GOP calls for probe into donors access to White House

Republicans are jumping all over a published report today that President Obama -- despite all his talk of cleaning up Washington -- is marketing VIP access to the White House to big campaign donors.

"During his first nine months in office, President Obama has quietly rewarded scores of top Democratic donors with VIP access to the White House, private briefings with administration advisers and invitations to important speeches and town-hall meetings," the Washington Times reported today.

"High-dollar fundraisers have been promised access to senior White House officials in exchange for pledges to donate $30,400 personally or to bundle $300,000 in contributions ahead of the 2010 midterm elections, according to internal Democratic National Committee documents obtained by The Washington Times. Top donors described in interviews with The Times how they were given a birthday visit to the Oval Office and allowed use of a White House-complex bowling alley for their family. Bundlers closest to the president were invited to watch a movie in the red-walled theater in the basement of the presidential mansion."

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele responded in a statement calling for an investigation and for the White House to release the names of the selected donors.

“Bill Clinton turned the White House into a hotel and coffee shop. Now President Obama has turned the White House into a full service resort complete with amenities for the highest Democrat bidder," Steele said.

"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. The White House should also immediately release the names of donors who have accessed these perks or received special briefings from administration officials. Candidate Obama pledged to clean up the muddy waters of Washington, but President Obama has jumped in head first.”

A White House spokesman said that many donors given access were also longtime Obama family friends and, that given the millions of contributors to Obama's campaign, it wasn't surprising that some visited the White House.

"Contributing does not guarantee a ticket to the White House, nor does it prohibit the contributor from visiting," Dan Pfeiffer, the White House's deputy communications director, told the Times.

UPDATE: Asked about the report at his daily briefing today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs asserted that the administration is the most transparent in history, noting that it will soon start disclosing the names of almost every visitor to the White House.

He joked that the only person he knew who had received special access to the White House bowling alley was his son, who had the bumpers down and was chowing down on chicken.