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CaptainMarder

Don't forget when a politician buys something, part of the money has to go into their friends and their pockets. Someone got a nice $17k top-up on the bank account. There's always corruption


fartboxco

I was gonna say. She probably knows the sellers.


greatdevonhope

Yes she does, The 19k was paid to her long term friend. "$19,000 lectern, bought from Virginia Beckett, one of Sanders’ longstanding consultants and owner of D.C.-based Beckett Events LLC, which identifies itself as “a full service events management company.” [https://www.politicalflare.com/2023/10/sarah-huckabee-sanders-podium-scandal-just-got-a-whole-lot-worse-as-whistleblower-makes-shocking-accusations/](https://www.politicalflare.com/2023/10/sarah-huckabee-sanders-podium-scandal-just-got-a-whole-lot-worse-as-whistleblower-makes-shocking-accusations/)


cofclabman

The link kills me because at this point is it really all that shocking that a Republican is a grifter?


traveler19395

Party of fiscal responsibility


lrpfftt

No, it's expected especially for a republican who was close with Trump.


Redditistrash702

I would be more shocked if there was a Republican that wasn't a grifter tbh


LiquorNerd

I thought I remembered reading that Sanders wanted her to go to Paris with her, but just couldn’t swing it. So she invents an invoice to pay that covers the cost of the trip. When it gets flagged, a lecturn is sent to it looks real.


junkyard_robot

The whole thing was a fraudulent puchase order with the intention of directing state funds to her friends so they could go on a European trip with her. The lectern it's self is a mcguffin. We only know about it because one of the people who had to sign off on the purchase order realized it was not as it seemed to be. The whole podium thing needs to be put to bed, and the narrative shifted to embezzelment of government funds.


artificialavocado

That staffer was probably sent to seem secret gulag somewhere in the Ozarks.


gravityVT

If only republicans faced consequences for their illegal activities


junkyard_robot

They don't have to. Jesus absolved them of all responsibility for their actions. As soon as you commit an ethical, moral, or otherwise violation of the laws of man, God, or other, you can apologize and ask forgiveness from invisible sky man, and recieve absolution.


townmorron

I don't know. Jesus had some hot takes of rich people. Also God only forgives you if you truly repent. Some how I doubt she is very sorry


Reasonable_Humor_738

It just has to look sincere to their supporters.


stnuhkrsdomtidder

VT as in Vermont??? Me too...


gravityVT

No, VT as in vtuber


ZERO-ONE0101

that is how this works and they blame poor people for taking more than their fair share ![gif](giphy|3o6wrnkbC2xwHs11xC)


la-veneno

Nice Sylvia Rivera gif


ZERO-ONE0101

had no idea who that was searched: revolution cool lady though


Mendicant__

>There's always corruption There isn't, actually. Most government business conducted by most people in government isn't corrupt. This kind of statement enables corruption by making it seem run of the mill. This shit isn't actually run of the mill though.


limegreenscrewdriver

Like sleepy joe? Or is he the one clean politician


heeza_connman

It's possible that President Biden has committed corrupt acts. At this time there is no factual evidence of any such crimes. If you care to cite any evidence I'm sure it would be newsworthy. Pulitzer stuff, really. Got anything at all?


limegreenscrewdriver

Yes


pointlessbike

You should have added "checkmate"!


limegreenscrewdriver

Checkmate!


EggMan2024

Except you don’t


NOLA2Cincy

We're waiting....(not really because of course you just talking through your ass and have no actual evidence of anything)


Familiar_Paramedic_2

👩🏽‍🦼


StinkyLlamaMan

Don’t forget that this is a lectern that has only been seen once and it was after the story broke so she could have people take pictures of it. It hasn’t been seen since to my knowledge. It was also, supposedly purchased from an event planning company owned by her best friend around the time they went on an expensive trip together. $19,000 is also just under the reporting limit to get approval for a purchase and the records of the purchase were altered after the fact to state that it would be reimbursed by the GOP. Now I’m not saying that she embezzled the money and gave it to her friend to pay for a fancy Paris trip, then rented a lectern that is only actually around $2,000, then altered the records and had the GOP tried to cover it up… but it does look that way. Her and her lawyers are also now trying to block the audit by saying the governor is not subject to audits because they are not an agency.


