Obama joined the former president at the home of the DreamWorks Animation chief for a private meeting with 12 deep-pocketed Democratic donors.
President Barack Obama arrived Sunday in Los Angeles and went directly to the Beverly Hills home of DreamWorks Animation Chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, where he joined former President Bill Clinton in a private meeting with 12 deep-pocketed Democratic donors.
The Obama campaign said the meeting was scheduled to “thank supporters,” however two campaign finance committee members told THR that they were kept out of the loop on the closed-door event because it involved the pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA. A campaign spokeswoman, however, flatly denied that the meeting involved the super PAC.
In addition to being one of Obama’s key campaign fundraisers, Katzenberg personally contributed $2 million in seed money last year to Priorities USA.
On Sunday, members of the White House traveling press corps were allowed to accompany the president to Katzenberg’s Beverly Hills mansion, but were kept in the garage. (The pool dispatch noted that the reporters were sharing their space with an electric Nissan Leaf and an Audi.) The campaign said it would not provide a transcript of the meeting because it was an “informal” private event.
On the plane ride to Los Angeles, reporters asked White House spokesperson Jen Psaki about the small gathering. One reporter termed the meeting “unusual.”
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