Outgoing Louisiana Democrat Governor’s ‘Ethics’ Board Weaponizes Spurious Attack on Leading GOP Candidate Days Before Ballots Go Out

Days before voters begin casting their ballots, a Louisiana ethics commission packed by a Democrat governor resurrected a spurious years-old allegation to charge a leading Republican gubernatorial candidate with violating the state’s ethics laws over a supposed paperwork error.

The questionable charge, levied by a board controlled by outgoing Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards against the leading GOP candidate, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, comes as Landry leads the polls ahead of the October election and November runoff.

The single charge the Louisiana Board of Ethics levied against Landry stems from a flight he took in June 2021 in his official capacity as state attorney general to make a speech and attend the Attorney General Alliance (AGA) Conference. The AGA is a bipartisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed to foster cooperation among Western state attorneys general.

Landry, entitled to pay for official travel to the conference with Louisiana government funds, chose to fly on a plane owned by a longtime friend at no added expense to taxpayers.

Louisiana law – La. R.S. 42:1115.2 – specifically allows that “public servants may receive complimentary reasonable transportation.” “Complimentary travel” is permitted if the official certifies the travel is related to the duties of the office and the official’s agency head approves the travel. As the head of his department, Landry held authority to permit his official travel.

Yet according to the charge, the Board accused Landry of failing to formally notify the Board by filling out a form within 60 days of travel. The Board also implicates private citizen Greg Mosing, owner of the plane that flew Landry to the conference.

In a statement to Louisiana-based The Hayride, a spokesperson for Landry pushed back against the charge:

Attorney General Landry has always, in good faith, complied with the rules and regulations of the Board of Ethics. It is sad, but not surprising that right before the election, John Bel’s ethics board decided to bring up a two-year-old false claim to damage not only Attorney General Landry’s reputation but his longtime friend Mr. Mosing’s as well. Mr. Mosing is not a lobbyist and has no business with the State—he does not deserve this type of character assassination.

The Ethics Board is comprised of 11 members – seven appointed by the governor and two each by the State House and Senate.

Governor John Bel Edwards (D-LA) remade the Board after taking office, replacing six of the seven previous gubernatorial appointees to the Board with his own. Six of the Board’s 11 members are now the governor’s men, giving the governor a governing majority.

Breitbart News has learned that numerous Governor Edwards appointees to the Ethics Commission have a history of donating to Democrat politicians, including one, Alfred Speer, who donated thousands to Governor Edwards himself.

The Board’s charges, filed last month, do not specify why the Board failed to formally act against Landry for over two years over a single-page form. Early voting in Louisiana begins September 30.

The charge against Landry now rests with Louisiana’s Ethics Adjudicatory Board.