Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) will present his investigative report to lawmakers at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee headquarters Thursday night. | AP Photo House Democrats bury 2016 autopsy

House Democrats are going to extreme lengths to conceal a report on the party’s problems.

After nearly five months, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) presented his investigative report to lawmakers during a members-only gathering at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee headquarters Thursday night.


Only about two-dozen lawmakers showed up for the presentation, which sources described as "dense but thorough." But members were not allowed to have copies of the report and may view it only under the watchful eyes of DCCC staff.

The presentation didn't focus on Democratic messaging and instead was heavily skewed towards money -- how much the DCCC brings in, from where and how those funds are spent.

Some Democratic lawmakers and staffers complained that the cloak-and-dagger secrecy was overblown and actually makes the findings look worse than they are. But the DCCC is sticking by its strategy.

“Like any healthy organization, the DCCC always works to evolve and grow after each election cycle, and we were happy to have Congressman Maloney as part of that effort this year,” spokeswoman Meredith Kelly said.

“This analysis is based on strategic information about our organization and meant for internal purposes, not public consumption,” she added.

A spokeswoman for Maloney referred questions to the DCCC.

The report provides recommendations on how the DCCC should modernize its data collection and overhaul its media operation, according to sources who were briefed on it. The document is also said to criticize the organization for the lack of diversity in consultants whom the DCCC employs.

Maloney offered suggestions for how DCCC should regroup ahead of the 2018 midterms, including hiring someone specifically in charge of diversifying the group's consulting ranks.

Lawmakers have privately criticized the way the DCCC operates for years, saying party leaders are too heavy-handed behind the scenes. Finger-pointing reached a fever pitch after the election: Democrats picked up just six House seats despite predicting far higher gains, prompting rank-and-file members to demand immediate changes.

The Maloney report did not criticize specific members of leadership, according to sources.

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Maloney was tapped to lead the post-mortem after flirting with a challenge to DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a leadership ally, in December.

Multiple sources credited Lujan for his cooperation, saying he was totally transparent about the inner workings of the DCCC during the investigation.

The New York Democrat delivered a lengthy analysis to lawmakers of where Democrats went wrong in the election during a party retreat in February. His latest report is a thorough review of DCCC operations and practices.

