Despite White House Stonewalling, New Details Emerge And New Questions Need To Be Answered About The DNC-Organized White House Meeting

Blue Room Bucks

21

June 2011

Posted by: Research

OBAMA’S MEETING WITH WALL STREET EXECS WAS “CLEARLY RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN” DESPITE THE WHITE HOUSE’S CLAIMS

Just Before Announcing For Reelection, Obama Brought Two Dozen Long Time Donors To The White House. “A few weeks before announcing his re-election campaign, President Obama convened two dozen Wall Street executives, many of them longtime donors, in the White House’s Blue Room.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)

• Obama Asked The Donors How To Speed The Economic Recovery. “The guests were asked for their thoughts on how to speed the economic recovery, then the president opened the floor for over an hour on hot issues like hedge fund regulation and the deficit.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)
•  “The Event, Organized By The Democratic National Committee, Kicked Off An Aggressive Push By Mr. Obama To Win Back The Allegiance Of One Of His Most Vital Sources Of Campaign Cash …” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)

“So Keen Was He To Get Their Cash That He Followed Up The Discussion With Phone Calls To Each Of Them Afterwards.” (Daniel Bates, “Obama Goes Cap In Hand To The ‘Fat Cats’: President Woos Wall St As He Gears Up For Election Run,” The Daily Mail, 6/14/11)

Press Secretary Jay Carney Said: “This Was Not A Fundraiser.” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

• But The Meeting Was Clearly Related To Obama’s Reelection Campaign, With One Attendee Noting, “[E]veryone Knew Why They Were There.” “Two attendees at the event who spoke with POLITICO on condition of anonymity said the event was clearly related to the campaign. ‘It was policy-focused, but everyone knew why they were there,’ said one attendee.”  (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,”Politico, 6/20/11)
• “The Same Attendee Said He Was Invited To The Event By DNC Finance Official Brad Thompson.” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

The Campaign Legal Center Says That The DNC Sponsorship Implies At Least The “Cultivation” Of Donations. “‘There’s a pretty clear line — or there should be a clear line,’ said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center, which presses for tighter controls on campaign finance. ‘I don’t have a problem with the president inviting Wall Street people to the White House to discuss policy, but why does it need to be DNC-sponsored? I think that’s what raises the eyebrows. Even if it’s not a fundraiser, it’s a cultivation.’” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

The Blue Room Meeting Draws Comparisons To DNC Organized Events With Clinton That Turned Out To Have Fundraising Goals Attached To The Invitations. “At least on the surface, Obama’s Blue Room event seems to have parallels to dozens of so-called coffees President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore held in 1995 and 1996. Most of those events also were organized by the DNC. Clinton aides initially said the events were not fundraisers, and there was no specific donation required for admittance. Documents later emerged showing the DNC had fundraising goals for some events and that some donors were told they could get invited for $50,000.” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21: Given The Clinton Fundraising Scandals, “One Would Assume No One Would Want To Go Anywhere Near That Again.” ‘Anyone in politics is aware of what happened with the use of the White House for fundraising purposes during the Clinton administration, and one would assume no one would want to go anywhere near that again,’ said Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21, another group pressing for tighter campaign finance rules. (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

• Wertheimer: “If This Was Arranged By The DNC And Involved A Substantial Number Of Donors And/Or Fundraisers, Then It’s The Kind Of Meeting That Should Not Take Place In The White House.” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

OBAMA’S WHITE HOUSE CLAIMS TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT ANY DNC RELATED EVENTS, BUT THIS ADMINISTRATION IS AS CLEAR AS MUD

Carney Said The White House Is “Very Transparent” About Any DNC Related Events. “Carney said Friday the White House is ‘very transparent’ about its DNC-related events.” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

• But Hasn’t Said Who Attended The Blue Room Meeting. “By press time, the White House did not respond to questions about DNC members and the White House staff who attended the event.” (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting At White House Draws Fire,” Politico, 6/20/11)

• The White House Logs Are “Missing The Names Of Thousands Of Visitors To The White House, Including Lobbyists,” And Donors. “Similarly, the logs are missing the names of thousands of other visitors to the White House, including lobbyists, government employees, campaign donors, policy experts and friends of the first family, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.” (Viveca Novak and Fred Schulte, “White House Visitor Logs Leave Out Many,” Politico, 4/13/11)

And The White House Hasn’t Answered Politico’s Question: “How Many DNC-Organized Events Has The President Taken Part In That Weren’t Listed On His Schedule?”  “The topic didn’t come up during White House press secretary Jay Carney’s briefing. We wonder: How many DNC-organized events has the president taken part in that weren’t listed on his schedule?” (“What About The Wall St. Meeting,” Politico, 6/15/11)

Obama Won’t Disclose Fundraising Totals For Each DNC/Obama For America Fundraising Event

“Pres. Obama's Re-Election Campaign Won't Be Disclosing How Much Money Is Taken In At The Individual Fundraising Events Attended By Pres. Obama. Neither Will The Democratic National Committee.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Campaign Won't Reveal Fundraising Numbers,” CBS News, 4/19/11)

• “Pres. Obama Often Trumpets That His White House Is More Transparent And Open Than Any Other. But It's Clear He Does Not Apply That Approach To His Political Fund-Raising.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Campaign Won't Reveal Fundraising Numbers,” CBS News, 4/19/11)
• Other Re-Election Campaigns Have Disclosed The Totals From Individual Events. “The Obama Campaign is not the first to adopt such a policy, although Pres. Bush's re-election operation in 2004 freely disclosed how much money was taken in at individual events.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Campaign Won't Reveal Fundraising Numbers,” CBS News, 4/19/11)

Or How Much The DNC Reimburses The Government For The Costs Of Air Force One 

“Obama Is Entitled To Use Air Force One For Political Trips” But Must Reimburse Taxpayers For “A Relatively Small Portion Of The $100,000-Per-Hour Operating Costs.” “Being president cuts into a candidate's fundraising time, but it also facilitates travel. As chief executive, Mr. Obama is entitled to use Air Force One for political trips, though his campaign must reimburse the government for a relatively small portion of the $100,000-per-hour operating costs of flying aboard the 747-version of Air Force One.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Seeks To Bring In Big Bucks For 2012 Campaign,” CBS, 4/4/11)

• “For Two-Years, CBS News Has Been Trying To Get The White House To Disclose The Costs Of Political Travel By The President And The Amount The Government Is Reimbursed By The Candidates And Political Committees For Whom He Was Raising Money. For Two Years, The White House Has Declined To Disclose The Data.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Seeks To Bring In Big Bucks For 2012 Campaign,” CBS, 4/4/11)

An Official Event Allows The Political Costs Of The Trip To Decrease, But We Don’t Know By How Much Since The White House Has Not Disclosed Its Formula. “By doing an ‘official’ event during the same trip as political fundraisers, the costs the DSCC and the Nelson campaign must pay to reimburse the government for Mr. Obama's trip to Miami is significantly reduced, although the White House has yet to disclose the formula it uses to arrive at the amounts to be reimbursed.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama To Raise $1M In Florida For Democratic Campaigns,” CBS News, 3/4/11)