Republican leaders called for an investigation into perks President Obama handed out to top Democratic donors as campaign-finance groups expressed dismay Wednesday that the administration was not doing more to reform the culture in Washington.
"What is so striking with President Obama is that he ran on a platform of change," said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. "This is business as usual."
Ms. McGehee's comments came in response to an investigation by The Washington Times that found Democratic Party donors were being promised and provided private briefings from senior presidential advisers, and in some cases, VIP access to the White House itself.
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Internal Democratic National Committee documents obtained by The Times showed that the party had offered up quarterly briefings by senior advisers in exchange for the maximum legal donation of $30,400, or a willingness to raise $300,000 in time for the 2010 midterm elections.
"If the White House is trading access to official functions or titles for political contributions, it is not just tawdry, it is illegal," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed the criticism, saying the Obama administration has already taken historic steps in agreeing to release visitor logs that will show the names of everyone who sets foot into the White House.The logs will not cover the first eight months of the president's term.
Mr. Gibbs also downplayed the fact that a number of top fundraisers who collected six-figure sums for the president's campaign, people known as "bundlers," played golf with the president or were granted access to the White House complex to go bowling, play basketball and use the movie theater. Many of those guests, Mr. Gibbs said, were Mr. Obama's close friends.
"There are people that gave money that the president has been personal friends with since they went to school," Mr. Gibbs said. "I don't think it makes a lot of sense to preclude somebody like that from coming here simply because they gave money. David Axelrod couldn't work here if that were the case - he's a donor."
During his daily press briefing, Mr. Gibbs was asked whether the president had reconsidered his policy on admitting top fundraisers into the White House.
"Well, again, as I said, giving a contribution to the DNC doesn't guarantee you a visit here, nor should it or would it prohibit that," Mr. Gibbs said.
But Mr. Gibbs was less forthcoming when asked about the DNC documents that promise access to senior members of the Obama administration.
"I'll point you to the DNC on that," he said.
"But they're with White House officials," one reporter pressed.
"Again, I'll point you to the DNC."
DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse stuck with an e-mailed statement in response to the questions.
"The DNC routinely identifies appropriate opportunities for party supporters to meet their leaders in the Administration and the Democratic Congressional majority," the statement said. "This is true for donors, grass-roots activists and others who are engaged and active on behalf of our party in different ways and who welcome the chance to meet their leadership."
None of which should take anyone by surprise, James Carville, the former top aide to President Clinton, said during an interview on CNN on Wednesday.
"Every time, they say it's going to be different," he said. "It's never different."
Both Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush were criticized for their use of the office to court donors. In 1997, it was discovered that Mr. Clinton had used White House coffees, overnight stays in the Lincoln Bedroom and rides aboard Air Force One to cultivate and reward political support. Mr. Clinton said the sleepovers were justified because the guests were not only donors, but also close friends.
"The Lincoln Bedroom was never sold," Mr. Clinton said at the time.
Mr. Bush rewarded his 246 "Pioneers," who raised at least $100,000, with perks that included overnight stays at the White House and Camp David, parties at the White House and Mr. Bush's Texas ranch, state dinners with world leaders and overseas travel with U.S. delegations to the Olympics and other events, according to a 2004 review by the Associated Press. A senior Bush official disputed that report Wednesday, saying only Mr. Bush's closest friends gained access to the White House residence, to Camp David or to his Texas ranch.
Republicans were not satisfied with the White House's response, and did not accept the line used by other Democrats, who said the practice is time-honored.
Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said his 114-member group is launching its own fact-finding review. The next move will depend on "to what degree and what perks are being offered," he said.
"The oversight role of Congress comes into play, and we ought to be practicing our oversight role very aggressively," Mr. Price said.
"It is not surprising to find that with this administration, once again, what they say and what they do are two completely different things," he said. "So the most responsible, the most transparent, the most ethical, the most open, the most bipartisan - all of those things are certainly not true."
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele on Wednesday called on the White House to immediately release the names of donors who have been granted meetings with the president or his senior aides, or access to the White House for use of such amenities as the basketball court, the movie theater or either of two bowling alleys in the complex.
"The seriousness of this issue requires an immediate investigation looking into the degree and details of fundraising efforts between the White House and DNC, whether there was any quid pro quo offered to donors, and the names of White House officials who were involved in such activities," Mr. Steele said.
Since taking office, Mr. Obama has pledged that his administration will be "the most open and transparent administration in history" and has agreed to make public the names of those who sign into White House visitor logs. A request from The Times for logs that show visits from his top 45 bundlers has so far gone unfilled.
Requests for guest lists to various White House events, such as a recent cocktail reception surrounding the celebration of the Pittsburgh Penguins' National Hockey League Stanley Cup victory or the Latin music concert last week, have also been denied repeatedly.
The White House has also not released the names of guests at other festive events at the White House, such as parties thrown to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and July Fourth, which administration officials confirmed were underwritten in part or in full by the DNC. As with White House travel, the DNC is required by law to reimburse the cost of political events.
The White House should "immediately release the names of donors who have accessed these perks or received special briefings from administration officials," Mr. Steele said. "Candidate Obama pledged to clean up the muddy waters of Washington, but President Obama has jumped in head first."
Ms. McGehee, the campaign-finance reform advocate, said the only way for Mr. Obama to change course would be to spend some political capital.
"Changing a system he's a part of, that's real heavy lifting." Ms. McGehee said. "But if he doesn't, he'll have to continue these tacky, unattractive and unappealing efforts to go out and raise more money."
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