Last week I reported to you that Judicial Watch had received mission expense records and passenger manifests for Michelle Obama’s family vacation to Africa. Per the documents, we calculated that the total cost to American taxpayers was $424,142 for the flight and crew alone. Other expenses, such as off-flight food, transportation, security, etc. were not included.
Well, shortly after our documents were splashed all over the news, the Obama White House responded. As you might expect, they did not concede the cost of the trip. In fact, they said we got it wrong.
“The number stated is misconstrued and out of context,” said an unnamed White House senior official.
That is utter disinformation.
We came up with our number based on specific directions given to us by the United States Air Force!
As you will recall, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force to get hold of documents related to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s abuse of military aircraft. On January 3, 2011, we received a letter from the Air Force that explains how to calculate the fuel costs for military travel. Here is the relevant excerpt:
Our office was provided 100 pages of responsive records from the 89th Airlift Wing (A W) at Andrews AFB; however, they do not have records specifically related to the fuel costs incurred for Ms. Pelosi’s transportation. The 89A W Public Affairs office provided the following link to the OSD Comptroller public website at: http://comptroller.defense.gov/rates/fv2011.html where, along with the aircraft type and hours flown, you can determine the approximate cost per flight. The releasable documents attached contain the type of aircraft and hours flown.
Example: Mission # 16888 shows ETE (Estimated Time Enroute) as 05+45 (5 hours and 45 minutes) and return flight was 4 hours and 45 minutes. The Aircraft type was C3 7, found on page two. Go to link: Change Fiscal Year to 2010, find Air Force heading, then locate C-7A under Type. Cost per hour is $1623.00. Therefore, 10 hours would = $16230.00. The hourly costs are derived from various charges, to include local maintenance, depot maintenance, personnel, etc.
We used this exact same formula to calculate the cost of Michelle Obama’s trip. So if the White House has a beef over the numbers, it’s with the U.S. Air Force, not us. But really this response has nothing to do with the numbers.
Regarding the nature of the trip, the unnamed senior White House official also argued “against any suggestion that this trip was a vacation,” noting there were 5-7 official events each day. But was it really necessary for Michelle Obama to bring her daughters, niece, nephew and mother on this “official” trip (or a separate make-up and hair stylist, for that matter)? What role did any of them play in helping to advance the business of the United States? Would the entire mission have been at risk if Michelle Obama had not brought her extended family along for the ride or for the safari?
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