Romney campaign bars press from Adelson, Ryan ‘finance meeting’

The Romney campaign announced Tuesday that it would not allow press to cover Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) meeting with influential conservative political donor Sheldon Adelson Tuesday in Nevada, despite regularly allowing press to cover fundraising events.

But the Romney campaign downplayed the significance Tuesday, with a campaign aide telling the Associated Press that the event was a "finance meeting" — not a fundraiser, as it had been previously described — and that no attendees paid for the privilege to be in attendance. The campaign also emphasized that fewer than 40 people would be in attendance, the normal bar for press access.

Adelson has donated some $10 million to a super-PAC supporting Romney's efforts, and was in attendance at a Jerusalem fundraiser held by the presumptive Republican candidate during his trip to Israel.

The press has traditionally been granted at least partial access to fundraising events for the Romney campaign, and the protective pool traveling with President Obama and Vice President Biden regularly report from campaign events for the incumbents. According to the AP, the decision to block access to the Ryan events apparently breaks from previously established agreements with the traveling press corps.

The press was also barred from covering two Denver-area fundraisers on Monday with Ryan in attendance, although those meetings were at private residences. Unlike the White House, the Romney campaign does not typically allow for coverage of events at private residences.

The stop in Nevada is the latest in a whirlwind rollout for the Wisconsin lawmaker. After stops in Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Iowa and Colorado earlier this week, Ryan will travel from Nevada to Ohio and Florida in the coming days.

This post has been updated at 6:24 p.m.

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