Posted on 12/03/2008 3:45:07 PM PST by redk
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Sarah Palin has added to her financial disclosure forms two free trips that she took nearly two years ago but failed to report.
Palin, who was Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, made the disclosures last month, but after Election Day when she and McCain lost to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The trips were first revealed in a story by The Associated Press in October.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
I wouldn’t be surprised if the media knew when Sarah took a piss. Hey Media, how about finding Obama’s REAL birth certificate, ya know, the one that not even Obama can find
I think the rules apply here, don’t they?
Pffffft!
Any hard-hitting AP reporting on Barry’s shady campaign money? What he knew about his aunt’s illegal immigrant status? Barry college transcripts?
AP-Obama following orders with hit pieces.
The sad part is most of the morons in this country don’t even realize this stuff happens with all politicians and is only reported on when it’s a Republican.
There is a long trail of conservatives who stirred our base. Among them, only Ronaldus Magnus survived their onslaught.
The politically murdered include Robert Bork, Newt, Bob Livingstone, Dick Armey, and of course, the soon to be hung, drawn and quartered: Sarah Palin.
Gee, can’t wait for CNN’s new wire-service to compete with AP
Now I can have my bullsh*t in two flavors
And in leather!!!!
Next the MSM will breathlessly announce that Palin recieved the free use of a blanket on the plane.
And, helped win an important election yesterday.
and lets not forget the free, after-dinner mint......
you forgot ... Tom Delay
I’m waiting for the Dems to shop around for a grand jury indictment against her, for well....something, anything really.
You forgot the Hammer, Tom DeLay.
Sarah Palin was in Jawjuh day before yesterday speaking for Saxby. Georgians and we Georgia ex-Okies all like Sarah.
From all appearances, she's holding up very well and isn't likely to succumb to being drawn and quartered. What a beautiful and composed lady!
Go Sooners!
This is news because??
My gosh, they will do anything to bring her down. Won’t matter, it rolls right off of her. And only fires up the base more....
MSM jerks!
They are not ging to allow her to become anymore popular than she is; whatever it takes to destroy they will do. Liberals and the liberal media, that’s just about all outlets along with some federal agents will hound her until they can nail like Scooter Libby.
Noooooooooo. Say it isn't so........ /s
Yawn. Some idiot at the Ass. Press looking for something to do. No wonder they are laying off all of these idiots.
AP still have a whole team assigned to go through her family’s trash?
Major oops. Yes, I did omit. Did he ever see trial after the scurrilous indictment from that dirtbag prosecutor in TX?
Someone or other said with a grand jury you could indict a ham sandwich. That’s exactly what that crooked DA in TX, kept indicting until he got a grand jury to indict Delay on something ... anything.
Then because the Pubbie congress critters had passed a rule that if anyone in their own party was even incicted, they had to step down. The Dems made no such rule for themselves, of course. So when Delay was indicted by a crook on trumped up charges, he had to step down. Mission accomplished.
I’m sure you are correct — they will indict Palin for something or anything, it doesn’t really make any difference. They just want to hit her with the bad publicity, because many sheeple don’t understand these underhanded goings-on, and assume if you are indicted on anything, you are prolly guilty of many many crimes.
There were even Freepers here who felt Delay must be guilty and had to go, just because of a crooked trumped-up indictment. And there are some Freepers who think Palin is “damaged goods” and want to throw her under the bus now because the Left has been wailing on her. But if they get their wish and a new conservative young leader comes along, he/she will get the very same treatment, so I suppose those same Freepers will want to throw that new conservative prospect under the bus. Those who want to throw our best under the bus and then back over them because the Left has hammered them unmercilously, are just being useful idiots and tools of the Left.
It’s a wonder anyone at all wants to be a Republican politician. It must be hellish. In a way I understand why so many turn into RINO’s with the constant pressure they are under, though it still doesn’t justify it.
I’m not 100% sure, but if I recall correctly, Delay beat the trumped-up charge. In any case, it would appear so, as he is still roaming free last I heard, giving speeches and so on, all over the country.
Until we as the voting public, grow a set, how do we expect anyone with credibility or conservative principles to run.
They are thrown to the wolves, not only by the media but by their own constituents.
But, that's AP, and that's why another group of Leftwingtards is out there trying to work up a new news service to REPLACE AP.
Appears AP is not considered useful, nor reliable.
Meanwhile, Charles Rangel’s wife still hasn’t gotten around to filing their last 5 tax returns but, hey, ain’t no thang...
Oh that’s nothing, Yahoo has this above the Russian ships passing through the Panama Canal.
Down the rabbit hole...
Just outta curiosity, has anyone asked why this is this case? Why did Regan, and noone else, escape the wrath of the lamestream media? Are they just getting better at it? Or was the greatest President of our time really untouchable? Just curious, is all.
Oops...Reagan...sorry.
The Fat Ass. Press speaks.
More attacks against Palin. She now just filled about two free trips that she didn't report over two years ago. OH BOY, if this happens for the next four years..
I was just thinking the same thing. We need to take the fight back to them. Rummage through their garbage. See who is sleeping with who. Follow the money. Know your enemy.
We have any retired Freepers who want to become “reporters”?
