AR Advocate: “Newly revealed documents indicate that Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office violated state law by altering public records, which aligns with accusations an anonymous whistleblower made last month, according to the person’s lawyer.
Sanders’ office has been under scrutiny for several weeks for its spending decisions, particularly for purchasing a $19,000 lectern in June from a Virginia-based event design and management firm with political ties to the governor.
The whistleblower, represented by Rogers-based attorney Tom Mars, has claimed that Sanders’ office altered the invoice reflecting the purchase of the lectern. Tampering with public records that are not court records is a Class D felony in Arkansas.
Laura Hamilton, Sanders’ executive assistant, “was instructed… to make a note on the original invoice that it was ‘to be reimbursed,’” according to a Sept. 15 email from Cassie Cantlon, fiscal support manager at the state Department of Transformation and Shared Services.”