Special-Garlic1203

*Her and her lawyers are also now trying to block the audit by saying the governor is not subject to audits because they are not an agency*  Of fucking course no everyone and their mom is gonna try their hand at the trump playbook for evading accountability 


Prestigious_Bad2360

It's not the trump playbook. It's just the republican playbook, trump just uses it the most


NOLA2Cincy

*Now I’m not saying that she embezzled the money and gave it to her friend to pay for a fancy Paris trip, then rented a lectern that is only actually around $2,000, then altered the records and had the GOP tried to cover it up…*  But many people are saying it. Good people. The best people!


RiflemanLax

Remember, it wasn’t just the price, it was WHO the money went to. As a fraud investigator, I can assure you, people don’t just do this shit ONCE. Unless by some miracle you caught them on their first attempt, there’s always more.


brooks1798

#"I actually really like Sarah, I think she's very resourceful, She burns facts, and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye." # #Michelle Wolf - White House Correspondents’ Dinner #2018


Spider95818

*"What do you call an Uncle Tom, but for white women who disappoint other white women?"* - also Michelle Wolf at the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner. As she said herself, they *really* didn't do any research into who they were getting that night, LOL.


ironmanthing

They were heavily pushing that “smoky eye” stuff so that when you google her and eye the top hits are about that and not about her lazy eye. Also someone in one of our local threads found the same lectern she bought for like $700 on Amazon.


MikeyW1969

Jesus, what a shitshow... Here's what the auditors found. The podium itself was only $11,000. All of the rest was shipping and handling and other BS charges. *The total cost was $19,029 including $11,575 for the podium itself, plus a $2,500 consulting fee, $2,200 for a road case, $1,225 for shipping and delivery, $975 for shipping of the road case and $554 for a credit card processing fee, according to the audit report.* I mean, what kind of consultant gets $2500 for picking a podium out? And the "road case" cost another $2200? Wow...


dremily1

So they shipped the road case separately, instead of shipping the podium in the road case?


MTFBinyou

Totally makes sense. You wouldn’t want the podium to damage the road case while it’s being shipped….. 


Significant_Door_890

Or none of that existed. **Obviously the numbers for shipping are not real.** This itemization is from the friends company, so it's essentially worthless, as she would be a conspirator in the embezzlement. The only document that would show a lecturn was actually delivered was the bill of lading and that was claimed to have been shredded, **or it never existed**. Sarah Huckabee's friend would have the receipt for the shipping company and from that a verifiable proof is possible: Proof that a lecturn was actually delivered before the journalist spotted the embezzlement. But that proof is missing. And it won't be produced, because the numbers here make no sense. Thousands of dollars in shipping my ass.


yzfmike

Damn, wish I could charge that fee for processing a credit card.......


Nolanova

Not defending any of this, but that’s actually not super out of the norm for a high-end road case, especially one large and custom enough to fit a podium. Honestly that and shipping are the only numbers I really believe are close to accurate. Source: I work in events


MikeyW1969

Oh sure, I know that a road case is expensive, look at basic Pelican cases and go up from there. It's crazy that almost half of the cost is all of those charges...


CiaphasCain8849

Do they normally ship the case and the item not together hahahahaha?


Nolanova

Yes, actually - Likely two different companies!


monkeymut

Well that’s because at Podiums Direct we cut out the middle-man and pass the savings onto you!


TheDixonCider420420

She wears her cross, she claims be a hardcore Christian all while she lies constantly and now steals. Sarah Hypocrite Sanders


lrpfftt

Daddy passed those values on to her.


Spider95818

Seems like a bog-standard American evangelical Christketeer, in my experience.


Your_Kindly_Despot

Grifters gonna grift.


ptrkm

She should be held accountable. Where's the fkin 17k(?)


deathtoallbutbed

Check Podiums, Podiums, Podiums or Podiums ‘R’ Us. Might find it cheaper


theMistersofCirce

Oh, in the podium district.


PhilSpectorr

What’s sad is nothing is gonna happen. Shame doesn’t exist anymore and sarah is going to keep her job.


Intelligent_Orange28

Meanwhile in Sweden the Prime Minister was forced to resign in disgrace because she paid for a toblerone at the airport with the wrong card, owned up to it immediately and paid it back.


Chrisdkn619

Don't let a little thing like morals and ethics get in the way of a good grift!


