President Obama broke a campaign pledge by secretly attending a fundraiser for a super-PAC supporting his reelection, according to excerpts of the book Double Down obtained by Time magazine.
The book says Obama attended a fundraiser for the super-PAC Priorities USA just a few days after his widely panned performance at a presidential debate in Denver.
The event with former President Bill Clinton was hosted at the home of Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, and raised at least $1 million for the outside group.
{mosads}The president attended the fundraiser despite campaign manager Jim Messina’s pledge that the candidate and the first lady would not aid in Priorities USA’s fundraising.
“Senior campaign officials as well as some White House and Cabinet officials will attend and speak at Priorities USA fundraising events,” Messina wrote in a blog post at the time. “While campaign officials may be appearing at events to amplify our message, these folks won’t be soliciting contributions for Priorities USA.
“I should also note that the President, Vice President, and First Lady will not be a part of this effort; their political activity will remain focused on the President’s campaign.”
The authors of “Double Down” said that the president avoided violating campaign laws by not directly appealing to the attendees for cash.
Obama was criticized for endorsing Priorities USA since he had denounced the Supreme Court decision that paved the way for the outside groups such as super-PACs to solicit unlimited donations.
At the time, Messina justified the shift by saying that the campaign couldn’t “allow for two sets of rules in this election whereby the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm.”
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White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he did not know whether Obama had attended the fundraiser, although he promised reporters that he would look into the matter.
— This report was updated at 1:39 p.m.