Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser filed a moral complaint Tuesday that the watchdog group accused her of potentially accepting illegal travel and hospitality gifts on at least three long-distance trips, including Qatar, the Masters Golf Championship, and President Trump’s Mar-a-agago Resort. [emphasis, links added]
Responsibility and Citizen Trust (Facts) revealed in April that the DC Ethics and Government Responsibility Committee filed a complaint Doha paid at least $61,930 for Democrats and four staff members to head to the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference [COP28] In neighboring Dubai.
According to a report by WJLA-TV, the Bowser office initially stated that the DC Chamber of Commerce paid a veto for Qatar travel. The mayor's office then claimed that the trip was paid for by the U.S. Mayor's Council.
The complaint states that Bowser's office asked Kataris in February about the thorough breakdown of the cost of the trip, which Doha described as a “in-kind donation.”
DC Law demands a donation agreement with Qatar, but there is no record of this understanding.
In response to WJLA's inquiry, Bowser's office claimed that it made appropriate recordkeeping by claiming item-by-item records from the Doha, so an agreement could be reached two years after the fact occurred.
Fox News first reported factual complaints state that Bowser left DC taxpayers in the dark, involving other trips to Las Vegas, Georgia, Miami and other trips to Las Vegas, Miami and Ougatera, Georgia.
“It’s not just a trip to Qatar, but an unsettling pattern from Mar-a-Lago to Doha to Augusta National – The area does not record who paid for these trips or the public purposes (if any) they serveFact executive director Kendra Arnold said in a statement.
“The rules of ethical codes exist to prevent corruption and when they are ignored, public trust is eroded. I urge the board to investigate and enforce the law.”
The WJLA investigation found that Ball's chief of staff, Lindsey Parker, submitted a receipt to spend $3,500 on staying in Atlantis-the Palm Hotel in Dubai.
The radio noted that Parker’s job description included approval for donations to official travel outside the United States.
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