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June 21, 201

Blue Room BucksDespite White House Stonewalling, New Details Emerge And New 

Questions Need To Be Answered About The DNC-Organized White

House Meeting______________________________________________________________________

OBAMA’S MEETING WITH WALL STREET EXECS WAS “CLEARLY RELATED TO THE

CAMPAIGN” DESPITE THE WHITE HOUSE’S CLAIMSJust Before Announcing For Reelection, Obama Brought Two Dozen Long Time Donors To The WhiteHouse. “A few weeks before announcing his re-election campaign, President Obama convened two dozenWall 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 ask ed fortheir thoughts on how to speed the economic recovery, then the president opened the floor for overan hour on hot issues like hedge fund regulation and the deficit.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back W

St. Cash,” The New York Times , 6/12/11) 

“The Event, Organized By The Democratic National Committee, Kicked Off  An Aggressive PusBy 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 OThem 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 AttendeeNoting, “[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 waspolicy-focused, but everyone knew why they were there,’ said one attendee.”  (Josh Gerstein, “Donor Meeting A

White House Draws Fire,” Politico , 6/20/11) 

“The Same Attendee Said He Was Invited To The Event By DNC Finance Official BradThompson.” (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

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Campaign Legal Center, which presses for tighter controls on campaign finance. ‘I don’t have a problem witthe president inviting Wall Street people to the White House to discuss policy, but why does it need to beDNC-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 OuTo 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 Gorheld 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 lateremerged showing the DNC had fundraising goals for some events and that some donors were told they coulget 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 withthe use of the White House for fundraising purposes during the Clinton administration, and one wouldassume 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 Donor

 And/Or Fundraisers, Then It’s The Kind Of Meeting That Should Not Take Place In The WhiteHouse.” (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 saidFriday 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 othevisitors to the White House, including lobbyists, government employees, campaign donors, policyexperts and friends of the first family, according to an investigation by the Center for PublicIntegrity.” (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 HasThe 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 thepresident 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 TheIndividual Fundraising Events Attended By Pres. Obama. Neither Will The Democratic NationalCommittee.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Campaign Won't Reveal Fundraising Numbers,” CBS News , 4/19/11)

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“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 Knoll

“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 2004freely disclosed how much money was taken in at individual events.” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Campaign Won't Reve

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 “ARelatively 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 AiForce One for political trips, though his campaign must reimburse the government for a relatively smallportion 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 OfPolitical Travel By The President And The Amount The Government Is Reimbursed By TheCandidates And Political Committees For Whom He Was Raising Money. For Two Years, TheWhite 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 HowMuch Since The White House Has Not Disclosed Its Formula. “By doing an ‘official’ event during thesame trip as political fundraisers, the costs the DSCC and the Nelson campaign must pay to reimburse thegovernment for Mr. Obama's trip to Miami is significantly reduced, although the White House has yet todisclose 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)