UNPRECEDENTED AND SECRETIVE - not as in Change.gov: “against Secrecy (which) Dominates Government Actions”
Lost amid all of the jubilation of the Obama victory was the announcement by the Obama transition team that it had set up a separate transition program beyond the one that is paid for by the American taxpayer. Called the “Obama/Biden Transition Project,” it is a 501(c)4 tax-exempt organization, with no limits on the contributions it can receive and no requirements to divulge the names of individuals or organizations that give it money.
Traditionally, the victorious campaign has set up inaugural funds, as well as funds to deal with legal costs and other expenses to close down the campaign. Others have set up quasi-corporate offices to deal with transition issues, such as in 2000, when, with the election in doubt, the Bush-Cheney team set up a private transition office in McLean, Virginia, covering the costs from campaign contributions and other fundraising. Ultimately, the federal government, headed by the Government Services Administration, covers the cost of the transition staff, providing it with office space and all equipment.
No one is certain that any political organization has ever set up a tax-exempt entity that would be shrouded in such secrecy, particularly when the Obama claimed he would be more transparent about the way things were done.
“To my knowledge, it’s never been done, and people should be asking why the Obama people chose to do it this way,” says a longtime Washington Republican, who has been involved in transitions for the Reagan and Bush campaign teams.