Records Indicate The Speaker Used Air Force Aircraft for 85 Trips From March 2009 Through June 2010

The self-described "conservative, non-partisian" public interest group Judicial Watch said Thursday it has obtained new documents from the United States Air Force detailing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's repeated use of United States Air Force aircraft. According to the documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Pelosi used Air Force aircraft on 85 flights from March 2009 through June 2010. Members of Pelosi's family were guests on at least two flights.

Speaker Pelosi

According to the documents obtained through a "Freedom of Information Act" request filed on January 25, 2009, Pelosi used the Air Force aircraft for a total of 85 trips, covering 206,264 miles, from March 2, 2009 through June 7, 2010. Pelosi, her guests and Air Force personnel logged a total of 428.6 hours on these flights.

The records indicate that members of Pelosi's family were guests on at least two flights. On June 20, 2009, Speaker Pelosi's daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons joined a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to San Francisco International Air Port. That flight included $143 in on-flight expenses for food and other items. On July 2, 2010, Pelosi took her grandson on a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, which is northeast of San Francisco.

According to previous documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, the Speaker's military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses including food and alcohol.

Speaker Pelosi had been criticized for use of Air Force aircraft as far back as 2007, but the practice was defended at the time by the Bush White House as necessary for security reasons following the September 11th attacks. Former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert also used a small Air Force transport for travel between his Illinois district and Washington with the same security explanation. Pelosi has been criticized for using a larger plane which can make a non-stop trip between Washington and California.

The Speaker of the House is second in the line of succession to the Presidency, after the Vice President.

FMI: www.judicialwatch.org