Press

PRESS

September 04, 2009

Bush-Era White House Visitor Records Document 53 Visits by Texas-Based Lobbyist Stephen Payne

Administration & Lobbying, FOIA Requests (Legal Filings), FOIA, Lobbying, The White House, Transparency, Press Releases, Vice President Cheney

Washington, D.C. - In response to CREW’s July 15, 2008 Freedom of Information Act request for records of visits to the White House by Stephen Payne, the White House today disclosed records documenting 53 different visits starting in June 18, 2001, and ending on June 13, 2007. In 2008, Mr. Payne was caught on videotape apparently trying to trade his access to top administration officials for significant donations to President Bush’s library foundation.

When the story broke the White House attempted to distance itself from Mr. Payne. Separately, the White House denied Mr. Payne’s claim he was involved in arranging meetings for Vice President Cheney, including a visit by the vice president to the Kazakh president in May 2006.

The newly released records show Mr. Payne visited President Bush on four separate occasions: December 12, 2001; April 2, 2002; May 8, 2003; and December 15, 2004. Mr. Payne’s White House visits also included visits to Karl Rove on August 6, 2002, and December 18, 2003. A separate set of records from visits to the vice president’s residence shows Mr. Payne attended a holiday reception hosted by the Cheneys on December 10, 2002; an event at the residence on December 14, 2006; and a holiday party hosted by the Cheneys on December 13, 2007.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Garrett Russo at 202.408.5565 or grusso@citizensforethics.org