White House Releases Overnight Guest Lists

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 22 -- After a week of delays, the White House has released a list of overnight guests, hoping to quiet questions about whether supporters of the first lady’s Senate campaign have been getting special treatment.

Though critics have tried to accuse Hillary Rodham Clinton of using sleepovers at the White House and Camp David to reward or entice supporters of her Senate bid, the administration denies the invitations were made in return for money and remains unashamed of the practice.

“The Clintons will continue to invite guests to visit them at the White House and at Camp David during the president’s remaining months in office,” press secretary Joe Lockhart said today.

The release lists 404 “family members, friends and supporters, public officials and others” who have spent the night at the White House or the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland since Mrs. Clinton effectively launched her campaign last July in New York.

Making the List

The list is broken into five categories: “Arkansas Friends,” “Longtime Friends,” “Officials and Dignitaries,” “Arts and Letters and Sports,” and “Friends and Supporters.”

The latter category includes major contributors to Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaign and to other Democratic causes. First on the list is Daniel Abraham, founder of Slim Fast foods and a major Democratic contributor. Abraham has donated $700,000 to the Democratic Party and $148,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign, which is supporting Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. Abraham and his wife, Ewa, each have contributed $2,000 directly to the first lady’s campaign.

Of the 122 dignitaries and celebrities on the list, there are 13 governors, eight mayors, one senator, one former president (Jimmy Carter, and 11 other members of his family), one king and one queen, both from Spain.

‘Helluva Room’

One overnight visitor who did not want to be identified described the Lincoln Bedroom as “a helluva nice room.” The visitor, who acknowledged contributing to the Clinton campaign, insisted he was invited because of his friendship with the Clintons — not because of his donation.