I love it. These stories are so stupid that they actually make Palin look better in my opinion. She’s squeaky clean.
bttt
Um, any idea where that blanket ended up? Not asking for perv reasons, but if ever there were to be the 1st woman POTUS and, much more important I suspect, The One who puts that sparkle on Ronnie’s city on the hill, knick knacks from her journeys would be priceless, and in a way that as a gift to a constituent or an enamored foreigner would make a major impact.
Media bias, while worse now was bad then.
Reagan did not escape their wrath. He went over their heads to the American people, communicated his message and beat the media at their own game. It is a myth developed after his death that we were a united people 1981-1989.
Caribbean Island Trip and Ethics Loopholes
POSTED BY
Paul Blumenthal
Privately paid travel may have fallen over the past year, and more precisely since 2005, but some lawmakers are still taking lavish trips to exotic locales. And some of them might be breaking the new ethics rules that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer stated there would be a “zero tolerance” policy. The New York Post has an exposé on a privately paid trip (not everyone stopped taking them) to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten taken by six members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The Post accuses the lawmakers of accepting travel from an entity that employs a lobbyist, going on a trip that included lobbyists, and failing to properly file their disclosures.
Officially the trip was sponsored by the Carib News Foundation for a conference in St. Maarten. The Foundation, however, accepts contributions from corporate sponsors, some just for the Foundation’s operations and others specifically for the conference. These corporate sponsors included Citigroup, AT&T, Verizon, Pfizer, Macy’s, and American Airlines. Since, ethics rules forbid the acceptance of travel from an entity that employs a lobbyist, and all of these companies employ lobbyists, the question is whether a sponsor of the Carib News Foundation and their conference needs to be listed as a sponsor of the trip. This is the primary question at the center of possible ethics violations.
According to the Post, the Foundation, in filling out the proper disclosure forms, checked the box, “I represent that the trip sponsor(s) has not accepted from any other source funds earmarked directly or indirectly to finance any aspect of the trip.” This statement is not properly backed up by statements made by Carib News Foundation CEO Karl Rodney and representatives of the corporate sponsors:
[I]n his opening remarks in St. Maarten, Rodney, who has organized 13 annual conferences, thanked all of the corporate sponsors by name.
He expressed gratitude to AT&T for its sponsorship at all prior conferences and singled out Citigroup as being the biggest conference sponsor this year.
“And so we want to say thanks to Citi,” said Rodney. “It’s a great team to have working, and great partners.”
Citigroup Vice President Michael Flanigan, who attended the St. Maarten event and is listed as a member of the conference planning committee, didn’t try to hide his company’s association with the event during a speech he gave to attendees.
“This year was significant for Citi,” Flanigan said, speaking to a half-full room. “For the first time we are the lead sponsor of this premier event.”
The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct states that:
…when a nonprofit organization pays for travel with donations that were earmarked, either formally or informally, for the trip, each such donor is deemed a “private source” for the trip and (1) must be publicly disclosed as a trip sponsor on the applicable travel forms and (2) must itself be required to satisfy the above standards on proper sources of travel expenses.
It appears, through the indirect admission of Rodney and corporate representatives, that corporate funds were used to finance the conference. The question remains as to whether the conference counts as part of “the trip.” Rodney states that the Foundation funds 50% of the conference, and it is possible that all the funds earmarked for the lawmaker trips came from the Foundation’s coffers. The Committee has further rules relating to the involvement of corporate sponsors:
[I]n order for a Member or staff person to receive Committee approval to accept officially-connected travel from a private source, the source must certify to the Committee that it has not accepted from any other source funds earmarked directly or indirectly to finance any aspect of the trip
“[A]ny aspect of the trip” certainly sounds as though the conference would count as part of the trip. Looking at the definitions in another disputed matter of ethics violations in the Post story puts doubt into what could define a “trip” or “aspect of [a] trip”.
The Post also points out that the presence of lobbyists at the conference may violate the rules banning lawmakers from accepting travel in which lobbyists accompany them. The use of simple language is where legal loopholes are born. And this is no exception:
In addition to prohibiting Members and staff from accepting officially-connected travel from a private source that retains or employs lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal, for most trips the travel provisions of the gift rule prohibit Members and staff from accepting travel from a private source if the official will be accompanied by a lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal on “any segment” of the trip (House Rule 25, clause 5(c)(1)(A)). The term “segment” means any part(s) of the travel to and from the destination, rather than the event itself or location being visited that is the purpose of the trip. Whether a lobbyist may be involved in planning, organizing, requesting, or arranging a trip also depends on the source of the travel expenses.
So there you go. A “segment” does not include the segment of the trip that includes the purpose of the trip. If a “segment” of a trip is only defined by the coming and going part of “trip,” does this extend to “any aspect” of said trip? Doubtfully, considering the sponsor, the Foundation, is paying not just for airfare, but for food and lodging.
This trip is certainly a case of questionable twisting of ethics rules, if not an outright violation. The loopholes evident make the restrictions placed on privately paid travel easy to circumnavigate, and thus ought to addressed.
The Nov. 17 disclosure forms note that the reports were "not filed timely due to administrative error."Yeah, just try that excuse if you're a common peasant rather than a member of the ruling class....
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