BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry agreed Friday to pay a $900 fine for failing to disclose a free plane ride to Hawaii and other free flights, ending a yearslong ethics investigation into his travels. The Republican also revealed he accepted nearly 20 complimentary trips worth more than $13,000 since 2021.
Landry's agreement with the Louisiana Board of Ethics ends a civil case hanging over the first-term governor, who has tightened his grip on the agency since taking office in 2024. He has blasted the charges as a “weaponization of our government institutions," akin to what he described as liberal forces operating against President Donald Trump.
Landry's attorney Stephen Gelé told the Associated Press that the governor “is glad to bring an end to this matter and continue to save the taxpayers money, as he was already doing.” Landry had signed the agreement in advance and was not present at the meeting.
A free trip to Hawaii
Landry used a wealthy donor's private plane in 2021 — when he was still the state's attorney general — to fly to Hawaii, where he spoke at a conference. He did not report the use of the plane and was charged with violating state ethics laws by the board two years later.
The charges were made public a month before his 2023 victory in the governor's race that flipped what had been a Democrat-held seat. Landry has continued to face criticism from political opponents and watchdog groups for what they call a lack of transparency over his use of campaign funds.
Landry avoids a trial before a panel of administrative judges by agreeing to the settlement, which passed without debate following more than a year of lengthy closed-door negotiations. If a court had found the governor in violation of state law, it could have imposed fines up to $10,000 for each violation and ordered him to pay additional financial penalties for the cost of the gifts.
The settlement resolved investigations into five other complimentary trips and flights between 2022 and 2023 to Washington, D.C., and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Landry stated in the settlement that he would have testified at trial that he accepted the free flights to save money for the Louisiana Department of Justice.
Landry discloses more free trips
Under the settlement, Landry released information about nearly 20 complimentary trips while serving as attorney general and governor, including free transportation to Washington, D.C., as recently as July. He self-reported the total value at more than $13,000.
These trips including transportation to northeast Louisiana to announce Meta's plans to build a data center there last December and numerous trips to Washington, D.C., this year for events including the signing of executive orders at the White House. These flights were generally provided by companies run by Landry's close allies and a Landry-aligned political advocacy organization, Protect Louisiana Values.
The state code of ethics requires public officials to report complimentary work trips within 60 days. The board reiterated in a legal memo Friday that Landry is still required to disclose free transportation.
David Bordelon, the board's ethics administrator, said during the meeting Friday that the reporting process may be revised.
“We want to make sure the instructions are clear and that everyone has an understanding of exactly how it should be filled out," Bordelon said.
Gelé said Landry “is pleased the Ethics Board agreed to clarify who needs to file paperwork related to official travel” and that the legal memo prevents “future confusion.”
The board’s longest serving member, La Koshia Roberts, told The Associated Press that she believes Landry’s team was “not acting in good faith” throughout the settlement negotiations, dragging it out for more than a year. She said she did not buy Landry’s attorneys' argument that he was confused by the forms he was required to complete.
“A middle school or high school student could read and understand the forms,” Roberts said. “Mr. Landry is an attorney by education and profession. No, the forms are not difficult to understand.”
Landry took the Hawaii trip on the private plane of Greg Mosing, who owns an aviation company and has been a political supporter.
Landry overhauls the ethics board
Since becoming governor, Landry has pushed through legislation tightening his grip on the state ethics board by removing measures intended to insulate it from political pressure. Landry now has the power to appoint nine of the 15 members.
Landry has had other run-ins with the ethics board. In 2022, the board sent Landry a confidential letter warning him to stop using campaign funds to pay for a car loan on a vehicle but took no further action, The Advocate reported.
This year, the Louisiana Legislature passed sweeping changes, written by Landry's personal attorney, raising the bar for future ethics board investigations and providing more opportunities for officials to challenge allegations of misconduct. The changes did not affect Landry's settlement.
Roberts, an attorney who was appointed to the board by the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2018, said the historically “apolitical” and “independent” board is being undermined by these changes.
“There has been this strong push to shift it to a strictly executive, governor controlled-body that lacks independence,” she said.
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Brook reported from New Orleans.
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