LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Governor of Arkansas. Sarah Huckabee SandersThe office potentially violated state laws on purchasing, state property and government records when it purchased a $19,000 lectern for the Republican governor, which drew national attention, an audit requested by lawmakers said Monday.
Legislative auditors forwarded the findings of the long-awaited pulpit audit to local prosecutors and the attorney general, and lawmakers planned to hold a hearing Tuesday on the report. The report cited several potential legal violations, including paying for the pulpit before it was delivered and the handling of records relating to the purchase.
Sanders’ office, which dismissed questions from the pulpit, called the audit’s findings “deeply flawed” and a “waste of resources and taxpayer time.”
“No laws were violated,” his office said in a response filed with the report. “No fraud was committed.”
Arkansas legislators last year approved the request for a review of the purchase of the pulpit, which attracted the entire country scrutiny about its costs and questions about the public records surrounding it.
The blue and wood-paneled pulpit was purchased in June with a state credit card for $19,029.25 from an events company in Virginia. The Arkansas Republican Party reimbursed the state for the purchase on September 14, and Sanders’ office called the use of the state credit card an accounting error. Sanders’ office said he received the lectern in August.
The items were not seen at Sanders’ public events. Sanders posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, featuring the lectern and the words “Come and Take It” shortly after the audit was released late Monday afternoon.
Pulaski County Prosecutor Will Jones’ office said it received the audit and would review it, but said it would not comment further.
Auditors said in the report they were unable to determine whether the cost of the pulpit was reasonable. The report said the three out-of-state vendors involved in the purchase did not respond to auditors’ numerous requests for information about the pulpit.
Sanders’ office and auditors have disputed whether the governor and other constitutional officials are subject to the purchasing and property rules she is accused of violating. The audit said the governor’s office followed steps laid out in state law for agencies to divest state-owned property.
“(The Arkansas legislative audit) states that the podium and road case remain state property,” the audit said.
Sanders’ office said in its response that the procurement and property laws cited only apply to state agencies, not constitutional officials. A non-binding legal opinion issued by Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin, requested by Sanders and issued last week, made the same argument.
The pulpit purchase came last year as Sanders was urging lawmakers to limit widely public access to records about its administration. Sanders finally signed a measure lock release of their travel and security records after broader exemptions faced backlash from media groups and some conservatives.
The purchase was initially discovered by Matt Campbell, an attorney and blogger who has a long history of open records requests that revealed questionable spending and other wrongdoing by elected officials.
The audit said Sanders’ office potentially illegally tampered with public records when the words “to be reimbursed” were added to the original invoice for the lectern only after the state Republican Party paid for it in September. Sanders’ office disputed that conclusion, calling the handwritten notes on invoices “a common accounting practice.”
The audit also said the office potentially violated the law when a transportation document related to the lectern was destroyed by a member of Sanders’ staff. Sanders’ office said the document, the “bill of lading,” was inadvertently lost and that a replacement was provided to auditors when it was discovered.
The lectern was purchased from Beckett Events LLC, a Virginia-based company run by political consultant and lobbyist Virginia Beckett. According to a breakdown from Beckett Events that was included in the audit, the total cost included $11,575 for the lectern, $2,500 for a “consulting fee” and $2,200 for the travel bag. The cost also included shipping, delivery, and a credit card processing fee.
Similar lectern models are listed online for $7,500 or less. Sanders said the one purchased by the state had additional features that contributed to its cost, including custom height. The audit said the lectern included a light, but not a microphone or any electronic components. Auditors viewed and measured the lectern at the state Republican Party headquarters, the report said.
State Democrats pointed out that they bought their party’s pulpit for $5 with the state surplus.
