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Edited: Apr 17

UPDATE 5: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a 19k lectern and MAGA grifting

UPDATES in comments

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders travelled to Europe on an overseas trade mission last June, and her expenses and security must have been over budget as she seems to have cooked the books to pay for it all. If she didn't why all this fuss?

A foundation may have paid for some of the entourage costs, and the AR GOP covered the rest (3 days AFTER a FOI request was filed,) but there are still outstanding issues... like "Podiumgate." *They changed it to lecterngate eventually...

This little baby which retails for less than 1k, cost Sanders (Taxpayers) 19k before reimbursement. That is some tRUMPian shit right there... (See update 1 for a surprise...) https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/oct/05/sanders-says-lectern-purchase-followed-regular/

Can you blame her? That old lectern made her look bad.../S

Arkansas attorney and blogger Matthew Campbell filed a lawsuit in Sept.that accused Arkansas State Police of illegally withholding public records he requested related to the above events.

In order to hide her antics, Sarah Hickabee has a solution: Make the state sunlight laws more opaque. Seriously, these MAGA Republicans are all crooks and liars, which is why they love tRUMP so much. The new law she proposed passed retroactively to June of 2022.

Sarah says she is doing so because she is a victim... and transparency and the FOIA has been weaponized:

“Arkansas has some of the most transparent FOIA laws in the country, and these reforms will do nothing to change that,” Sanders at a news conference at the state Capitol. “But some are weaponizing FOIA and taking advantage of our laws to hamper state government, and enrich themselves.”

Other changes she proposed included changing tax laws. The state will lap it up, with a poverty rate of 16.8%... (US Cencus) 150$ in your pocket seems to be better than an ethical working government which could instead improve services, health and infrastructure, education and job opportunities and thus also reduce poverty ... https://apnews.com/article/huckabee-sanders-records-travel-foia-security-a573fe921645e60fabdbec4785d44d14

Who was the friend who Hickabee took with her to Paris? I am still trying to find out, but have a ton of fall yardwork to still do. She is supposedly part of the "event planner" company that made her lecturn. According to occupy Democrats she was one of the organizers of January 6: (See update 1 for more...)

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=740365258195051&set=pb.100066647494924.-2207520000&type=3

State Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, is calling for a legislative audit of the governor's purchases. Sanders says she will cooperate with the investigation.

The legislature will be discussing it this week and hopefully an audit will follow... https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-10-10/podiumgate-lecterngate-explained

Legislature audit hearing will be live Here, starting Oct 12: https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/

Some of the receipts are here: https://twitter.com/TomMarsLaw/status/1703770947554013210

OOPSIE! There is a whistleblower... with receipts but twatter only lets you access the first post in a thread, unless you are signed in, sigh... https://twitter.com/JayOrsi/status/1711629735090962879 (See update 1 for more...)

5 comments

5 Comments

VACCINATE or ICU later 🐊Alligator

Apr 17

•

UPDATE 5

Lecterngate is ba-ack!

(Check out the other updates for background, memes, hilarity and likely fraud with several co-conspirators and travel mates...)

A criminal referral is pretty damn serious... but the GOP are rolling in money to pay PR firms, video makers and lawyers it seems. Jay-Z should sue

OH, it looks as though he will!

As always, Tom Mars bring the heat...

Edited

VACCINATE or ICU later 🐊Alligator

Nov 26, 2023

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UPDATE 4

Sanders’ private Razorback party at the Governor’s Mansion cost $13,000, covered by public funds

The people need to know that their Governor is wasting their tax dollar on frivolous crap. Matt Campbell has been brutal. This article did not go viral... and I missed it.

I organized charity events for hundreds of people and these costs are just ridiculous for a private party with snack fare!

UGH The tables are a monstrosity. WTAF?

Sanders' private Razorback party at the Governor's Mansion cost $13,000, covered by public funds

She continues to spend more dollars unnecessarily

Huckabee campaigned on reducing waste and one of her first orders:

One of orders signed involved the immediate freeze on new government hiring in an effort to reduce financial waste and to ensure tax dollars are spent wisely.

"We are limiting the growth of government before government limits the growth of individual liberty," she said.

https://katv.com/news/local/national-cultural-wars-hit-arkansas-gov-sanders-first-round-executive-orders-sarah-huckabee-state-capitol-department-commerce-labor-usdol-government-employees-unemployment-benefits-tiktok-china-latinx-latino-latina-pew-research-politics-associated-press

Edited

VACCINATE or ICU later 🐊Alligator

Nov 01, 2023

•

UPDATE 3

HAHAH! Hilarious Halloween find by goofycat!

