President Obama dined with Hollywood moguls Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg in Beverly Hills Thursday night, a dinner that the White House tried to keep secret.
Mr. Katzenberg, a major Obama donor, and Mr. Spielberg were seen leaving the hotel where Mr. Obama was staying late Thursday night. Their meeting came after the president attended two big-money fundraisers in southern California, including one hosted by actor/director Tyler Perry.
The dinner, confirmed by a source familiar with the event, was not listed on Mr. Obama’s official schedule. It took place after White House officials told reporters that the president had concluded all his events for the evening, an advisory to the media known as a “lid.”
It also came less than a week after Mr. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a private, off-the-schedule party for about 500 people at the White House featuring a concert by Prince. The White House said the first couple paid for the event themselves, although security and other regular White House staff are funded by taxpayers.
During the fundraiser at Mr. Perry’s home in Santa Monica, Mr. Obama said in a slip of the tongue that politicians such as himself would benefit from criminal-justice reform.
“We should be reforming our criminal justice system in such a way that we are not incarcerating nonviolent offenders in ways that renders them incapable of getting a job after they leave office,” he told supporters.
When the crowd laughed, the president added, “Little slip of the tongue there. Little Freudian slip. Tyler is going to give me a job once I leave. It is true — I think it was Bill Clinton who said the White House is the crown jewel of the federal penitentiary system.”
The president also spoke briefly about the massacre this week at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
“This is a challenging day for the country and for me and for the people of Charleston,” Mr. Obama said. “The folks in that historic church were people I know. And to see such a horrific event unfold like that is particularly shocking. And it’s a reminder that we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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