Judicial Watch Sues USAF for Docs Detailing Cost to Taxpayers for Michelle Obama's Trip to Africa

PR Newswire ^ | August 25, 2011

[2ndDivisionVet]

Military Aircraft Alone Reportedly Cost at least $430,000.

Judicial Watch, the organization that investigates and fights government corruption, announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on August 19, 2011, against the United States Air Force to obtain records related to the June 21-27, 2011, trip taken by First Lady Michelle Obama, her family, and her staff to South Africa and Botswana. Judicial Watch is seeking the documents to determine details about the trip and, in particular, a breakdown of the costs to taxpayers (Judicial Watch v. USAF (No. 11-1496)).

The Judicial Watch FOIA request filed on June 28, 2011, seeks:

•Any and all records concerning mission taskings of First Lady Michelle Obama's June 21-27, 2011 trip to South Africa and Botswana.

•Any and all records of concerning transportation costs for Mrs. Obama's June 21-27 trip to South Africa and Botswana.

•Any and all passenger manifests (DD-2131) for Mrs. Obama's June 21-27, 2011 trip to South Africa and Botswana.

According the U.S. Postal Service records, Judicial Watch's FOIA request was received by the Air Force on July 6, 2011. A response to the request was due within 20 working days, or by August 3, 2011. As of August 19, 2011, the date of the complaint, the Air Force has failed to produce the records requested or respond with a date they will be forthcoming.

The professed purpose of Mrs. Obama's trip was to encourage young people living in South Africa and Botswana to get involved in national affairs. The First Lady's remarks focused on education, health, and wellness issues. However, accompanied by her daughters Malia and Sasha, her mother, Marian Robinson, and her niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, the trip also included such tourist events as visits to historical landmarks and museums as well as a visit with Nelson Mandela, described by Mrs. Obama as "surreal." The trip ended with a private family safari at a South African game reserve before the group returned to Washington on June 27.

Judicial Watch is investigating the total cost of the trip to the taxpayers in the face of a ballooning federal debt and a sinking economy. As stated in an analysis by White House Dossier (the blog of White House reporter Keith Koffer, who writes for CongressDaily, National Journal, Roll Call and Politico), the cost to taxpayers for the C-32 was $430,000 alone. This cost is based on an estimated charge of $12,723 an hour, which is what the Department of Defense charges other federal agencies for use of the aircraft. If a military cargo plane was included ‒ which typically accompanies a First Lady ‒ the cost of transportation could have escalated by another $200,000.

Other costs, such as Secret Service protection, the care and feeding of staff, and pre-trip advance work done by administration officials in Africa, cannot be determined without examining records.

"How much did the American people spend to send the First Lady on a family outing in Africa? That's what we want to know," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "On the surface, the trip seems to have been totally unnecessary and was as much an excuse for the Obama family to go on a safari as it was a mission intended to advance the nation's business in Africa."

[Graewoulf]

Hey! She is the First Lady! If Professor You Lie needs a little help digging THE VALLEY OF DEBT deeper, then she should be expected to do her part.

Besides, it didn’t really cost that much as 41 cents on every dollar spent came from China!

I think that is what Professor You Lie meant by a “ balanced “ approach: “ 60 % for me and 40 % for you.”

[mosesdapoet]

They should get the total of all their trips including the first one to the UK with their entourage of 500. Get names and their expenceses

[Farnsworth]

I’m sure the documents have been scrubbed by now.

[ken21]

taxpayer money down the rat hole.

[yarddog]

I once filed a freedom of information request against the IRS. They denied my request so I filed a reconsideration. I didn’t really know much about it so I went to the library and did some research.

I still don’t know much about it but one thing I do remember was the onus if there was any question, was on the government. In short they are supposed to supply the information unless there is a really strong reason not to.

I was audited by a girl who clearly had a thing against men. Maybe her boyfriend had jilted her, but she was ridiculous.

When I finally got the documents, there was a written request by her to her supervisor “to stop this” referring to my foia request.

BTW, when it got to the U.S. Attorney, he simply phoned me and agreed to drop the case in my favor.

[Daaave]

My favorite picture of Michelle Obama.

[RavenATB]

I have an associate inside the beltway who passed a note to me saying the Obama trip to Africa required nearly 30 C-17s, fighter escort aircraft, numerous tankers, and other support aircraft. Add to that the ships and over 1,000 navy sailors who were tasked to support this boondoggle and that $400K figure looks like a joke. The AF was charging it's own units nearly $400K to fly a single C-17 on a trip of that distance over 10 years ago, when gas was less than half what it costs today. I'll bet the taxpayer's bill for the manpower cost for that trip, alone, exceeded $2Million. I'd estimate the actual trip cost...aircraft, personnel, ADVON teams, ships, pre- and post-mission maintenance and service time (labor)...would be somewhere at or above $20 Million.