First off, get up-to-speed on the whole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi military jet issue right here at Snopes.
Now, take a look at what Judicial Watch has “uncovered” in their release from this morning, below.
Basically, it says that Nancy travels around a lot under the rules set up under George W. Bush. Does this surprise you? Of course she’s required to fly on military aircraft in this post-9/11 world, so she flies on military a/c. Does this surprise you? And when she flew with a congressional delegation to Iraq, somebody on the plane drank, wait for it, beer! Does this surprise you? Would you like to know which brand? Corona! Does this surprise you? Now, did it come with a lime wedge? Natch! How could it not? But sadly, the report contains no confirmation regarding this important issue…
The crappy C20B military jet that Nancy Pelosi sometimes uses, with noisy, archaic low-bypass engines that would look comfortable hanging off a plane from the 1950′s. This thing is the K-Car of private jets. It’s older than you – it’s straight out of the 1970′s:
(Personally, I’d rather fly coach on JetBlue or the Virgin America. And that way I could land in the bay area at SFO or OAK instead of freaking Solano County, East of the East Bay)
Anyway, maybe I’m missing something so check my work by reading along right here. This report is just a nothing burger with a side-order of nada:
Judicial Watch Uncovers New Documents Detailing Pelosi’s Use of Air Force Aircraft
Records Indicate Pelosi Used Air Force Aircraft for 85 Trips Covering 206,264 Miles from March 2009 through June 2010
Pelosi’s Family Members Included on at least Two Flights
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 / –Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained new documents from the United States Air Force detailing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s repeated use of United States Air Force aircraft. According to the documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Pelosi used Air Force aircraft on 85 flights from March 2009 through June 2010. Members of Pelosi’s family were guests on at least two flights.
Among the highlights from the documents, obtained pursuant to a FOIA request filed on January 25, 2009:
– Pelosi used the Air Force aircraft for a total of 85 trips, covering
206,264 miles, from March 2, 2009 through June 7, 2010. Pelosi, her
guests and Air Force personnel logged a total of 428.6 hours on these
flights.
– Members of Pelosi’s family were guests on at least two flights. On
June 20, 2009, Speaker Pelosi’s daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons
joined a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to San Francisco
International Air Port. That flight included $143 in on-flight
expenses for food and other items. On July 2, 2010, Pelosi took her
grandson on a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to Travis Air Force
Base in Fairfield, California, which is northeast of San Francisco.
According to previous documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, Speaker’s military travel cost the United States 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. For example, purchases for one Pelosi-led congressional delegation traveling from Washington, DC, through Tel Aviv, Israel to Baghdad, Iraq May 15-20, 2008 included: Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey’s Irish Creme, Maker’s Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewar’s scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey, Corona beer and several bottles of wine.
On it goes, after the jump.
Judicial Watch also previously uncovered internal Department of Defense documents (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. For example, in response to a series of requests for military aircraft, one Defense Department official wrote, “Any chance of politely querying [Pelosi's team] if they really intend to do all of these or are they just picking every weekend?…[T]here’s no need to block every weekend ‘just in case’… The email also notes that Pelosi’s office had, “a history of canceling many of their past requests.”
“Pelosi’s abusive use of military aircraft demonstrates a shocking lack of regard for the American taxpayer and the men and women who serve in the U.S. Air Force. Speaker Pelosi may have a frequent flyer record for taxpayer-financed luxury jet travel,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Visit www.JudicialWatch.orgto access records related to Judicial Watch’s investigation of Speaker Pelosi’s military travel.
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