The cost was in a 222-page financial disclosure filing with the FEC. Report: Clintons' $50K Iowa travel tab

Retiring Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin’s last Steak Fry reportedly paid $50,000 to bring Bill and Hillary Clinton to the balloon field in Indianola where the fundraiser was held this year.

The cost was buried in a 222-page financial disclosure filing with the Federal Election Commission. It was first reported by Bloomberg Politics.


The event is intended to be an Iowa Democratic Party fundraiser, meaning the proceeds go to help candidates such as Senate hopeful Bruce Braley, who is looking to succeed Harkin, and Staci Appel, who could be the first woman elected to Congress from Iowa.

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The Steak Fry, held in September, raised about $315,000, but about $217,000 was spent on staging it, including the more than $50,000 it cost for the private jet to transport the Clintons.

Harkin began asking for Hillary Clinton to attend his 37th and final Steak Fry last April.

Clinton, a likely 2016 presidential candidate, has come under fire for her paid speaking fees in the past 18 months, which typically include a proviso about travel. The Harkin event was Clinton’s first political event of the fall midterm season.

A Clinton spokesman didn’t respond to an email late Tuesday.

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