When President Trump denied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi use of a military aircraft for a CODEL (congressional delegation trip) to Afghanistan recently, he called the public’s attention to wasteful taxpayer-funded congressional travel.
In his letter to Pelosi blocking the trip, President Trump mentioned the 800,000 federal workers going without pay. The real irony is that U.S. government workers in Afghanistan, who were among those not being paid, worked for two weeks to plan the trip – and on a holiday weekend.
We at Judicial Watch were not at all surprised by this foolishness. For years we have been exposing the lucrative travel our leaders enjoy at taxpayer expense.
We have long noted Pelosi’s abuse of the perks of public office that granted her access to luxury military travel. This current expedition is hardly new for her.
In 2009, during Pelosi’s first speakership, we uncovered documents from the Department of Defense detailing her multiple requests for military air travel. The documents included internal DOD email correspondence detailing attempts by DOD staff to accommodate Pelosi’s numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft as well as the speaker’s last-minute cancellations and changes.
The documents include a discussion of House Ethics rules and Defense Department policies as they apply to the speaker’s requests for staff, spouses and extended family to accompany her on military aircraft. In May 2008, for example, Pelosi requested that her husband join her on a CODEL into Iraq. The DOD explained to Pelosi that the agency has a written policy prohibiting spouses from joining CODEL’s into combat zones.
We reported in 2010 that Pelosi’s jet travel cost the Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol. Some details:
The average cost of an international CODEL was $228,563.33. Of the 103 Pelosi-led CODELs, 31 trips included members of the House Speaker’s family.
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And she won't let Trump build a wall to protect all of us, including her entourage. Shame, shame, shame
ReplyDeleteMost military travelers get a $7 box lunch, consisting of a white bread sandwich, a piece of fruit, a little bag of chips, a pack of peanuts and a boxed drink. I think that Nancy's menu was a little more extensive and expensive.
ReplyDeleteShould be Against the Law Stealing our Taxpayer $$$$ !!!!
ReplyDeleteStop these Damn trips ......All excess & self serving !!!!
Turn her over to Mueller !!!!!!!
It was once called white collar crime. Meaning Lube Girl is a criminal.
ReplyDeleteSo why isn't it stopped. She is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many in the Government less known who do the same.
ReplyDelete