8 months ago
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- The government watchdog group Judicial Watch on Thursday released documents it secured through Freedom of Information requests pertaining to the foreign travels of Washington, DC mayor Adrian Fenty, who received more than $36,000 in travel expenses from governments in China and Dubai.
The documents show applications for approval on city forms that detail the payments and specifying there is no quid pro quo for the donations. City Attorney General Peter Nickles has ruled the trips and their funding to be proper under DC law.
Judicial Watch believes the documents show that Mayor Fenty did not properly characterize his Dubai trip when, in February, he declared "It was was essentially a family trip."
The documents released by the city describe the mayor on that Dubai trip as "representing the District of Columbia and acting in his official capacity."
"I don't understand why the mayor would say it's a personal vacation and then say he was on government business after the fact," questions Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. If it was government business and was on the up and up, why did no one know about the Dubai trip before it occurred and why was he secretive about the nature of the trip after he returned."
"Even if it's legal, its a bad practice," says Fitton. "If it's in the interest of the District of Columbia for the mayor to go abroad, then the District of Columbia should pay for it...the perception is that even if it's official business, it has all the hallmarks of a junket."
"We try to make sure we follow the letter of the law. We did in this case. Everything was filed and made public," Fenty said on Thursday.
But Judicial Watch says it did not receive all the documents it asked for and says it is considering a lawsuit to get them.
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