Ethics Group Wants To Know If Steve Mnuchin And Louise Linton Used Government Plane To See The Eclipse

WASHINGTON An ethics watchdog group is investigating whether Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, actress Louise Linton, planned a government trip to view the solar eclipse on Monday, the same trip on which Linton created controversy after flaunting the couples extravagant lifestyle on social media .

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on Wednesday filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records concerning authorization for and the costs of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins use of a government plane to travel to Lexington, Kentucky, on Monday, August 21, accompanied by his wife Louise Linton.

That day, Mnuchin appeared at an event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in Louisville, and then traveled to Fort Knox to tour the famed U.S. Army gold depository.

Thanks to all who attended the #TaxReform discussion w/ @SenateMajLdr hosted by @GLIchamber. Small Businesses are the job creators of #USA. pic.twitter.com/jsyp7kt7pt

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Thanks to all who attended the #TaxReform discussion w/ @SenateMajLdr hosted by @GLIchamber . Small Businesses are the job creators of #USA . pic.twitter.com/jsyp7kt7pt
Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) August 21, 2017

Citing a report from the Louisville Courier-Journal , which noted that Mnuchin and Linton also went there to view the eclipse, CREW alleges that the couple may have planned the trip around the eclipse and used the government plane for personal purposes.

At a time of expected deep cuts to the federal budget, the taxpayers have a significant interest in learning the extent to which Secretary Mnuchin has used government planes for travel in lieu of commercial planes, and the justification for that use, the group said in explaining the FOIA request.

We just FOIA'd all records for Mnuchin & Louise Linton's trip to KY on a gov't plane. There's more to this story & we're going to find it. pic.twitter.com/3wsMdveuUI

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We just FOIA'd all records for Mnuchin & Louise Linton's trip to KY on a gov't plane. There's more to this story & we're going to find it. pic.twitter.com/3wsMdveuUI
Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 23, 2017

The trip sparked widespread controversy after Linton posted a picture on Instagram of her exiting the Air Force plane the couple used for the trip, touting the brand names of her designer clothing. After a woman named Jennifer Miller posted a critical comment about the post, Linton defended the couples luxurious lifestyle by posting a lengthy comment full of classist attacks against Miller.

Linton later deleted the photo and made her Instagram account private, before issuing an apology for the incident.

In addition to Mondays trip, CREW requested all other records of Mnuchins use of a government plane as Treasury secretary.

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.