Media: Romney Charged Us $1K a Day for Travel

Major news organizations are fighting what they say are exorbitant prices charged by Mitt Romney's campaign for reporters' travel expenses including food and transportation. Outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today have told the campaign they will be contesting charges that topped $1,000 a day for travel costs and include $812 per person for a single catered meal and use of a "holding space" before a Romney campaign event, BuzzFeed reports.

"These costs far exceed typical expenses on the campaign trail," news editors wrote in a letter to the campaign, demanding a price breakdown of every charge over $200. "Also, it was clear to all present that the campaign’s paid staff frequently consumed the food and drinks ostensibly produced for the media. Were any of the costs of these events charged to the campaign itself, to cover the care and feeding of its staff?" A campaign source says the overcharging wasn't a deliberate attempt to gouge news outlets, but the result of overspending by a generally mismanaged campaign. (More Election 2012 stories.)