http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-mnuchin-honeymoon_us_59baf2ebe4b02da0e1407719
Mollie Reilly reports for HuffPost:
“Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has defended asking to use a government plane for his honeymoon travel this summer, claiming his request was “purely a national security issue.”
As ABC News reported Wednesday, the former Goldman Sachs banker requested the use of a U.S. Air Force jet during his honeymoon travel in France, Italy and Scotland. (Mnuchin married the Scottish actress Louise Linton in June.) According to the report, using such an aircraft could have cost taxpayers as much as $25,000 per day.
In an interview with Politico Live on Thursday, Mnuchin said his staff made the request so he could have “access to secure communication” throughout his trip.
“This had nothing to do with convenience,” he said. “This was purely a national security issue.”
Mnuchin said that due to spending “over 50 percent” of his time working on national security, he needed a secure communication facility to continue to conduct business while on his honeymoon.
“I speak to, almost on a daily basis, either the president, the secretary of state, the national security adviser, [Defense Secretary] General [James] Mattis,” he said. “We are dealing with, as you know, some of the most complicated issues right now, whether it be North Korea, Iran, Venezuela or anywhere else.”
“At the time my staff wanted to make sure I constantly had access to secure communication and secure information,” he continued. “This was one of the things we explored, so they put in a request to consider the use of an aircraft ― not so much just for flying, but effectively it was a portable office so that I could be available.”
A Treasury spokesperson gave a similar explanation on Wednesday.
Mnuchin said his staff withdrew the request after finding another way to give him access to secure communication channels.”
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Read the rest of Mollie’s entertaining “Swamp Report” at the link.
Wow! I guess that The Munchkin’s marriage to famously culturally tone deaf actress Louise (“Let ’em eat Gucci”) Linton wasn’t going to keep him occupied for much of their honeymoon. I suppose he worked while she bought out the high-end clothes shops! I can only imagine what The Munchkin’s contributions to the national security strategies for North Korea or Iran might be!
PWS
09-14-17