Politics | Obama administration White House Denies Giving Perks to Donors GOP wants an investigation after newspaper report By Nick McMaster Posted Oct 28, 2009 2:20 PM CDT Copied President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, left, flank former Oklahoma Sen. David Boren in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) White House officials are engaging in damage control after GOP Chairman Michael Steele accused the Obama administration of offering selected donors perks in exchange for big contributions. Steele’s charges stem from a Washington Times report today claiming that DNC contributors who give $30,400 or bundle $300,000 get inappropriate access to policymakers. He wants an investigation. The story also says big donors get trips to the White House bowling alley and movie theater. Administration officials say the trips organized by the DNC are part of normal “donor maintenance” and that the arrangement is not a quid pro quo. "Many of the people mentioned in this story have been friends and associates of the Obamas for decades, including college roommates and family friends whose relationships predate and are separate from the president's career in public service," says a White House spokesman. Read These Next Porn studio is US' 'most prolific copyright plaintiff.' Subject of an iconic, unsettling photo dies at 74. Trial shows daily pill lowers LDL cholesterol just like injections. A city rule has turned recording exhaust into a lucrative side hustle. Report an error