LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Less than a day after the release of a state audit into the controversial purchase of a $19,000 lectern by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders's Office, representatives for the attorney general and governor were asked questions by lawmakers at a meeting that ran for over three hours.
The 68-page audit report released on April 15 found seven instances of "potential noncompliance" with state law on behalf of the Governor's Office, according to the committee in charge of the audit.
The argument about noncompliance stems from a disagreement on which groups should be considered "agencies" and which groups should be considered "constitutional offices."
The audit states the Governor's Office is legally considered an "agency," but Gov. Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin argue the Governor's Office is exempt from certain budget and FOIA rules as they argue it is a "constitutional office."
Put simply, "agencies" have to follow different budgetary rules that "constitutional offices" sometimes do not.
Gov. Sanders's Deputy Chief of Staff Judd Deere, when asked if the entire scandal can be considered a mistake, responded: "We don't recognize— this is not a mistake."
When asked if there was any disciplinary action taken at the Governor's Office as a result of the lectern purchase, Deere said, "No, and nor should there be."
The possibility of further legal action over the lectern purchase was mentioned multiple times in the meeting.
Response to audit
In response to the audit, a spokesperson for Gov. Sanders stated, "The facts outlined in the report demonstrate what the governor’s office said all along: we followed the law, and the state was fully reimbursed with private funds for the podium, at no cost to the taxpayers."
The chair for the Democratic Party of Arkansas Grant Tennille said, "This is not and never was a partisan matter, but a very serious investigation of wrongdoing by government officials who may have broken as many as seven state laws ... We call on the Attorney General and Sixth Judicial District Prosecutor to swiftly deliver justice to any government official found to have committed an act of corruption in our state government."
For a complete breakdown of the audit, check out our separate article here.
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