LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A highly anticipated report looking into the governor’s office’s podium purchase is right around the corner and the attorney general has now weighed in ahead of the audit’s release.
Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office released an opinion per the request of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office. In an interview with KARK 4 News, Griffin clarified that he has not seen the full audit report yet but does say the governor should not be subject to the state’s budgetary and accounting law.
The story started months ago when the purchase was made public on social media, showing the governor’s office had purchased a $19,000 lectern with tax dollars. It was after that became public that the Republican Party of Arkansas came in and reimbursed the governor’s office for this. The lectern has not been seen in a press conference since that purchase was made.
In the fall, a legislative audit committee approved an auditor to look into the purchase and see if there’s any wrongdoing.
KARK 4 News is told that the audit is complete and will be released any day now.
“The law’s pretty clear that it does not apply to constitutional offices,” Griffin said in an interview. “It applies to the agencies, for example of the executive branch, and this is not really… it’s not a close call.”
The attorney general said this opinion is “nothing new” in the report. In 1967, the general assembly passed a law that’s still in place which confirms elected constitutional offices of the state are exempt from the general accounting and budgetary procedures law.
Griffin acknowledged this does go against a former attorney general’s opinion from 1992, which he said, “was not supported by any reasoning.”
KARK 4 News asked if he’d have this opinion either way, whether it’s a governor he supports or not.
Griffin said, “This is the opinion.”
The attorney general’s opinion can be read online.
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