VACCINATE or ICU later 🐊Alligator

Oct 15, 2023

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UPDATE 2

**Ark. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to face *GOP-led audit over $19K lectern**

The controversy prompted state Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R) to call for an audit of the lectern purchase — as well as a review of any records relating to the governor’s security and travel expenses that have been retroactively shielded from public view following the state’s new FOIA rules. Henning said “we welcome the audit and encourage legislators to complete it without delay.”

*Sadly, it is being GOP lead... the same GOP that paid out the funds illegally, to reimburse taxpayers for a purchase made... illegally.

When asked about the price of the Falcon-style lectern, with its hourglass-like shape and large reading desk, Sanders said it came equipped with “a number of features,” though she didn’t give specifics.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/13/sarah-huckabee-sanders-lectern/

I can only imagine the special features...

Someone with more imagination sees several features I missed...

Perhaps someone was jealous they were not depicted so ferociously and hilariously on SNL?

Edited

VACCINATE or ICU later 🐊Alligator

Oct 10, 2023

•

UPDATE 1

Expenditures from the governor's office in relation to a European trip Credit: https://twitter.com/bluehogreport

10k in plane and train tickets, and hotels for her top staff: https://twitter.com/BlueHogReport/status/1703130557419262198

$400 in tickets to EuroDisney: https://twitter.com/BlueHogReport/status/1702808192093147175

The entire trip to Europe seem to cost about 28k: https://twitter.com/BlueHogReport/status/1703115737869459655

State police spent almost 5k on lodging in Paris: https://twitter.com/BlueHogReport/status/1703130215105319235

She went to Europe to promote Arkansas investments and landed a deal with American company Lockheed Martin, Maryland, USA... in FRANCE? - https://apnews.com/article/huckabee-sanders-trade-europe-defense-aerospace-125d0889e7a3941237ac053ff722cefe

TWO HOLY SHIT updates....

1) It seems there were TWO friends of hers who just happened to be in Paris at the same time...

Another person who was in Paris at the same time at the Governor? Virginia Beckett, GOP lobbyist and owner of the company that supposedly sold the state this pricey lectern. Hannah Salem Stone was also in Paris the same time as the Governor’s trade mission. Salem Stone worked closely with Sanders in the Trump White House, and Salem Stone and Beckett co-own a company called Salem Strategies, which Congress investigated for the company’s involvement in the rally leading to the January 6 insurrection.

2) She already had the lectern. It was used at her inauguration and pictured here as she is being sworn in, FFS! https://twitter.com/OnARWatch1/status/1706741351231242499

This seems to be proof that Hickabee thinks her constituants are dumber than she is... sorry Sarah, but you are the dumbpling they are cooking up for fricasee dinner this week. https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/09/26/the-sanders-platform-social-media-erupts-over-photo-of-governors-19k-lectern

And wait, "there's more"

https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-beckett-3a940423

She also has another company in whch she is in partnership with Hannah Salem Stone... the other friend in Paris... WTAF. Salem industries and BOTH were suppoenaed by the January 6 Committee! https://twitter.com/tommarslaw/status/1706000608090554787

Both Virginia Beckett and Hannah Salem Stone, whose companies are in DC and Virginia, worked for Hickabee's inauguration and her state of the union address.

Connections between Sanders, Stone and Beckett go back at least five years. Photos shared online put the three of them together in Brussels in 2018 on a work trip during the Trump administration.

Found in the comments with no URL... so will check it out when I have time. * Consider it unsubstantiated hearsay meanwhile.

*YES, payment is real...

But, that wasn't all. They were also used for Youngkin's inauguaration...

https://www.southarkansasreckoning.com/p/podiumgates-salem-strategies-llc

Here are some of the texts and info from the whistleblower. https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/10/02/screenshots-show-governors-office-vetted-release-of-podium-records-whistleblower-says

The press conference that announced the LEARNS Act happened the next day; were they paid by the state to perform any duties that week? Do new FOIA laws even allow us to find out? We have the answer, because Salem Strategies was paid $53,041.71 on Feb. 7 for consulting, likely for the SOTU response and possibly the LEARNS press conference.

Governor Sanders: frivolous or fraudulent? An audit would decide - On AR Watch

“As governor, I will defend our freedom and lead with heart.” – Governor Sarah Hickabee Slanders.“

Edited