KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin released an opinion Wednesday, at Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request, declaring that certain executive branch officials such as the governor are not subject to certain laws that regulate purchases by government entities.

Sanders’ request and Griffin’s response came just days before lawmakers are expected to release the results of Arkansas Legislative Audit’s investigation into the controversial purchase of a $19,000 lectern last year by Sanders’ office.

Lawmakers authorized the audit in October into both the lectern purchase and “all matters… made confidential” by Act 7 of 2023, which exempted records related to the governor’s security from the state Freedom of Information Act.

Arkansas AG claims purchasing laws do not apply to governor, days before release of lectern audit

*John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate*
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, left, gestures during a news conference at the Arkansas Capitol.

From the Arkansas Advocate:

The investigation into Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ controversial lectern purchase and effort to shield records related to her security detail likely won’t be finished this year, the lead auditor at Arkansas’ nonpartisan agency that investigates government spending said Wednesday.

Sanders’ office drew widespread attention in September for the purchase of a $19,000 lectern and carrying case from a Virginia-based event design and management firm with political ties to Sanders.

Attorney and blogger Matt Campbell of the Blue Hog Report has spent months using the state Freedom of Information Act to report and scrutinize Sanders’ use of state funds and resources. He posted an invoice on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 15 that showed the lectern was purchased in June. (Campbell is now a reporter at the Arkansas Times.)

Auditor: Investigation into Arkansas governor’s lectern purchase unlikely to end this year