Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Republican Party criticized a private fundraiser for Democratic U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, though the GOP has also barred reporters from events. Idaho Republican leader Norm Semanko says Minnick smuggled in House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland for "secret meetings" with supporters — and barred media. In January 2009, reporters were kept out of a GOP fundraiser for newly-appointed Lt. Gov. Brad Little. GOP activists were upset at the time by a news report that the lieutenant governor was taking lobbyists' cash during the 2009 Legislature — after Little had said lawmakers shouldn't accept lobbyists' money until the session ended. The Idaho GOP's Phil Hardy said Wednesday Hoyer's visit was problematic because it was kept quiet; Hardy said Little's 2009 event, while private, was common knowledge. Minnick staffers say Hoyer's trip was no secret, either.