Research Briefing

Obama’s Hypocrisy On Lobbyists Knows No Bounds

President Obama: “Because You Deserve To Know When Your Elected Officials Are Meeting With Lobbyists, I Ask Congress To Do What The White House Has Already Done -- Put That Information Online.” (President Barack Obama, State Of The Union Address, Washington, DC, 1/25/11)

APPARENTLY OBAMA THINKS THE PUBLIC DOESN’T “DESERVE TO KNOW” ABOUT “OFF THE BOOKS” MEETINGS HELD WITH LOBBYISTS

The Obama Administration Meets With Lobbyists At “A Complex Just Off The White House Grounds.” “Caught between their boss’s anti-lobbyist rhetoric and the reality of governing, President Barack Obama’s aides often steer meetings with lobbyists to a complex just off the White House grounds – and several of the lobbyists involved say they believe the choice of venue is no accident.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

These Lobbyists Do Not Make It Into The Visitors Log Which Is Released To The Public. “It allows the Obama administration to keep these lobbyist meetings shielded from public view — and out of Secret Service logs collected on visitors to the White House and later released to the public.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

Attendees Say The Meetings Are Being Kept “Off The Books – So Their Visits Wouldn’t Later Be Made Public.”  “The White House scoffs at the notion of an ulterior motive for scheduling meetings in what are, after all, meeting rooms. But at least four lobbyists who’ve been to the conference rooms just off Lafayette Square tell POLITICO they had the distinct impression they were being shunted off to Jackson Place – and off the books – so their visits wouldn’t later be made public.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

Administration Officials Even Refuse To Respond To Many “Routine Emails” In A Way That Could Be Recorded. “‘I’ve not seen the Washington Post test enforced so ritualistically as this White House,’ said one lobbyist, who regularly does business with the administration. The veteran lobbyist said no other administration he’s worked with has so often responded to routine email queries with the same three-word response, ‘Gimme a ring.’” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

The Meetings Are Being Held Off-Grounds So That The White House Visitor Logs Would Not Be “Released To The Public And Embarrass The President” “Some lobbyists suspected they were being kept outside the gates for political, rather than logistical, reasons. ‘My understanding was they were holding the meeting there because it included several high-level business and trade association lobbyists,’ said a senior business lobbyist who attended the meeting. ‘This was an effort to not have to go through the security protocols at the White House which could lead to the visitor logs at some point being released to the public and embarrass the president.’” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

LOOKS LIKE CARIBOU COFFEE IS LOSING SOME BUSINESS

White House Officials Have Met “Hundreds Of Times” With Lobbyists At Coffee Shop Across The Street From White House. “Here at the Caribou on Pennsylvania Avenue, and a few other nearby coffee shops, White House officials have met hundreds of times over the last 18 months with prominent K Street lobbyists — members of the same industry that President Obama has derided for what he calls its “outsized influence” in the capital.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists,” The New York Times, 6/24/10)

Meetings “Reveal A Disconnect Between The Obama Administration’s Public Rhetoric … And The Administration’s Continuing, Private Dealings With Them.” “But because the discussions are not taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they are not subject to disclosure on the visitors’ log that the White House releases as part of its pledge to be the ‘most transparent presidential administration in history.’ The off-site meetings, lobbyists say, reveal a disconnect between the Obama administration’s public rhetoric — with Mr. Obama himself frequently thrashing big industries’ ‘battalions’ of lobbyists as enemies of reform — and the administration’s continuing, private dealings with them.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists,” The New York Times, 6/24/10)

Discussed Issues From Wall Street Regulation To Health Care. “On the agenda over espressos and lattes, according to more than a dozen lobbyists and political operatives who have taken part in the sessions, have been front-burner issues like Wall Street regulation, health care rules, federal stimulus money, energy policy and climate control — and their impact on the lobbyists’ corporate clients.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists,” The New York Times, 6/24/10)

LOBBYISTS ALSO ASKED TO SIGN CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS, TO HIDE WHAT WAS DISCUSSED WITH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS

And The Obama Administration Is Pushing Lobbyists To Sign Confidentiality Agreements. “And administration officials recently asked some lobbyists and others who met with them to sign confidentiality agreements barring them from disclosing what was discussed at meetings with administration officials, in that case a rental policy working group.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

• Confidentiality Agreements Are “A Highly Unusual Request.” “Obama administration officials told a group of housing proponents this month that they must sign a confidentiality agreement to continue participating in talks — a highly unusual request that has drawn criticism from a top Republican lawmaker who is investigating the matter.” (Chris Frates, “HUD To Rental Policy Groups: Sign Agreement, Stay Quiet,” Politico, 2/16/11)

OBAMA CONTINUES TO FAIL HIS OWN TRANSPARENCY TEST

The Obama Administration Said Their Visitor Logs Are “A Breakthrough In Transparency.” “Obama’s administration has touted its release of White House visitors logs as a breakthrough in transparency, as the first White House team ever to reveal the comings and goings around the West Wing and the Old Executive Office Building.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

President Obama In January 2009: “My Administration Is Committed To Creating An Unprecedented Level Of Openness In Government.” (President Barack Obama, "Memorandum For The Heads Of Executive Departments And Agencies: Transparency and Open Government," Press Release, 1/21/09)

Former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Said White House Would Report Contact With Lobbyists “So That People Understand If [The Administration Is] Working On Behalf Of The People's Interest.” MR. GIBBS:  “You heard the President outline ways that he thinks this town can work better in the State of the Union; that we have to take steps to ensure that foreign corporations can't unduly influence our elections off of what the Supreme Court decided; that contacts with lobbyists are reported more readily so that people understand if you're working on behalf of the people's interest or the special interests.  That's what led us to put online each month the visitors that come into this building for the first time in the history of this country.” (Robert Gibbs, Press Briefing, The White House, 2/16/10)

When Announcing His Campaign For Presidency, Obama Pledged To End Special Interest Access. “Special interests have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play … They get the access while you get to write a letter … The time for that kind of politics is over. It’s through.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Announcing Campaign For President, Springfield, IL, 2/17/07)

Randy Johnson Of The Chamber Of Commerce: “You Can’t Make The Claim You’re Holier Than Thou Because, Sometimes, A Car Looks Shiny But When You Look Below The Hood, Things May Look A Lot Different.” “Randy Johnson, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive who has been to White House and Jackson Place meetings, said the gatherings aren’t closely guarded secrets and insiders generally know who administration staffers are talking to. But, he said, there’s no way to know for certain without a record of all the meetings at Jackson Place. ‘You can’t make the claim you’re holier than thou because, sometimes, a car looks shiny but when you look below the hood, things may look a lot different,’ he said. ‘You can’t measure the claim of transparency unless you have those numbers.’” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)