Did White House official overstep the bounds in helping ICANN seek funds?

The private, non-profit group tapped by the Commerce Department to create competition in the domain name registration business is broke and in danger of not being able to function beyond the end of August, MSNBC has learned. The group has asked for and received an offer of private sector fund raising support from a White House official. If those solicitations were actually made, the actions might violate federal law. THE ORGANIZATION is known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or "ICANN." In a June 7 e-mail from Mike Roberts, ICANN_s interim president and CEO, to officials from IBM and MCI Worldcom, Roberts says: "[R]eality suggests that unless there is an immediate infusion of $500,000 to $1M [million], there won_t be a functioning ICANN by the end of August." ICANN is charged with overseeing the move to competition in the domain name registration business from the current government-sponsored monopoly handled by Network Solutions Inc. ICANN has raised the ire of many in the Internet community for overstepping its mandate and setting up the groundwork for a United Nations-like structure for Internet governance. Congress has recently taken ICANN to task over several of its policies, causing the organization to temporarily abandon or modify some of its plans, such as a proposed imposition of a $1 fee on every new Internet domain name registered and the practice of holding closed door board meetings.