He needed the money to pay lawyers.

Obama general counsel Bob Bauer today sent a second, sharper letter to the Justice Department, directly attacking the Dallas billionaire funding a harsh attack ad, Harold Simmons.

"We reiterate our request that the Department of Justice fulfill its commitment to take prompt action to investigate and to prosecute the American issues Project, and we further request that the Department of Justice investigate and prosecute Howard (sic) Simmons for a knowing and willful violation of the individual aggregate contribution limits," he wrote.

He called the group's activities "patently illegal."

Bauer made the case that Simmons' group fulfilling its a real nonprofit charter because it hasn't spent any money on anything other than attacking Obama.

Ironically, this is the sort of thing that Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain can agree on -- silencing third party opponents.

However, McCain has yet to take it to the point that Obama has -- asking the DOJ to prosecute.

So much for that First Amendment thing.