Celebs, Lobbyists Among White House Guests

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2009, file photo Actor George Clooney walks out of the West Wing of the...

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2009, file photo Actor George Clooney walks out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington following his meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Clooney, Denzel Washington and heavyweights from the financial services and high-tech industries were among those landing visits with President Barack Obama or others at the White House during his first months in office. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, FILE)

(AP)

Celebrities Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Denzel Washington, prominent Democratic fundraisers and heavyweights from the financial services and high-tech industries were among those landing visits with President Barack Obama or others at the White House during Obama's first months in office.

The White House late Friday afternoon released a partial list of people who have visited since Obama took office in January. It released roughly 480 records in response to questions about whether specific people visited. The White House plans to start disclosing comprehensive visitor lists in coming months.

The records are a step toward making good on Obama's promise of transparency. But they also show that despite a campaign pledge to reduce special-interest influence on policymaking, lobbyists are getting face time with him and his aides.

The visits included in the records released Friday include roughly eight dozen with Obama.

Among the guests:

— Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The wealthy philanthropist had a March 25 meeting with Obama in the Oval Office. The subject isn't disclosed. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gives about $200 million a year in elementary and secondary education grants and is pressing for some of the same changes that Obama wants, such as paying teachers based on student test scores.

— Labor leader and Obama supporter Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. Twenty-two Stern visits to the White House are reflected in the records, including at least seven with Obama. Most of the visits with Obama were for group events; the subjects of most of his visits to other people weren't disclosed.

— Ed Yingling, the chief executive of the American Bankers Association and a registered lobbyist. Yingling attended at least four meetings with Obama. One meeting included several bank CEOs; the subjects of the others included credit cards and housing.