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| Pelosi Made Repeated Requests for Military Aircraft, Documents Show |
| 2009-03-11 |
| House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly requested military aircraft to shuttle her and her colleagues and family around the country, according to a new report from a conservative watchdog group. Representatives for Judicial Watch, which obtained e-mails and other documents from a Freedom of Information request, said the correspondence shows Pelosi has abused the system in place to accommodate congressional leaders and treated the Air Force as her "personal airline." Pelosi's office disputed the claim, pointing to White House policy enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks allowing for the House speaker to travel to his or her congressional district via military aircraft whenever possible for security reasons. Her office said she typically uses the same kind of aircraft used by her predecessor, Dennis Hastert. But Judicial Watch said that Pelosi was notorious for making special demands for high-end aircraft, lodging last-minute cancellations and racking up additional expenses for the military. The e-mails showed repeated attempts by Pelosi aides to request aircraft, sometimes aggressively, and by Department of Defense officials to accommodate them. "I think that's above and beyond what other members of Congress are doing and what is expected of our elected officials," said Jenny Small, a researcher with the group. In one e-mail, aide Kay King complained to the military that they had not made available any aircraft the House speaker wanted for Memorial Day recess. "It is my understanding there are NO G5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable ... The Speaker will want to know where the planes are," King wrote. In another, when told a certain type of aircraft would not be available, King wrote: "This is not good news, and we will have some very disappointed folks, as well as a very upset Speaker." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 One word for San Fran Nan - Coach (as in try flying it) |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-03-11 22:11 |
| #13 The pompus b*tch thinks she needs to be treated like a queen. You know, surrounded by and served by Roman guards. Nothing like having people of the most powerfull military in the world bowing down to you. |
| Posted by: Whineper Hitler1157 2009-03-11 22:09 |
| #12 Indiana town has solution for future Queen Nancy flights. Name that town! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-11 20:15 |
| #11 Just the tip of the sewage berg. Michelle Malkin |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-11 20:04 |
| #10 and her ass was spring-loaded. Joe Biden was swearing under his breath trying to keep with her. She was like a hamster on crack |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-11 18:53 |
| #9 So what will she do if she's happy? Didn't you see her during that State of the Union? She was happy, smiling, clapping like a cheerleader. I'm trying to erase the image from my mind still. |
| Posted by: Charles 2009-03-11 18:37 |
| #8 Well technically shes within her privileges to use the 89th Military Airlift Wing for those purposes, after all that IS its job, namely to transport the civilian leadership of the US. However that doesn't necessarily mean that they are her personal taxi service. |
| Posted by: Valentine 2009-03-11 14:08 |
| #7 Guess she won't be able to hop a ride with the New York Times... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-03-11 14:05 |
| #6 So what will she do if she's happy? For some reason I read that as harpy... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-03-11 12:38 |
| #5 I think she just does this so she can blame her massive carbon footprint on the Air Force. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-11 11:47 |
| #4 Is she asking for armed aircraft as she crisscrosses middle America? I feel safer knowing that I'm outside her normal flight pattern. Peloski is a maligancy on the House. Lord, hasten the day when she steps down. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-03-11 11:03 |
| #3 I don't think she ever gets happy. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-03-11 07:38 |
| #2 So what will she do if she's happy? I'll have nightmares now, gorb. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-11 04:06 |
| #1 as well as a very upset Speaker So what will she do if she's happy? |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-03-11 03:38 |
