Arkansas lawmakers on Thursday voted to audit the purchase of a $19,000 lectern for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, delving into an unusual controversy that’s prompted questions about the seemingly high cost of the item and claims that the governor’s office violated the state’s open-records law.
The all-Republican executive committee of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee also voted to audit the Republican governor’s travel and security expenditures that were retroactively shielded from public release under a new Freedom of Information Act exemption Sanders signed last month.
The 39-inch tall (1-meter), blue and wood-paneled lectern was purchased in June with a state credit card for $19,029.25. It has become the focus of intense scrutiny in recent weeks and has gained national attention. 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.
2 for US$470 Hotel Brown Wooden Rostrum Speech Lectern Church Podium via Guangzhou YZY Hotel Supplies Co., Ltd on Alibaba
and it’s even MDF not solid wood.Apologies for link parameters, it’s the only way I could bet it to display without Alibaba booting me to the app deeplink.
Edited to add: it’s definitely a knock off and not the exact same factory as the hickabee model, but the “have the same one as the white house!” pitch makes it funny enough to leave up.