Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law Thursday restricting release of her travel and security records after the Legislature wrapped up a special session marked by a fight to more broadly scale back the state Freedom of Information Act.

The law, which took effect immediately, allows the state to wall off details about the security provided the GOP governor and other constitutional officers, including who travels on the State Police airplane and the cost of individual trips. Proposed changes to the 1967 law protecting the public’s access to government records were among several items Sanders had placed on the agenda for a session that met this week.

Sanders has argued the restrictions are needed to protect her and her family, citing threats she’s faced since taking office and going back to her time as White House press secretary for former President Donald Trump.

  • @[email protected]
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    12810 months ago

    I can understand restrictions on upcoming events, but there is nothing wrong with releasing them after they have been used. It is not like someone is going to go back in time to commit an offence.

    • matchphoenix
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      12910 months ago

      Seems like she doesn’t want the press that DeSantis keeps getting for flying on rich donors’ planes. This is basically a sign on her office saying, “open for corruption”.

      • @[email protected]
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        3210 months ago

        A honest politician is usually the more open one. You would think that getting threats would be an indicator she is doing something upsets people, and she wants to double down on the crazy.

        • Unaware7013
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          1610 months ago

          Bold of you to assume that she (a Republican) isn’t intentionally trying to upset people.

          • @[email protected]
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            710 months ago

            Are you suggesting that politicians create issues to hide other more heinous issues? That would just be dead catting.

    • @[email protected]
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      510 months ago

      Hah! She’s a step ahead of you. She’s thinking of when there’s a time machine! (/s if that wasn’t clear)

    • @[email protected]
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      110 months ago

      It is not like someone is going to go back in time to commit an offence.

      They might if somebody else has already gone back and killed baby Hitler.

      • @MagicShel
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        310 months ago

        Well, they haven’t gonna yet, but some day they may yet did.

  • @[email protected]
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    7310 months ago

    Sanders was getting appropriately shit on for abusing the resources of her office for personal gain. This law allows her to abuse her office “more secretly”.

  • @[email protected]
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    5410 months ago

    Isn’t there a federal law that explicitly says the opposite regarding these and other types of records?

    They want to become kkkings of their state and rule for life.

    • @[email protected]
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      10 months ago

      Most states have their own version but I don’t see where the federal law applies to states specifically.

      I think this is an attempt to block their own state law.

    • @[email protected]
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      2810 months ago

      This was also my exact reaction to seeing this. Like, holy shit Arkansas, my expectations were super low, but you managed to limbo under that bar with room to spare.

    • OctopusKurwa
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      1410 months ago

      Not too surprising seeing as Arkansas elected this goobers goober dad too.

  • @[email protected]
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    4810 months ago

    So instead of electing a black rocket scientist, Republicans elected someone who’s blatantly stealing their money and calling it legal?

    • @[email protected]
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      10 months ago

      To be fair, being a good scientist doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to be a good governor. They’re very different skillsets.

      To be even MORE fair though, being a former Trump appointee who hasn’t rebuked him by now DOES guarantee that you’re a liar and would steal from children with cancer (like Jr and Eric did) if it could benefit you. The lying part goes triple for press secretaries and other spokespeople, of course.

      • @[email protected]
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        210 months ago

        You’re at least starting from a position of being evidence based. As opposed to being known for lying for money.

  • Flying Squid
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    4010 months ago

    “I have done nothing wrong and you can’t prove I did because I won’t let you.”

  • @[email protected]
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    3210 months ago

    I want to hear her say the sentence, “We need to keep the cost of the trips a secret to protect my family.”

    • ares35
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      2010 months ago

      they aren’t in the bottom 20 percent (approx) in public school funding for nothing.

    • @MagicShel
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      510 months ago

      Fat really isn’t a pejorative on the same level as Huckabee. It’s not doing any work in that sentence.

  • Jaysyn
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    2510 months ago

    And just like in Florida, this will be used to hide her activities & vacations with donors.

  • @[email protected]
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    1410 months ago

    Not that hard to track her plane flights, hotels, restaurants. From there, you can pretty much figure out the cost.

    • @[email protected]
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      210 months ago

      I dont think so. Any “reasonable estimate” we can make is going to be soo much smaller than the real figures. Can you manage a 100k USD dinner bill? They probably could pretty easily.