Records Obtained by Judicial Watch Reveal Michelle Obama’s Weekend Ski Trip in February Cost More than $57,000 in Transportation Expenses Alone

First Lady’s round-trip flight to Aspen, Colorado, with her daughters cost taxpayers $7,712 an hour

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Michelle Obama’s weekend trip to Aspen, Colorado, in February cost American taxpayers $57,068.80 in travel expenses alone for the 7.4-hour round-trip flight. While President Obama flew to California to play golf, speak at a cyber-security summit, and headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, the First Lady and her daughters spent Valentine’s Day weekend skiing in Aspen, returning to the White House on February 16.

Judicial Watch obtained the Air Force records in response to a February 18, 2015, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following:
Any and all records concerning mission taskings relevant to First Lady Michelle Obama’s trip to Aspen, Colorado.
Any and all records concerning transportation costs.
Any and all passenger manifests for the trip.

According to the newly released records, the transportation costs for the four-day trip to Aspen were based on a flight cost of $7,712 an hour for the First Lady, her daughters, and support personnel in the Gulfstream aircraft. Not included were the attendant costs for U.S. Secret Service personnel, accommodations, meals, rental cars, lift tickets for skiing at Buttermilk, and related expenses. The $57,068.80 tab Mrs. Obama her daughters ran up in travel expenses alone for their weekend trip is more than 14 times what the average American of four spends for an entire week-long vacation.

More