Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) attacked Joe Biden for holding a "swanky" fundraiser the first week of his presidential campaign, but several of the donors who attended it appeared at fundraisers for her 2018 Senate race.
Kenneth Jarin, a lawyer who served as a host for Biden, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Warren's attacks on her 2020 rival were "preposterous."
"I was pleased to support Senator Warren, I think she's a terrific senator, but I think it makes no sense for her to criticize Biden for taking checks at the maximum allowed," Jarin said. "I know that she took lots and lots of $2,700 checks raising money for her Senate campaigns."
Warren began attacking Biden, an old rival from her pre-Senate days of consumer advocacy, almost as soon as he entered the race, sending a fundraising email last month blasting his "swanky private fundraiser" at the home of Comcast executive David Cohen. Warren noted to her supporters that Biden had raised as much money in one day as she had in the entire first quarter of 2019.
"How did Joe Biden raise so much money in one day?" she asked supporters. "Well, it helps that he hosted a swanky private fundraiser for wealthy donors at the home of the guy who runs Comcast's lobbying shop."
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported donors who attended Biden's event also appeared at Warren's fundraisers at a Center City law firm last year and at the Rittenhouse Hotel in 2017:
For example, former Gov. Ed Rendell and Center City law partner Stephen Cozen were two of the main organizers for Biden’s Philadelphia fund-raiser, and were also listed as hosts for the Warren event at law firm Berger Montague on March 12, 2018.
The Warren event sought donations of up to $5,400, the maximum allowed that year.
Rendell donated $4,500 to her Senate campaign and Cozen gave $2,500. Daniel Berger, a managing shareholder at the firm, gave $5,400, while also donating $2,800 to Biden this year, the maximum allowed in the primary.
"At the Biden event, there were people who genuinely support Joe, like I do for idealistic reasons, and then there were corporate people who were giving money because they have an interest," Berger said. "There were no such people at the event that I hosted for Warren. These were people who genuinely agree with her on her positions and policy issues."
Berger, despite being ideologically closer to Warren, said he gave the maximum amount to Biden because he thought he had the best chance of beating Trump.
Warren swore off "dialing for dollars" and big-money fundraisers in her presidential campaign earlier this year, saying she would treat all donors equally, no matter how small. She's polling far behind Biden, who has opened up a wide lead and established himself as the crowded primary field's clear frontrunner.