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Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Ind. Gov. - Daniels is cleared on his use of RV1

"Daniels is cleared on his use of RV1" is the headline to this story today in the Evansville Courier& Press by Jimmy Nesbitt. Some quotes:

ndiana Gov. Mitch Daniels did nothing wrong when he used RV1 to travel to a political fund-raiser last month, the state's inspector general ruled Monday. "... Our investigation shows that the RV was not in any way connected with a partisan event, other than as a means of transport for the governor to get to the location ...," Inspector General David Thomas wrote. Daniels, a Republican, attended a July 19 fish fry in Vincennes, Ind., for Rep. Troy Woodruff, R-Vincennes. Wood-ruff was the House member who changed his vote, allowing the daylight-saving time bill, one of the governor's top legislative priorities, to pass the House.

Courier & Press reporter Jennifer Whitson wrote that people toured RV1, a vehicle donated to Daniels during his 2004 campaign. After Daniels was elected, he donated the RV to the state.

Thomas interviewed Daniels' security escort, a team of Indiana State Police officers, who said no one except the governor's staff entered the RV. Eric Holcomb, an employee of the governor's office who attended the fundraiser, said the RV was parked 100 yards from the fish fry. Holcomb didn't see anyone enter the RV, but if someone did, "it probably would have been a spontaneous and unplanned occurrence as has happened in the past," Thomas wrote. Invitations to the fundraiser did not mention tours of RV1, Thomas said.

Whitson reported that Rob and Kathy Southwood took their twin 6-year-old daughters, Hannah and Heidi, inside the RV. Thomas did not mention the family by name but said his office contacted a family "revealed in the article" who said Whitson's report was false. "With our focus on whether the RV was used to obtain political donations in alleged violation of an ethics rule, the evidence did not even show that members of the public entered the RV for any purpose," Thomas wrote.

Courier & Press Executive Editor J. Bruce Baumann supported Whitson's account of the fundraiser. "We stand behind our reporter as she personally observed ordinary citizens entering and leaving RV1, and therefore we stand behind her story," he said.

For earlier Evansville Courier& Press reports, see the ILB entries here and here.

Mike Smith of the AP also has a story today, titled "Inspector general OKs Daniels' use of RV at event."

Mary Beth Schneider of the Indianapolis Star has a story here. Some quotes:

State Inspector General David Thomas says a complaint by Democrats that Gov. Mitch Daniels violated ethics rules by taking RV1 to a political fundraiser is hogwash.

The Democrats call that a whitewash.

Thomas -- appointed by Daniels to be the state's first inspector general investigating ethics violations and corruption in state government -- said Monday that the governor broke no ethics rules by parking the 34-foot recreational vehicle outside a July 19 fundraiser for Rep. Troy Woodruff, R-Vincennes.

"Our investigation shows the RV was not in any way connected with a partisan event, other than as a means of transport for the governor," the report concludes.

Daniels is traveling on a trade mission to Taiwan and Japan. His chief of staff, Harry Gonso, said Daniels would be pleased but not surprised by the inspector general's decision.

But, he added, the RV won't go to any future political events.

"Going forward, the governor does not intend to take RV1 to political events. Even though it is ethical, legal and would actually save taxpayer money, he sees no sense in fueling a contrived political controversy, or in risking that any more of the inspector general's time would be diverted from important work," Gonso said.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 2, 2005 07:20 AM
Posted to Indiana Government