. Casey is not serving as a volunteer fundraiser for the campaign.”

OfA issued a nearly identical statement to the New York Times, whose story on the subject initiated these questions.

</Update>

After a back-and-forth involving the New York Times, the Morning Call and Bob Casey’s office, his staff confirmed that the Senator has “bundled” campaign contributions for President Barack Obama.  Republicans are having a field day with the confusion.

Here’s the timeline:

On Saturday the New York Times reported on “bundlers” for Obama’s reelection campaign, noting that the President had retained support form several Democratic officials who backed him in 2008, including Sen. Casey.

A bundler is someone who arranges multiple individual or PAC campaign contributions for a candidate, a common practice in federal elections.

Casey’s office initially told the Morning Call that the New York Times story was incorrect, citing the fact that the Bob Casey in their report was listed as a resident of Haverford, PA. Casey resides in Scranton.

“This is another reason why you can’t trust these Washington political operatives,” Casey spokesman Larry Smar told the Morning Call at the time. “They don’t know Haverford from Scranton, let alone Bob Casey’s record of fighting for Pennsylvania.”

A few hours later, Casey’s office redacted their statement, confirming that Sen. Casey has in fact bundled for the President.

“There is a Bob Casey in Haverford, but the reference is supposed to be to Sen. Casey.  Apparently he made the list because of an event he cohosted.  This was news to us.  I apologize for giving you the wrong information earlier,” said Smar.

Before and after Casey’s office confirmed the NYT report, Republicans blasted him for his relationship with the President.

“It speaks volumes that, even as he desperately tries to distance himself from President Obama in public, Bob Casey is busy raising cash for the Obama campaign behind closed doors,” wrote National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Chris Bond in a Tuesday press release.

On Wednesday, the NRSC sent around links to the updated Morning Call article and this piece in Politico.

Casey’s prospective Republican opponent Tom Smith’s campaign echoed the NRSC in its own press release Wednesday.

“Like his voting record, Senator Casey can’t escape the hard facts.  And these facts point to a unabashed support of President Obama’s agenda that continues to move our country in the wrong direction,” said Smith Campaign Manager Jim Conroy.