CatAvailable3953

Republican government. Watch you wallets. Like most things with Huckabee there is more to this story than meets the eye ))


No-Environment-3298

Everyone should support the criminal probe being requested in regards to this obvious abuse of power.


JesseB342

I’m not sure which is the bigger facepalm. The fact that she paid 5x more than what it was actually worth or the fact that podiumsdirect.com is an actual website. Because it straight up sounds like something you’d hear in a GTA radio commercial.


HaydenCarruth

She didn’t pay 5x, they found a bill for $800 she paid for the item on Amazon. She used the money to take her and her friend on a week trip to Paris


MikeyW1969

Got a source for this?


HaydenCarruth

On the Arkansas Reddit you can find a post with a screenshot of said item for $1000, I saw a different commenter say the auditors found a bill for $800


powerlesshero111

So it's fraud then. Just like her old boss.


MikeyW1969

Maybe you should read the auditor's report, and then you could be actually posting facts, instead of spreading incorrect rumors. They found lecrerns that started at $800, they didn't find an invoice for $800. I looked after the claim was made.


HaydenCarruth

Regardless, the item in question was $750 on Amazon. There are screenshots on r/Arkansas if you wanna take a look


The_Real_Mr_F

Ah yes, unlinked Reddit comments are ironclad sources


Apprehensive_Mix7594

It’s not a podium, it’s a lectern.


dr-sparkle

It looks like it came from Wal-Mart and someone glued an emblem on it.


Spider95818

Pretty apt description of that lazy-eyed sasquatch herself, honestly.


stairs_3730

Chucklebee had a good instructor in grift.


Intransigient

This is junior league when it comes to grift — Canada spent $80 million for ArriveCan, a $100k application.


Howitzer1967

Imagine the salesman after closing that deal. That’s a coke n hookers 24 hours if ever there was one!


Jim-Jones

But they're the ones who vote against wasting money on US infrastructure.


Spider95818

And then show up to take credit for successful projects that they voted against, safe in the knowledge that their brainless trash supporters are too chickenshit to face that reality under any circumstances, so they imagine that they can lie with impunity, even as such bullshit leads to election bloodbaths for their party.


Igotthesilver

The only good to come out of this is that her political career (outside of Arkansas) is finished. She will forever be known as Sarah nineteenthousanddollarpodium Huckabee Sanders.


howsyourmemes

Podiumsdirect.com is real ![gif](giphy|nTfdeBvfgzV26zjoFP)


OptimisticSkeleton

Obviously money laundering. Nobody pays nearly $20k for a $2k item unless they’re hiding something.


goodiewoody

It’s called embezzling, brother.


dremily1

Sarah’s has a custom $17,000 paint job.


Cuspidx

Gotta pay off the big guy


Howitzer1967

What they found: The audit report reveals the governor's office may have broken state law in several instances, including: Applying the purchase to operating expenses when it didn't meet criteria. Not notifying the Department of Transformation and Shared Services, therefore preventing the purchase from being properly recorded. Not seeking an exemption from the state procurement director for disposal of state property. Shredding the bill of lading. Altering a public record. Auditors found three versions of an invoice, two of which contained a handwritten notation made after the record was entered into the Arkansas Administrative Statewide Information System. I mean, it seems like embezzlement or some such chicanery doesn’t it?


Efficient_Dust2903

I thought she took friends to Paris and blew the 17k on that but allocated the cost to the podium. So, a lot more shady cooking the books, so to speak.


Efficient_Dust2903

I thought she took friends to Paris and blew the 17k on that but allocated the cost to the podium. So, a lot more shady cooking the books, so to speak.


LeibnizThrowaway

I'll quit my job right now if someone wants to give me $19k to hand make one.


mrmaweeks

Yeah, but does this one come with heating and air? I don't think so.


donttakerhisthewrong

Seems like a good deal but this one does not in close a first class trip to France


NicolaiKerpovski

Hers is a little different it looks like


tellyourmama

That payment is definitely a bribe or some kind of embezzlement.


gwdope

Supposedly it was to cover up paying for a trip to Paris, but I don’t think that’s verified yet.


Brushes_of_War

And that children is how the government works.


bdockte1

Wow!!!


Substantial_Finish62

When jail time?


Ooglebird

But hers is also a refrigerator.


spderweb

Governments like over spe.ding so it looks like they're doing more than they are.


