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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi may have crossed a no-fly zone with taxpayers. Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group, has obtained documents from the Department of Defense that itemize her many requests to use Air Force aircraft for travel as well as the use of additional planes as military escorts. More so, Pelosi often canceled her military travel arrangements just minutes before her flight was scheduled to depart. A DOD official referred to this routine practice as "hidden late fees," due to the large staff needed to prep the plane, prepare meals, and more, that still was paid despite the Speaker's lack of attendance.
"Taken together, these documents show that Speaker Pelosi treats the Air Force like her personal airline," said President Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch, an organization that aims to promote government transparency. "Not only does Speaker Pelosi issue unreasonable requests for military travel, but her office seems unconcerned about wasting taxpayer money with last-minute cancellations and other demands."
Among documents collected by Judicial Watch were emails between the Air Force and Kay King, Director of the House Office of Interparliamentary Affairs. In one conversation, King expresses Pelosi's extreme disappointment in the military for failing to provide her with the aircraft she had asked to use. ""It is my understanding there are no G5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable," wrote King. "We will have ... a very upset [s]peaker." A G5 is a small aircraft that, despite being a military vessel, is basically a luxury private jet.
Requests included military planes for a funeral in Ohio, a flight to Michigan, as well as for a meeting in Iraq.
This is not the first time that the Speaker of the House was criticized for the use of military planes. In 2007 she requested an Air Force aircraft to transport her and her staff roundtrip from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco. Although previous speaker Dennis Hastert was allowed the use of military planes, this was positioned as a security measure following the 9/11 attacks.
