Working in politics isn’t for the faint of heart. One wrong move and your life is changed forever.
And a new scathing report could be the end of this Republicans’ career.
An audit by the state of Arkansas recently found that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) may have broken the law with an expensive purchase.
Sanders purchased a $19,000 lectern and improperly labeled it as an “operating expense,” as well as shredded the lectern’s bill. Improper records were also kept by Sanders, according to the audit.
The audit also said that Sanders and her office need to do a better job at making sure the original documents and bills for a purchase are left un-destroyed.
But despite the findings of the audit, Sanders’ office implores that they didn’t do anything against the law.
“The facts outlined in the report demonstrate what the governor’s office said all along: we followed the law, and the state was fully reimbursed with private funds for the podium, at no cost to the taxpayers,” the governor’s office said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
They also explained how they were very cooperative of the audit that took place.
“The [governor’s office] welcomed this audit, encouraged the General Assembly to complete it quickly, and was cooperative and accommodating to ALA’s requests,” the office of Gov. Sanders’ said.
“It was a waste of taxpayer resources and time that resulted in exactly what the GO said: the office lawfully purchased a podium and travel case. It was later determined that RPA should lawfully purchase it. No laws were broken. No fraud was committed.”
Sanders posted her thoughts on the social media platform X on Monday, through a video that showed the lectern with the phrase, “come and take it.”
My thoughts on the podium… pic.twitter.com/d57R1aw7r8
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) April 15, 2024
The lectern was originally bought in June of last year and an Arkansas state credit card was used to purchase it.
Last September the Republican Party of Arkansas reimbursed the purchase.
Even though reimbursement of the lectern occurred, the audit discovered that there was no plan to do so and that the records of the purchase were changed to include “to be reimbursed.”
The lectern itself was $11,575 but other expenses were found, including a consulting fee of $2,500, $1,225 for shipping and deliver, and several other high dollar purchases.
“It should be noted that similar non-customized falcon style podiums can be purchased from online vendors starting at approximately $7,000, as opposed to the $11,575 amount allocated to the custom falcon podium,” the audit said.
Will Jones, the 6th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney, and Tim Griffin, the Arkansas attorney general, have been sent the audit.
“Prosecutors will review the audit, which is standard operating procedure. It’s importnat to note, that this review is no different than any other file review sent by an investigating authority to the Prosecuting Attorney,” said Jones.
Griffin noted last week that Arkansas’ accounting law does not apply to Sanders’ gubernatorial office but to the agencies in the state instead.
So time will tell if Gov. Sanders will be let off the hook for the lectern purchase.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
