Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) had to deal with serious criticisms during her last campaign about the use of her private jet. Now, a new report shows that she and her family took actions to block the public from tracking that jet to ensure it would no longer be a problem.
During the last campaign, the criticism was so intense that she told her husband to “sell the damn plane.” However, after winning the election, her family bought a newer and more expensive jet.
As Fox News reports, the company hired by McCaskill to operate the plane, a 2009 Pilatus PC-12/47E, wrote to the FAA earlier this year in April to block all tracking from public view. The emails were obtained by the conservative Washington Free Beacon through a Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) request.
As the Free Beacon reports, “The plane is owned through TLG Aviation LLC, a business entity held by McCaskill and her husband valued at over $1 million on the senator’s personal financial disclosure form for the fiscal year 2016.” The report added, “The campaign payments were made to Aero Charter, a company based out of a small two-runway airport located near McCaskill’s home in the St. Louis suburbs that offers an aircraft management service for private plane owners.”
Prior to 2013, private aircraft owners or operators had to present a “certified security concern” to the FAA if they wanted to block any aircraft data from public display on flight-monitoring websites, where McCaskill’s jet could be tracked earlier this year. However, changes made during the Obama years removed this requirement and “make the aircraft blocking process as simple as possible.”
It wasn’t long ago that McCaskill was criticized after a townhall meeting for claiming “normal people” can afford private air travel. McCaskill later retracted her statements.:
So far, McCaskill’s staff has not responded to requests for comment on this stunning revelation.
Clearly, this is a wealthy liberal Democrat Senator who is out-of-touch with her constituents. The plane raises serious questions over the expenses involved in operating the jet, along with its use for official business.
What do you think about Senator McCaskill hiding her private jet from public scrutiny? Please leave us a comment (below) and tell us.
