In a letter to CBS, the National Republican Congressional Committee accused Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) of lying when he said he was told he needed to fund raise $18,000 per day. NRCC blasts '60 Minutes' story, hidden cameras 'Not since Watergate has the headquarters of a major political party committee been so violated,' the House GOP campaign arm says in a letter to CBS News.

The National Republican Congressional Committee on Friday accused "60 Minutes" of broadcasting a piece with "largely false information" and Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) of spreading lies on the broadcast — the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter Republican-on-Republican fight, with one of the largest television networks in the middle.

At issue is a "60 Minutes" piece that aired Sunday featuring Jolly and his proposed "STOP Act," long-shot legislation that would bar members of Congress from personally soliciting campaign donations. The newsmagazine used a hidden camera to show members of Congress making phone calls to solicit contributions, which is commonplace in both Republican and Democratic campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C.


In a letter from the House Republican campaign committee to "60 Minutes" — obtained by POLITICO — NRCC Executive Director Rob Simms charged that Jolly lied in the piece when the congressman claimed he was told at a meeting that he needed to raise $18,000 every day.

"Simply put, this meeting never happened," Simms writes. "It is a work of fiction. Had the reporter or producer of the story bothered to verify this claim, they would have been told as much."

Jolly's office shot back that the meeting did, in fact, happen — and threatened to release details on who issued the fundraising quota if the NRCC wants to go there.

"In response to the NRCC’s broadside to the credibility of Rep. David Jolly, and in response to the Executive Director’s bold assertion that a meeting with party leadership directing Rep. Jolly to raise $18,000 per day did not occur, we can confirm the date was April 3, 2014, the time was 5:30 p.m., the location was the NRCC’s Political Conference Room on the Second Floor," Jolly's communications director, Preston Rudie, said in a statement to POLITICO. "Rep. Jolly has intentionally left out names of participants since the beginning of this story, but if the NRCC wishes to escalate their denial, we are happy to provide additional information regarding the meeting.”

The NRCC also took aim in its letter at CBS' use of hidden cameras to film the campaign arm's office for the piece.

"Despite being explicitly denied permission to enter our private offices, a CBS producer plainly admits on camera that 60 Minutes intentionally and knowingly trespassed or encouraged another to trespass in our offices to film footage," Simms writes. "Not since Watergate has the headquarters of a major political party committee been so violated. CBS conspired with an anonymous staffer to enter our offices and obtain unauthorized footage under false pretenses. This is not journalism. This is trespassing."

The NRCC, led by Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, is conducting an internal investigation to figure out who filmed inside its headquarters. A source involved with the investigation said committee officials believe they will figure it out in the coming weeks.

A representative at "60 Minutes" said the letter hadn't been received by the show until POLITICO provided it as it sought comment. "Our story speaks for itself," CBS News spokesperson Kevin Tedesco said later in a statement.

In an online segment accompanying the piece, reporter Norah O'Donnell defended the use of hidden camera footage.

"If lawmakers who are paid by the American taxpayers are spending the majority of their time raising money on the phone," she said, in what GOP officials called an exaggeration, "I think it’s an important part of the story to see what those offices look like and take our viewers behind the scenes, in this case with a hidden camera."