Elizabeth Warren's attack on Buttigieg's wine cave fundraiser 'plays into hands' of GOP, former Obama campaign aide says

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) went after South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Thursday's Democratic debate for attending a fundraiser in Napa Valley, California, that took place in a wine cave. But it wasn't too long ago that alcoholic grape juice played a role in her own fundraisers, The Associated Press reports.

AP notes that in June 2018, Warren's supporters gathered at the City Winery Boston for a fundraiser where Melissa Etheridge performed, and those who donated $5,400 per couple or $2,700 per person received premium seating and attended a VIP photo reception. Anyone who donated $1,000 received a gift bottle of wine, as well.

Warren, famously, has decided to no longer receive big dollar donations or hold fundraisers like the one in 2018. But while it's no secret that she used to benefit from them, her decision to zero in on Buttigieg's recent fundraiser — which prompted her to say that elections shouldn't be decided by billionaires in wine caves — has placed her past events back in the spotlight. AP writes that some see her criticism of other candidates for reeling in big money donations as "less than noble," if not hypocritical.

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Rufus Gifford, the former finance director for former Preisdent Barack Obama's campaign, called her criticism "disingenuous" and said it "implies a level of corruption and cronyism that is inaccurate and ultimately plays into the hands of Republicans." Read more at The Associated Press.