While President Barack Obama has hammered on the power of lobbying in Washington and sought to limit the role of lobbyists in his administration, his aides have been meeting with members of the Third House outside the White House, in an apparent attempt to keep such discussions out of the public record.

 

Quietly, Obama staffers have met lobbyists in conference rooms at Jackson Place off Lafayette Square. Four lobbyists interviewed by Politico said they got the sense the locale was deliberate, allowing the White House to conduct such meetings without them appearing on Secret Service logs, which record all visitors to the White House.

 

It is these very same logs that the president has made a big deal about in making them available for the media to see.

 

Obama’s aides insist the offsite venue is used when the White House is filled or when there’s no time to clear participants through the security screening. Other lobbyists who talked to Politico concurred that there was no hidden motive for using the Jackson Place rooms.

 

Meetings between lobbyists and members of the Obama administration have also been observed at the Caribou Coffee across the street from the White House, as well as other coffee shops in the neighborhood.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

White House Meets Lobbyists Off Campus (by Chris Frates, Politico)

Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists (by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times)