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Obama Dark Money Group to Accept Union Funds

AP

Organizing for Action, President Barack Obama's dark money group, will accept donations from labor unions, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The organization, which already said it would decline donations from federal lobbyists and foreign donors, will now also refuse money from corporations. However, the group will still accept money from labor unions, according to spokeswoman Katie Hogan.

OFA has come under heavy fire for creating the appearance of pay-for-access arrangements between Obama and donors who hand over at least $500,000 to the advocacy organization:

News that the group was courting Obama campaign bundlers to raise $500,000 as part of a finance committee that could get quarterly meetings with the president only escalated the criticism. The conservative super PAC American Crossroads released a video earlier this week mocking the group as "Organizing for Acce$$."

The controversy threatened to overtake Organizing for Action just as it was ramping up its efforts to back Obama up on gun control and the federal budget fight.

The Free Beacon reported today that OFA's headquarters are located in the National Education Association building. As Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel noted on Twitter, it is unclear if "Obama 501c4 [is] paying rent to @NEAToday or accepting in-kind contrib. of union-dues-funded office space."