The Hill News

In a letter sent Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee slams its Republican counterpart for an "apparent newfound interest in transparency."
 
It was the latest in a series of jabs between the two committees, which have been bickering over campaign-related issues this week.
 
The letter from DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) to her Republican counterpart rips the GOP for challenging President Obama's campaign transparency and accountability while standing in the way of campaign finance reform.
 
"Assuming that your and the Republican Party’s newfound interest in this issue is sincere, I call on you to take concrete steps toward reducing the influence of special interests over your activities and increasing openness and transparency," Wasserman Schultz wrote to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
 
Wasserman Schultz criticized members of the Republican Party for accepting contribution! s from political action committees and federal lobbyists. She also called out Republican presidential candidates for not releasing the names of their top campaign fundraisers. The decision not to release a full list of so-called "bundlers" breaks the precedent set by former President George W. Bush, she claims.
 
The RNC quickly fired back, demanding that Wasserman Schultz "get off her soapbox."
 
"It’s just like the Democratic chairwoman to point fingers and go on the attack instead of dealing with the Democrats’ questionable activity and hypocrisy," spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said in a statement.
 
The DNC’s letter follows a letter from the RNC earlier this week asking the Justice Department to investigate whether the president's reelection fundraising broke federal law.
 
According to Priebus, if Obama taped a video in the White House's Map Room knowing it would be used in a promotion for buying tickets to a campaign di! nner, he might have committed a crime under federal election l! aw.
 
The White House disputes this claim, calling Obama's actions "wholly appropriate and routinely done in past administrations." Reports have uncovered multiple fundraising videos for previous presidents taped in the White House.
 
"For the record, the RNC is curious when Debbie Wasserman Schultz became a spokesperson for the DOJ," Kukowski said. "We will continue to wait for an investigation from them into potentially criminal activity by this president.”