Republican Arkansas Governor and woman who took offense when someone pointed out she wore excessive eye makeup Sarah Huckleberry Slanders is under scrutiny after an independent reporter discovered she commissioned a custom $19,000 podium for an upcoming trip to Europe. And even though the daughter of former governor and sanctimonious child groomer Mike Huckabee ran on being a fiscal responsible leader, that’s not even the worst of it.
According to the Arkansas Times, muckraker Matt Campbell of the Blue Hog Report asked through a state FOIA request for information regarding the purchase made from an out-of-state vendor, Beckett Events in Virginia. The receipt shows a cost of $18,475 for the podium, pluse a 3% surcharge ($554.25) for credit card processing. On the receipt is a handwritten now: “To be reimbursed” initialed by what appears to be “LH.” The money was paid by taxpayer money, but after the controversary arose, the state Republican Party said it would reimburse the state for the funds.
A lawyer for the unnamed whistleblower who apparently tipped off Campbell of the purchase alleges that the receipt has been altered or tampered with, apparently with the notation that the amount will be reimbursed. It’s unlikely that such a note would be handwritten on an official receipt; the state uses other forms to arrange such transactions. The note was likely added to lessen the public relations impact of the Republican governor buying a decorative piece for more than the cost of a new compact car.
To make matters worse, Huckabee Sanders pushed through a change to the state’s FOIA law as the scandal unfolded in an attempt to hide relevant government paperwork from the public. The move echoes a similar effort by failing GOP presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has dialed pack the “sunshine laws” of the Sunshine State to hide state expenditures that are subsidizing his presidential run, like travel and security costs.
Besides the excessive cost of the podium, which may have cost more because of the added materials needed to shield Huckabee Sanders’ frame or fashion from cameras during the European trip, others question the need for the governor and her posse to go to Europe for an extended period–where she would need a custom podium at all–in the first place, believing this is just one expensive taxpayer-funded vacation for her and her staff.