A $19,000 lectern for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sparks call for legislative audit

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is facing scrutiny over the purchase of a $19,000 lectern and the handling or records surrounding it. A legislative panel next week will take up a lawmaker’s request for an audit to review the purchase of the lectern in June with a state credit card. The Arkansas Republican Party reimbursed the state last month for the blue and wood-paneled lectern. Sanders has said she welcomes the audit but has dismissed questions about its purchase as a manufactured controversy. An attorney has said he has a client who has firsthand knowledge that records regarding the lectern were altered before release.