Everybody ought to see Paris.
Particularly if another person is paying for the journey, just like the Massachusetts taxpayer.
It’s what the taxpayer did for Legal professional Normal Andrea Campbell, the state’s chief “legislation enforcement officer,” to attend a July 2004 attorneys basic convention in Paris, together with two unidentified aides.
Why half of the nation’s legal professional generals met in Paris quite than any metropolis inside america remained unexplained, though it has all of the earmarks of a junket.
Campbell gave no announcement of the journey. Nor was there any agenda listed, or discover of conferences held, a summation of accomplishments, or who she met with. Nor have been there any opening or closing statements concerning the convention.
Officers working the convention even refused to launch the date of the gathering, though it was later discovered to be held from July 29 to August 3, 2024.
The convention was cosponsored by the Nationwide Affiliation of Attorneys Normal, a longtime group, and the Legal professional Normal Alliance, a nonprofit group whose funding comes from company donors, a few of which the attorneys basic are charged with regulating and investigating.
A few the most important donors to the Legal professional Normal Alliance, as an illustration, are Amazon and Pfizer, the pharmaceutical large. Each contributed $500,000 every to AGA in 2021, in keeping with the Related Press.
That contribution permits its lobbyists, in addition to lobbyists from different massive firms kicking in, to attend the convention and mingle with the attorneys basic.
Christopher Toth, a former NAAG govt director, instructed AP, “Lobbyists primarily fund these journeys. They funnel the cash via AGA after which that insulates the AGs from being criticized that they’re taking cash from lobbyists.”
Value to taxpayers for Campbell’s go to, which included facet journeys to Brussels and Normandy, got here to $13,627, in keeping with data obtained by the Herald, $9,000 of which went for transportation via France supplied by Avis Chauffeur, a “top quality” chauffeur service.
Nevertheless, there was no obvious bill for inns, meals or different bills that may usually present up on a bank card. These are bills which will or could not have been picked up by lobbyist donations to AGA.
The revelation of Campbell’s journey got here in a Herald evaluation of Campbell’s taxpayer-funded legal professional basic bank card bills for the final fiscal 12 months. They got here to some $300,000.
The playing cards are so-called P-cards, or procurement playing cards, issued to some state workers, the abuse of which has gotten some state officers in bother over time.
This isn’t to say that there’s any bank card abuse occurring, or that Campbell benefited from lobbyist largesse on the journey to France.
However it’s to say that Campbell, a former Boston metropolis councilor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate, campaigned for legal professional basic speaking about transparency and accountability.
Proper now, the taxpayer may use some, particularly as Campbell, who has rapidly grow to be a part of the Democrat Occasion institution on Beacon Hill, will probably be searching for reelection to a second four-year time period.
An instance of her partnering with the State Home Democrat institution has been her means to stymie state Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s try and audit the Democrat-run Massachusetts Legislature, though the general public authorized of the proposal by 72% of the vote.
Whereas it will not be associated (Yeah, proper), the Legislature gave her a whopping $7 million funds enhance to fund her “anti-Trump unit” that may proceed to file lawsuits towards President Donald Trump.
And why not? Suing Trump acquired her predecessor, Legal professional Normal Maura Healey, elected governor.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas will be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com.
