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News outlets contest Romney bill

Leading print and online news outlets have sent a joint letter to former Romney campaign officials contesting expenses billed to their reporters over the course of the 2012 campaign.

"We’ve dealt with numerous campaigns over the past decades and understand that we pay a premium to travel with a candidate. But recent invoices from your campaign have raised serious questions about the charges you have forwarded to us for travel with Mitt Romney," they write in the letter, published today by BuzzFeed editor and co-signer McKay Coppins.

The letter is signed by editors and Washington, D.C., bureau chiefs at The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Financial Times, Agence France-Presss, Yahoo and BuzzFeed, all of which had reporters traveling with Romney's campaign.

Complaints include "$745 per person charged for a vice presidential debate viewing party on Oct. 11; $812 charged for a meal and a hold on Oct. 18; $461 for a meal and hold the next day; $345 for food and hold Oct. 30."

Romney's campaign is reported to have spent $1.019 billion over the course of the 2012 campaign and finished with about $1.2 million in debt, according to a post-election report by POLITICO.

Some of the news organizations have contacted American Express to inform them that they are contesting the charges, according to the letter.

The former Romney campaign officials have yet to address the complaint.