As it has successfully done in the past, Judicial Watch is filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the US Air Force and the Secret Service to find out what taxpayers had to pay to send First Lady Michelle Obama and the first daughters to their ski vacation in Aspen back in February.
According to a statement released by Judicial Watch today, the watchdog group “filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on May 31, 2012 against the United States Air Force and the United States Secret Service to obtain records detailing Michelle Obama’s February 2012 President’s Day weekend ski vacation to Aspen, Colorado with her two daughters.
“Pursuant to its original February 21, 2012, FOIA request with the U.S. Air Force, Judicial Watch seeks access to any and all records concerning the mission taskings, transportation costs and passenger manifests for Mrs. Obama’s February 2012 trip to Aspen, Colorado.”
Both the Air Force and Secret Service have failed to comply with the original FOIA, according to the Judicial Watch statement.
“The Air Mobility Command, a component of the U.S. Air Force, acknowledged receipt of Judicial Watch’s request on April 11, 2012, but notified Judicial Watch that it ‘could not provide a specific date for the production of records responsive to [Judicial Watch’s] request.’ By law, a response was due on May 9, 2012, at the latest.”
The Secret Service also acknowledged receipt of Judicial Watch’s request on March 12, 2012, and failed to comply by the April 23, 2012 deadline.
President Obama was elected promising an open and transparent administration, but he has delivered an opaque administration that tends to obscure the costs of the First Family’s lavish vacations from the taxpayers. In an earlier drawn-out FOIA battle with the Obama administration, Judicial Watch discovered that Michelle Obama’s August 2010 Spain vacation cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars.
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