Democrats Called Out for 'Mockery' of Ethics Rules After $60,000 Trip to See Beyoncé Revealed
Five Democratic representatives in the Congressional Black Caucus are being called out for their mockery of House ethics rules after it was revealed they went on a $60,000 completely paid-for vacation to South Africa, which included exclusive performances by music artists Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
The nonprofit group, Global Citizen, paid for the representatives’ three-day trip in December to attend the “Global Citizen Mandela 100” concert, which featured popular artists like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, the Washington Examiner reported, citing congressional disclosure records.
The Democrats, who all had VIP passes to the concert, were U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Barbara Lee of California, Bobby Rush of Illinois, Terri Sewell of Alabama and Hank Johnson of Georgia.
And it wasn’t just Democratic politicians who went on the paid-for vacation. Far-left media personalities like “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah and MSNBC host Joy Reid also came along.
The politicians even chummed around with Oprah Winfrey and activist Al Sharpton.
I’m in South Africa headed to the Global Citizen Festival with Congressional Black Caucus members Greg Meeks, Barbara Lee, Bobby Rush & Hank Johnson & my @MSNBC colleague Joy Reid. #GlobalCitizenFestivalSA pic.twitter.com/vnYAbI8J09
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) December 2, 2018
The stated purpose of the event was to raise awareness for global poverty.
But of course, the three-day vacation (one full day in South Africa and two travel days) was more extravagant than that — besides a concert, the group of politicians flew business class, stayed in a fancy hotel and had private security.
The actual total cost for all the food, lodging, airfare and security was $60,272.
A spokesperson for one of the recipients of the vacation defended the trip in a statement to the Examiner by pointing out the money didn’t come from taxpayers.
Sewell’s spokesperson said that “her travel was pre-approved by the House Ethics Committee and was not paid for at taxpayer expense.”
Nevertheless, the House Ethics Committee is supposed to have rules against accepting gifts because it can obviously open politicians for bribes.
But according to Sewell’s spokesperson, the luxury trip and huge concert was “a platform for world leaders to speak out against racial injustice and inequity, and voice their support for international assistance for underprivileged populations.”
The president of the National Legal and Policy Center Government Integrity Project, Tom Anderson, isn’t buying that excuse — it was a vacation, not a humanitarian trip.
“These members of Congress that were given an all-expense paid vacation to party with Oprah, Jay Z, and Beyoncé in South Africa are claiming with a straight face this was needed to help poor children around the world live better lives,” Anderson said.
While the concert did raise a lot of money for impoverished people, that was because of the star power from the performers. Nobody went to the concert to see politicians.
“This was in fact, a mockery of House ethics rules on gifts and travel, the truly poor, and all Americans that expect members of Congress to live not only by the letter of the law but by the spirit and intentions of the rules of the House of Representatives.”
Democrats endlessly talk about the dangers of money in politics, but these five Democrats apparently don’t apply that principle to themselves.
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