LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — 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."
“No laws were broken,” her office said in a response filed with the report. “No fraud was committed.”
Arkansas lawmakers last year approved the request to review the purchase of the lectern, which had drawn nationwide scrutiny over its costs and questions about public records surrounding it.
The blue and wood paneled lectern was bought in June with a state credit card for $19,029.25 from an events company in Virginia. The Republican Party of Arkansas reimbursed the state for the purchase on Sept. 14, and Sanders’ office has called the use of the state credit card an accounting error. Sanders’ office said it received the lectern in August.
The items has not been seen at Sanders’ public events. Sanders posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, featuring the lectern and the words “Come and Take It” shortly after the audit’s release late Monday afternoon.
Pulaski County Prosecutor Will Jones' office said it had received the audit and would review it, but said it wouldn't comment further
Auditors said in the report they were unable to determine whether the lectern's cost was reasonable. The report said the three out-of-state vendors involved in its purchase did not respond to numerous requests by auditors for information about the lectern.
more:
https://www.winchesterstar.com/associated_press/virginia/audit-cites-potential-legal-violations-in-purchase-of-19-000-lectern-for-arkansas-governor/article_94770e96-13cf-52f5-916b-9f7fb3120225.html
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