Sarah Sanders accused of altering public records about her $19,000 podium purchase
Sarah Sanders at herState of teh Union rebuttal appaearnce (Photo by Al Drago for AFP/pool)
October 10, 2023
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) faces new and deepening questions in the so-called "Podiumgate" controversy, following a new report that she tried to alter records about an invoice for a $19,000 lectern she purchased with a state government credit card, according to the Associated Press.
"The Arkansas GOP paid for the lectern in September, but the words 'to be reimbursed' were only added later to the original invoice, records released this week show. The undated reimbursement note adds to weeks of scrutiny over the purchase, which has dominated political talk in Arkansas," reported Andrew DeMillo. "The Republican Party of Arkansas reimbursed the state for the purchase on Sept. 14, and Sanders’ office has called the use of a state credit card for the lectern an accounting error. Sanders’ office said it received the lectern in August."
Prior reports have indictated, however, that the reimbursement was only arranged after reporters started asking questions.
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Sanders' executive assistant Laura Hamilton "added the note after being instructed that she or the agency that handles state purchasing should put it on the original invoice, according to the email released Monday," said the report. "The Sept. 15 email written by Department of Transformation and Shared Services employee Cassie Cantlon to her superiors doesn’t say who instructed Hamilton. 'I asked if she wanted to date the note and she stated that she was told not to date it, but to just make the note that the invoice was to be reimbursed,' Cantlon, administrative services manager for the department, wrote in the email."
State lawmakers are currently debating over whether to open an audit into the purchase, which Sanders' office says they are open to.
"Tom Mars, an attorney, confirmed Tuesday that the note is the example of a public record about the purchase being altered that he referenced in a letter to Hickey," said the report. "Mars has said he has a client willing to give a confidential statement to lawmakers who has firsthand knowledge that Sanders’ office interfered with open records requests" — although this client is not Cantlon.