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mccaskill is quite the fiscal watchdog. It's too bad somebody was also watching her. She did cut a check to cover most of the flights she stuck us for, but it's easy enough to do that once you are busted. Of course it only took her 4 years to make it semi-right. It sounds like there may wind up being a bit of an investigation. Poor claire, and with an election coming up soon...
From Politico
Sen. claire mccaskill has been aggressive in promoting oversight and transparency for congressional travel, introducing a reform bill that cracks down on overseas travel for lawmakers.
But when it comes to her own domestic flights, the Missouri Democrat has enjoyed friendly skies: She’s spent nearly $76,000 in public funds since 2007 to fly on a charter plane she co-owns with her husband and other investors, a POLITICO analysis of public records show.
As a senator, mccaskill has flown at least 89 flights chartered by Sunset Cove Associates LLC — a
company incorporated in 2002 by her husband, St. Louis businessman Joe Shepard, according to records kept by the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. All of those flights were paid for from McCaskill’s Senate office budget, raising questions about whether the first-term senator and her husband are using public dollars to partially subsidize their aircraft.
After POLITICO contacted mccaskill’s office Tuesday about this issue, a mccaskill aide said Wednesday that the senator — while stating that the all the flights were legal, in accordance with Senate ethics rules and actually cheaper than other travel options — will send a check worth more than $88,000 to the Treasury Department to cover all costs associated with the flights.
In a statement, mccaskill spokeswoman Maria Speiser insisted the senator had not violated any laws or Senate rules, and that neither she nor her family have personally profited from using the charter plane for official Senate business.