U.S. President Barack Obama will speak on Wednesday night to a group created by his former campaign advisers that will seek to generate voter pressure on Congress to approve his policy priorities including gun control and an immigration overhaul.
The group Organizing for Action is holding a two-day event at a posh Washington hotel this week for donors, some grassroots organizers and former staff. The group has drawn fire on charges that it plans to sell access to the president to high-dollar donors, an accusation the White House denied.
"Any notion, as we've talked about, that there's a price set for a meeting with the president is absurd and wrong," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Monday.
Carney said Obama would address the group on Wednesday night and that the news media would be provided some access to the event. "I'm sure there will be press access. We're working that out now," he said.
The group has said it will not accept corporate donations and will voluntarily release the names of donors who give more than $250, even though U.S. law does not require non-profit organizations to disclose that information.
© 2013 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.