Audit says Arkansas governor's office potentially violated laws with $19,000 lectern purchase
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ' office potentially violated state laws on purchasing, state property and government records when it purchased a $19,000 lectern for the Republican governor that’s prompted nationwide attention, an audit requested by lawmakers said Monday.
Legislative auditors referred the findings in the long-awaited audit of the lectern to local prosecutors and the attorney general, and lawmakers planned to hold a hearing Tuesday on the report. The report cited several potential legal violations, including paying for the lectern before it was delivered and the handling of records regarding the purchase.
Sanders’ office, which has dismissed questions about the lectern, called the audit’s findings “deeply flawed” and a “waste of taxpayer resources and time.”
How the hell did that thing cost $19k? It looks like something you'd get from a 1970s Ikea.
Ohh right... Nepotism and/or money laundering!
None of the above. It was used to hide improper/illegal expenditures. If I recall correctly it was vacation expenses, or something else that stupid. Basically lecturn cost $1k or $2k, and the rest got funneled back to cover those costs.
That lectern as pictured is a cheap copy worth way less than $1000. The allegation is that she paid her friend for costs of a trip to Paris of which there are social media photos at expensive nightlife locations.
That’s…. Pretty much text book money laundering.
It's embezzlement. Money laundering is taking illegally acquired money and making it appear to be legitimate.
It has literally nothing to do with money laundering.
It's theft/embezzlement, and probably some other financial fraud related crimes, none of which are money laundering.
Not exactly.
They could have just straight up embezzled it. The purpose of buying something overpriced is to make that purchase seem reasonable on a line item.
The lectern itself is money laundering to cover up embezzlement, yes. Because some one is gonna notice 15k missing pretty quickly.
It's art ok. You wouldn't understand.
It's not just any lectern, it's an advanced lectern. You can put papers on it and stuff, it can even hold a microphone!
Lecture 2.0 Advanced Ultra Pro
A blue 1970s Ikea idea.