White House: Complaining About Transparency is Political

GOP goes after David Plouffe's speaking engagements

Scrutiny of Obama adviser David Plouffe for speaking to an affiliate of a company that has since been linked to Iran is purely political, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

"This is political criticism after the fact that's clearly designed to score some points," Carney said during his daily briefing, responding to a Washington Post report that Plouffe—before joining the White House but after serving as Obama's 2008 campaign manager—was paid $100,000 in speaking fees by a subsidiary of South Africa-based MTN Group, which has for the last five years done business with a state-owned Iranian telecommunications firm.