The White House confirmed that it will not be releasing the visitor records of the 500 people who attended President Obama’s secret concert with the rock star Prince in June.
Each month, the Obama administration prides itself for making public the White House visitor logs. Aboard Air Force One yesterday, reporters questioned White House press secretary Josh Earnest why the guest list was kept secret.
“At this point, that’s not something that I anticipate that we’ll do,” Earnest replied, defending the Obama administration’s widely mocked self-description as “most transparent administration in history.”
Earnest indicated that the Prince concert at the White House was a private event, which was the reason that the visitor list was not included.
“There are some exceptions to the visitor log policy and some of those exceptions include visiting the White House to participate in private events,” Earnest admitted.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor and even Al Sharpton were guests at the event of the 500 people who were invited, including corporate executives and lobbyists.
The concert was not on the public schedule in June when it occurred, upsetting White House reporters who questioned the “private” characterization of the huge event. At the time, Earnest defended it as a “private social event” and a chance for the Obama family to “host some of their friends” at “their own home.”
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