IMPEACH BUSH

Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Freddie Mac and American International Group Inc., two companies bailed out by the U.S. government as the financial crisis unfolded, each contributed $250,000 for last month's Republican National Convention, Federal Election Commission filings show.

The money went to the local host committee for the convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, which raised $50 million. The committees can accept unlimited amounts from corporations, unions and individuals. While the donors' names were posted on the committee's Web site, the amounts they gave were not released until the FEC reports. The host committee for the Democratic National Convention in Denver has yet to file.

The U.S. government took over McLean, Virginia-based Freddie and Washington-based Fannie Mae last month, saying that a rise in mortgage defaults threatened the two companies. That same month, federal officials took control of New York-based AIG in exchange for an $85 billion loan to prevent the bankruptcy of the nation's biggest insurer.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, New York investment banks that changed to bank holding companies and therefore put themselves under increased federal regulation, also contributed money for the Republican convention. Goldman Sachs gave $255,000, and Morgan Stanley donated $100,000. New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., which bought Bear Stearns Cos., contributed $100,000.

Target, Qwest, Best Buy

The largest corporate donors to the host committee were Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which gave $3 million; Denver- based Qwest Communications International Inc., with $2.9 million; and Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy Co. Inc., with $2.7 million.

Other big corporate givers included San Jose, California- based Cisco Systems Inc., $1.8 million; Minnetonka, Minnesota- based UnitedHealth Group Inc., $1.5 million; San Antonio-based AT&T Inc., $1.4 million; and Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp., $1.3 million.

New York Jets owner Robert Johnson IV, who has raised more than $500,000 for Republican presidential nominee John McCain's campaign, contributed $500,000. The host committee also received $25,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa, an Indian tribe formerly represented by ex-Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is now in prison. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, then chaired by McCain, a senator from Arizona, held a series of hearings on Abramoff's representation of Indian tribes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.