The Spectacle Blog
Democrat Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine hates the practice of lawmakers who travel on private jets. Despises it, as Maine Watchdog recalls:
According to written remarks delivered before the Subcommittee on the Constitution in 2006, Pingree said: “Most Americans never have and never will fly on a chartered jet, much less a fancy corporate jet complete with wet bar and leather couches. So when members of Congress constantly fly around on corporate jets and pay only the cost of a commercial ticket, it contributes to the corrosive public perception that members of Congress are more like the fat cats of Wall Street than they are like the rest of us.”
In the aftermath of the (Jack) Abramoff scandal, Pingree lobbied for a tough ethics-reform law that would have, among other things, completely banned privately funded travel. When a weaker bill was introduced, Pingree called the drafted bill “window dressing.”
So, is anyone surprised that reporter Stephan Burklin discovered:
An investigation by Maine Watchdog found that Pingree has been traveling on a private plane owned by the firm of her significant other, Donald Sussman, Founder and Chairman of Paloma Partners, a billion dollar hedge fund.
When AOL reported in late July that Pingree’s office was reimbursed for more travel expenses than any other house member in 2009, MaineWatchdog asked whether any of those reimbursements were related to travel on private planes. A spokesman for Pingree said: “To my knowledge, the Congresswoman does not fly on privately chartered jets….”
It is not clear whether Pingree’s use of Sussman’s aircraft was limited to (an) incident on September 17.
Flight logs of Sussman’s plane obtained by MaineWatchdog indicate that Pingree may have used the aircraft on several other occasions.
In several instances, Pingree’s trips between Maine and Washington, D.C. closely track the movement of Sussman’s plane.
Burklin lays out the details nicely. Oh, and there’s video of her deplaning:
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Pete| 9.23.10 @ 2:25PM
Hold up a second. Are you saying that Democrats are literally in bed with Wall St. "fat cats?" Are you further implying that they are elitist hypocrites? I hope Obamacare covers therapy....
Frank Wood| 9.28.10 @ 11:14AM
Nope, no coverage for therapy. Just for re-education.
D| 9.28.10 @ 1:12PM
sure, shock treatment is always covered at direct to you wholesale pricing...
Surv3y0r| 9.28.10 @ 7:09PM
Yeah, you can do it from the outlet next to your desk.
Thomas Sweeney| 9.23.10 @ 2:26PM
Chellie is the former president of Common Cause. She is one of 70 Congressman who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
She is also "from away". A native of Minnesota, home of Senator Al Franken.
DWPittelli | 9.28.10 @ 9:57AM
She is one of 83 members of the "Congressional Progressive Caucus" and one could argue that this leftmost third of the Democrats are small "s" socialists, but I am pretty sure there are not a significant number (0, 1?) of Congressmen in the Democratic Socialists of America.
Darragh| 9.23.10 @ 2:53PM
I live in Maine and my fondest hope is that Pingree gets dethroned this Nov. More than 80% of her donations over $200 come from people out of state because she votes with Pelosi 98% of the time. Her "representation" is just a stepping stone for her--she just had a fundraiser with the likes of Rockefellers and Cabots. (I think she may have been at the Lady Gaga idiocy in Portland as well--I know her equally arrogant and clueless politico daughter was). She is arrogant and has no empathy with the real problems of the real people of Maine. And Sussman/Paloma Partners record with TARP is despicable.
If you want to help us overthrow Pingree, donate to Dean Scontras for Congress! It can be done--despite EVERY attempt of the media and establishment to derail Paul LePage, the Rep/Tea Party candidate, he has just risen even more in the polls!
Darragh| 9.23.10 @ 3:06PM
Clarification--LePage is running for Governor, Scontras for Chellie's Congressional seat.
Starve The Beast| 9.23.10 @ 4:07PM
This story from Maine.Watchdog.org convinced me to vote for Scontras. I was toying with the idea, and this tipped me over.
Andrew Keirns| 9.23.10 @ 4:34PM
ACTIVITY LOG for N888CE is available at flightaware dot com -- not too hard to compare this to the Congresswoman's comings and goings ...
Phil| 9.28.10 @ 9:09AM
Checking FlightAware shows that as of 28 September 2010 "This aircraft (N888CE) is not available for tracking per request from the owner/operator"
Transparency! They are like cats - when something stinks up their litterbox, their response is to cover it up.
doug| 9.28.10 @ 10:26AM
They've disabled tracking for N88CE on Flightaware. Quick! Hide the body!
Tango Golf Sierra| 9.28.10 @ 11:39AM
Is this Russia? This isn't Russia, is it?
To disable the ability to track a Congresswoman's comings and goings on a private jet is the epitome of hypocrisay.
I'd like to see her in an orange jump suit.
WJ| 9.28.10 @ 12:10PM
Definitely don't agree with her politics, but it is her husband's plane, right?
Should we begrudea a spouse uses the wealthy assets of the other spouse?
njoriole| 9.28.10 @ 12:26PM
Silly people! Don't you know that, like taxes, ethics and consistency are for the little people only?