{"slug":"trump-first-term-mnuchin-private-jet-honeymoon","title":"Steve Mnuchin: Requested Government Jet for Honeymoon, Used Military Plane for Solar Eclipse Viewing","date":"2017-08-01","lastUpdated":"2017-11-29","description":"Steve Mnuchin, Trump's Treasury Secretary, requested a government plane for his honeymoon trip to Europe and Scotland with his new wife, actress Louise Linton, before the request was denied. Mnuchin subsequently used a government plane to travel to Kentucky in August 2017 for the solar eclipse — the Treasury IG investigated whether the trip was scheduled around Linton's desire to see the eclipse from a federal reserve bank rather than for an official Treasury purpose. Linton's social media post attacking a woman who commented on a photo of the couple deplaning from the government aircraft in Kentucky generated widespread criticism.","summary":"The government plane honeymoon request was denied after it became public in August 2017. Mnuchin said he had made the request for security reasons and had not been aware of the cost. The Kentucky solar eclipse trip drew IG scrutiny when reports emerged that Linton had asked whether she could accompany Mnuchin on the official trip specifically to watch the eclipse. The IG found the trip had a legitimate official purpose — Mnuchin was scheduled to attend meetings at the Fort Knox federal reserve — but noted concerns about the process and the optics of combining official travel with personal viewing of the solar eclipse. Linton's Instagram post — she tagged designer brands she was wearing and responded hostilely to a commenter — became a symbol of administration attitudes toward wealth and public service.","category":"corruption","severity":"significant","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/us/politics/mnuchin-government-jet-honeymoon.html","title":"Mnuchin Requested Government Jet for Honeymoon With Wife Louise Linton","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mnuchin-requested-government-jet-for-his-honeymoon-with-actress-wife/2017/09/21/story.html","title":"Mnuchin requested government jet for honeymoon — request was denied","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/mnuchin-government-jet-honeymoon-louise-linton","title":"Treasury IG reviews Mnuchin's Kentucky trip on solar eclipse day","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Mnuchin","first-term","corruption","government-aircraft","Linton","cabinet-spending"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-08-21","title":"Mnuchin uses government plane for Kentucky trip — solar eclipse day","summary":"Mnuchin flies to Kentucky on a government plane on the day of the total solar eclipse. Louise Linton is with him. The flight coincides with Fort Knox being in the path of totality. Treasury IG later investigates whether the trip's scheduling was influenced by personal interest in the eclipse."},{"date":"2017-08-21","title":"Linton Instagram post goes viral — luxury brand tags, hostile response to commenter","summary":"Linton posts a photo from the Kentucky trip deplaning from the government aircraft, tagging luxury brands she is wearing. She responds hostilely to a commenter who notes the optics. The post is widely shared. Linton deletes it and later apologizes."},{"date":"2017-09-21","title":"Honeymoon jet request reported — Mnuchin says he was unaware of cost","summary":"Reports emerge that Mnuchin had requested a government aircraft for his European honeymoon trip with Linton. The request was denied. Mnuchin says he made it for security reasons and was not aware of the equivalent commercial cost."},{"date":"2017-11-29","title":"Treasury IG report on Kentucky trip — official purpose found, concerns noted","summary":"The Treasury IG releases its report on the Kentucky trip, finding that there was a legitimate official purpose — meetings at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland branch in Louisville — but noting concerns about process and the combination of official travel with personal activities."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C. / Kentucky","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Federal taxpayers whose funds were sought for a private honeymoon trip; the norm that senior officials should not use government resources for personal enrichment; public trust in cabinet conduct","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Steve Mnuchin","role":"Treasury Secretary; requested government aircraft for personal honeymoon; used government plane for Kentucky trip that drew IG scrutiny over whether personal solar eclipse viewing was a factor; stood beside his wife during Instagram controversy","institution":"Department of the Treasury"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2017-11-29","summary":"Based on November 2017 Treasury IG report release."}]}}