President Daughters now Designated ‘Senior Staff’
Costs of family safari to Africa starting to come out
The president’s two daughters, Sasha and Malia, were listed as “Senior Staff” on the manifest of a family safari to Africa, which cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars at a minimum, according to a government corruption fighter based in Washington.
The information comes from some of the documentation from the Obama family’s June 21-27 trip to South Africa and Botswana that was obtained under a federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch.
Among the bits of information that have been released as a result of the court action were that the children were listed as “Senior Staff” on the manifests for the trip, and the costs of the military airplane used for the trip were in the range of $425,000 – all paid by taxpayers.
While Michelle Obama delivered some speeches on the trip, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said the taxpayers’ money was wasted.
“This trip was as much an opportunity for the Obama family to go on a safari as it was a trip to conduct government business,” said Fitton. “This junket wasted tax dollars and the resources of our overextended military.
“No wonder we had to sue to pry loose this information.”
The organization previously uncovered documentation revealing that a “date night” for Barack and Michelle Obama in 2009 cost taxpayers more than $11,000 in Secret Service costs alone.
The organization, which investigates and fights government corruption, also earlier documented what appears to many to be the extravagant spending by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Records showed Pelosi cost taxpayers $101,000 for in-flight food and alcohol over a period in 2008 and 2009. At one point she instructed the Air Force to provide chocolate-covered strawberries for a snack, since it was her birthday.
“Dark chocolate preferred” was the order.
Judicial Watch earlier filed a lawsuit over the federal government’s refusal to reveal how much taxpayers spent on the Obama “family outing.”
According to documents that were obtained under the legal action, taxpayers spent hundreds of dollars ($928.44) for “bulk food” for passengers aboard the flights and the calculated cost of the C-32 (a military configuration of a Boeing 757) was $424,142 (34.8 flight hours at more than $12,000 per hour).
The other expenses, meals off the plane, transportation, security, miscellaneous services and other costs – “Have yet to be disclosed,” Judicial Watch said.
The organization also reported, “The passenger manifests confirm the presence of Obama’s daughter’s, Malia and Sasha on the trip. The two girls are listed as ‘Senior Staff.’ The manifests also list Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, and niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, as well Mrs. Obama’s makeup and hairstylist (Carl Ray and Johnny Wright),” Judicial Watch said.
The “professed purpose” of the trip “was to encourage young people living in the two growing democracies to become involved in national affairs; and during her scheduled stops in Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa and in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, the First Lady used the opportunity to speak on education, health and wellness issues,” the report said.
But the trip also included tourist events such as stops at landmarks and museums. There also was a private family safari at a South African game reserve for the Obamas.
The court case was launched just about the time The Daily Mail in the United Kingdom touted the $10 million in public money Michelle Obama has spent on her “vacations.”
“Branding her ‘disgusting’ and ‘a vacation junkie,’ [reports] say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol,” the London paper said.
The report said Michelle Obama is believed to have taken 42 days of vacation in the last year, including a respite in Spain that cost $375,000 and a $2,000-a-night ski trip to Vail, Colo.
When the report came out, the family was on another vacation, at Blue Heron Farm on Martha’s Vineyard, where the rental fees are estimated at $50,000 a week.
The paper reported the situation was aggravated because the Obamas took separate airplanes to the Massachusetts retreat – even though they traveled the same day.
Also, the report cited figures from a Hawaii Reporter investigation into the Obamas’ trip to Hawaii last winter, where the costs were $63,000 to bring Michelle Obama to town ahead of the president, $38,000 for a beach property rental, $134,000 for staff members to stay in a nearby hotel and $251,000 in police overtime.
