Feels ‘above the law’

The long-awaited audit on Sarah Sanders’ $19,000 lectern purchase was finally released. It clearly shows Sanders acted underhandedly in making the purchase. It was first charged to the state, meaning taxpayers. The state Republican Party eventually paid for it to help Sanders out of the fix. The audit further revealed that documents were shredded pertaining to the purchase.

The audit also said Sanders’ office may have broken a state law about state agencies reporting purchases. Attorney General Tim Griffin came to her defense (once again) and said that the auditors were wrong because she is a “constitutional officer,” not a state agency. This sounds like a weak argument to me because the purchase was made through the governor’s office. How can that not be a state agency?

Also, Freedom of Information requests about the purchase were not fully met by Sanders’ office. Remember, this was around the same time she requested Republican legislators cut back on the FOIA so that the public would not have access to where she and her family were traveling. This request was made, she said, for her and her family’s safety. She initially wanted more of the FOIA gutted, but legislators voted that down.

So, all these things put together in the audit may or may not be pursued by a prosecutor, but they certainly show that Sanders thinks she is “above the law.” Does that sound like someone else we know?

STEVEN TRULOCK

Fayetteville