Remember the President’s G-8 jaunt last summer in Belfast, where he managed to find the time to bash Catholic schools as segregated and intolerant? Well thanks to a successful lawsuit by Judicial Watch, we now know that Michelle Obama’s portion of that trip cost American taxpayers nearly $8 million. As the Daily Caller reports:
Michelle Obama, the first daughters and their entourage cost taxpayers $7,670,476.80 in flights to, from and around Ireland during their June 17-19 trip in 2013.
… the total cost for “security and/or other services” for a side trip to Dublin by Michelle Obama and her entourage was $251,161.86. That total included $55,004.85 spent at the Shelbourne Hotel and $70,855.44 at the Westbury Hotel.
The documents reveal that taxpayers spent a total of at least $7,921,638.66 on the first lady’s trip.
Other stunning expenses were reported by the Washington Examiner:
After an event with the president on June 17, Mrs. Obama and her daughters flew to Dublin, where she planned to explore her husband’s Irish family roots and attend a performance of Riverdance.
Keeping the president and his family safe as they travel on official business is one thing. Such extravagance on the taxpayers’ dime is quite another—especially at a time when so many Americans are struggling to make ends meet. As Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton summed up:
It is clear that the Obamas abused the perk of the president’s official trip to the G-8 summit for a luxury European vacation at taxpayer expense. …And it is shameful that it took a federal lawsuit to obtain this information. Transparency goes by the wayside for the Obamas when it comes to covering up their abuse of taxpayer resources.