Vice President Kamala Harris has become the first Democratic presidential candidate in modern history to not release the name of her campaign's top fundraiser, obscuring the list of people who could hold influential positions if she wins the November election.

With the exception of Harris, Democratic presidential candidates have revealed they are bandiers, a term used to describe individuals who raise and organize large amounts of campaign cash from other donors, in every presidential election since 2000. According to Harris' decision not to disclose key information about her donors comes after Democrats on Monday approved a national platform calling for greater transparency in campaign finances.

“Faith in our democracy is essential to protecting it. Democrats will embrace ethics reform so that all Americans can be confident that their government is working for them and not for special interests,” the Democratic platform states. “Democrats will create a federal ethics commission to enforce good governance laws such as requiring financial and lobbying disclosures.” (Related article: DNC platform vows to end 'dark money' as Democrats raise hundreds of millions of dollars in secret)

The Harris campaign has been lavishing gifts on fundraisers during the Democratic National Convention, including free stays at the Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons and trips to Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field, The New York Times reported.

According to multiple reports, presidential fundraisers also often secure high-level meetings and interviews with the candidates they are fundraising for. As of January 2022, roughly one-third of President Joe Biden's ambassadorial nominees were campaign fundraisers or their spouses, roughly matching the proportions nominated by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. According to To the Washington Post.

President Obama appointed one of the donors to a committee advising the Department of Energy and another to chair the Federal Communications Commission, The Washington Times reported. Reported.

“Government accountability depends on transparency in our campaign finance system, including transparency in how we raise funds for the president's campaigns,” the coalition of watchdog groups said. Written In a letter from January.

Campaigns are not legally required to reveal the identities of their fundraisers, and Harris' campaign could reveal them before Election Day, The New York Times reported. The Trump campaign has also not revealed the identities of its fundraisers.

“It would be a sad day for America if the level of transparency about who is raising big money for presidential elections continues to decline,” Michael Becker, research director at Issue One, a nonprofit that seeks to limit political funding, told The New York Times. “This is an exercise in transparency that is a guardrail for good government, and it's alarming to see both sides eroding that guardrail.”

“We really want to know who is trying to influence our presidential candidate, now,” Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen, told The New York Times. “Any candidate who wants to be fair and honest should come forward with this. I don't expect that from Trump. I think Kamala Harris would.”

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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