President Obama hit the links on Saturday with a lobbyist for the financial firm Bain Capital — the same firm that was at the center of the president’s attack campaign against candidate Mitt Romney in 2012, Politico has reported.
Mr. Obama played golf at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., with Joe O’Neill, president and CEO of the lobbying firm Public Strategies Washington, which represents Bain Capital, the newspaper said.
Also in attendance were U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk and Milton Carroll of CenterPoint Energy.
Mitt Romney co-founded the private equity firm in 1984 and Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign made it a focal point for negative ads. In one campaign ad, a former mill worker called Bain “a vampire” that destroyed their livelihood, Politico reported.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Monday that Mr. Obama is still dedicated to fighting corruption and influence peddling within the administration.
“I think he played a game of golf,” Mr. Carney said of the president’s golf game with Mr. O’Neill.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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