Report: Nancy Pelosi spent over $180K on 2015 cong
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Posted On: 03/04/2019 11:30:36 PM
Report: Nancy Pelosi spent over $180K on 2015 congressional trip to Italy, Ukraine
March 4, 2019
Rep. Nanci Pelosi (D-CA) spent over $180K on a 2015 congressional delegation trip (CODEL) to Italy and Ukraine, according to a new report, including $50K for an “escort officer.”
A January report from government watchdog group Judicial Watch revealed that Pelosi’s trip cost the Air Force a whopping $184.587.81.
The watchdog group, headed by Tom Fitton, said it “obtained documents [related to the trip] through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Air Force” that was first filed in 2015.
Pricey European Vacation
The documents acquired by Judicial Watch include information on Pelosi’s European CODEL as well as one by Republican Sen. Cory Gardner (CO), who traveled to Asia around the same time.
Gardner reportedly flew commercial to “Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan; Seoul, Korea; plus Beijing and Hong Kong, China,” and spent just $26,009.03 including “flights and per diems.”
In contrast, Pelosi’s trip, which spanned from July 30 to Aug. 6, 2015, cost taxpayers six figures.
That six-figure price tag took Pelosi, “her husband, several members of Congress and their spouses” to Europe in 2015, where they visited “Milan, Rome and Naples, Italy, and Kiev, Ukraine,” according to Judicial Watch.
“The Italy trip included Milan, Rome and Naples with visits to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Duomo and viewing Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper.'”
The documents also indicated that a member of Pelosi’s staff requested a specific Air Force flight crew for their luxury journey, a request the Air Force denied.
“It would be a disastrous precedent to set even if it were possible,” an Air Force official said. “Our ARC crews have plenty to balance already with military duties and their civilian employers.”
“Abusing the Perks of Office”
This is far from the first time that Pelosi’s excessive spending has been under scrutiny.
An earlier FOIA request first filed by Judicial Watch in 2009 and granted in 2016 outlined similar travel perk abuses by Pelosi, according to the group.
Pelosi reportedly racked up high bills on luxury Air Force flights to her congressional district in California and back to Washington, D.C. during her first stint as House Speaker.
“Judicial Watch uncovered that Pelosi’s military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over one two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol,” t he group reported. They went on:
Judicial Watch also uncovered internal Defense emails detailing attempts by Defense Department staff to accommodate Pelosi’s numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft, as well as Pelosi’s last minute cancellations and changes.
Pelosi’s successors in the speakership, including Republicans John Boehner (OH) and Paul Ryan (WI), declined to use Air Force jets for travel to their congressional districts amid controversy over Pelosi’s high spending.
“Speaker Pelosi has a demonstrated record of abusing the perks of office that give her access to military luxury travel paid for by taxpayers,” Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said.
It’s time to vote her out of office.
https://www.conservativeinstitute.org/conserv...t-trip.htm
March 4, 2019
Rep. Nanci Pelosi (D-CA) spent over $180K on a 2015 congressional delegation trip (CODEL) to Italy and Ukraine, according to a new report, including $50K for an “escort officer.”
A January report from government watchdog group Judicial Watch revealed that Pelosi’s trip cost the Air Force a whopping $184.587.81.
The watchdog group, headed by Tom Fitton, said it “obtained documents [related to the trip] through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Air Force” that was first filed in 2015.
Pricey European Vacation
The documents acquired by Judicial Watch include information on Pelosi’s European CODEL as well as one by Republican Sen. Cory Gardner (CO), who traveled to Asia around the same time.
Gardner reportedly flew commercial to “Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan; Seoul, Korea; plus Beijing and Hong Kong, China,” and spent just $26,009.03 including “flights and per diems.”
In contrast, Pelosi’s trip, which spanned from July 30 to Aug. 6, 2015, cost taxpayers six figures.
That six-figure price tag took Pelosi, “her husband, several members of Congress and their spouses” to Europe in 2015, where they visited “Milan, Rome and Naples, Italy, and Kiev, Ukraine,” according to Judicial Watch.
“The Italy trip included Milan, Rome and Naples with visits to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Duomo and viewing Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper.'”
The documents also indicated that a member of Pelosi’s staff requested a specific Air Force flight crew for their luxury journey, a request the Air Force denied.
“It would be a disastrous precedent to set even if it were possible,” an Air Force official said. “Our ARC crews have plenty to balance already with military duties and their civilian employers.”
“Abusing the Perks of Office”
This is far from the first time that Pelosi’s excessive spending has been under scrutiny.
An earlier FOIA request first filed by Judicial Watch in 2009 and granted in 2016 outlined similar travel perk abuses by Pelosi, according to the group.
Pelosi reportedly racked up high bills on luxury Air Force flights to her congressional district in California and back to Washington, D.C. during her first stint as House Speaker.
“Judicial Watch uncovered that Pelosi’s military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over one two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol,” t he group reported. They went on:
Judicial Watch also uncovered internal Defense emails detailing attempts by Defense Department staff to accommodate Pelosi’s numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft, as well as Pelosi’s last minute cancellations and changes.
Pelosi’s successors in the speakership, including Republicans John Boehner (OH) and Paul Ryan (WI), declined to use Air Force jets for travel to their congressional districts amid controversy over Pelosi’s high spending.
“Speaker Pelosi has a demonstrated record of abusing the perks of office that give her access to military luxury travel paid for by taxpayers,” Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said.
It’s time to vote her out of office.
https://www.conservativeinstitute.org/conserv...t-trip.htm
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