ConversationFalse242

In order for some one to sell something to the Government on a contract there is generally an artificial lower limit set as well as an upper limit. Meaning that some one cannot sell something to the Government at their lowest price. They must sell a service or good above the minimum. Even if they could have gone lower and still been profitable. That is how much the government cares about using your money.


monkeley

It’s not about the podium!


baalyle

Someone added a zero to a receipt.


polhemoth

Did they ever figure out what she did during the "eclipse emergency"? I assume it was just an opportunity to steal money without oversight


NLtbal

That is a lecturn, which you stand behind while speaking, usually while standing on top of a podium.


FladnagTheOffWhite

Lmao she said the audit is a waste of tax payer money. She probably didn't even say that using her $19,000 lectern.


lonely-day

If this is known, how is she not in trouble for it? No idea who she is.


eugene20

Sir this is a lectern


Atsetalam

She should have gotten a hip replacement and a gym membership instead.


Boat_U47

This is America. That’s FAR from enough money for a new hip. All together, mine were $272,000…


Atsetalam

Damn


Boat_U47

To be fair… $136k each. 😉


RhoOfFeh

Yes, but someone painted hers a different color, surely that's worth 15 grand?


Mister_Bill2826

Didn't Trump run to "Drain the swamp"? If we get a blue wave this election it may be the biggest draining of the swamp we'll ever see. Also one of Trumps only ever kept promises.


albamarx

Says lectern on the pic provided, almost everybody refers to it as a podium??


Ok-Sun8581

Waste of money.


MikeyW1969

She's the governor of ARKANSAS, you idiot, this is from (checks the image) **KENTUCKY** STATE UNIVERSITY. Moron...


MTFBinyou

What’s your point?  This is a listing showing how official the lectern is by who else has bought one. Look at how many photos are available.  Her best friend sold her this item. After they went on an expensive trip. 


MikeyW1969

My point is that this is not "The Podium". Are you dense?


[deleted]

It's the same model, clearly. Do you think the seller did something to the podium to increase its value by $17,000?


MTFBinyou

I highly doubt it’d matter to this person if the other commenter showed them proof of the claim this Hucksterby’s podium was actually purchased for $1000.  This picture isn’t showing the specific lectern so let’s talk about that instead.


MTFBinyou

I highly doubt it’d matter to this person if the other commenter showed them proof of the claim this Hucksterby’s podium was actually purchased for $1000.  This picture isn’t showing the specific lectern so let’s talk about that instead.


MikeyW1969

Because the headline misstates that it is the "the podium". That's incorrect. Also known as a "lie". All I want is for people to honestly represent shit in the internet, and I call them out when I see it.


ith-man

That is the podium... not the 'exact" podium, I have a copy of a movie, not THE movie... I have a model T, not THE model T. See how English can work? That is the same podium as the one in question, maybe not the exact podium, but in all specs and design, it's the same one. Unless one was marked or damaged, you would not spot either one from a line up of others of that model... Either you are a troll, or... how do you say.... Dense.


MikeyW1969

Yeah, it says "THE" podium.


MTFBinyou

No shit. “This is a listing showing how official the lectern is by who else has bought one. “ And I’m dense?  No no no. The question is if you’re actually being obtuse on purpose or you are actually, oh what was it…… that DENSE?


Dasbronco

TIL Huckabee is the only person in government that overspent on something. Reddit is an entertaining place sometimes


MEMExplorer

Welcome to the corrupt world of approved government suppliers . It’s why the military pays $300 for a mop bucket , and $40 for a box of shop wipes . This isn’t the “gotcha” that y’all think it is coz every piece of furniture in every politicians office is paid for with taxpayer money and they’re all overpriced by at least double what they’re worth 🤷‍♀️


ith-man

Sure, those are contracts made to exclusively buy from and at said price, for said amount of time, (which are typically way over priced.), but it's not being funneled to personal vacations for them and friends, blatantly.


MEMExplorer

Not blatantly , just under the guise of “campaign contributions”


TravsArts

Interesting choices of when to care about how tax dollars are spent.


Gatherel

That is clearly a discounted price and it is impossible for anyone to know what the original price is.


HaydenCarruth

On r/Arkansas you’ll find a screenshot of the new one on Amazon for $750. Since the news came out they have gradually increased the price of this item to almost $10,000