A plane flight that Louisiana attorney general and gubernatorial frontrunner Jeff Landry took in 2021 is landing him in trouble with the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
According to documents filed by the ethics board on August 29, the board voted on August 3 and 4 to charge Landry and Stanton Aviation, LLC, with one count each of ethics violations. Landry is charged with accepting a gift in relation to his position as attorney general. Stanton Aviation is charged with providing a gift to Landry.
The gift that Stanton Aviation and its sole registered agent, Greg Mosing, allegedly gave Landry is a flight to Hawaii. Landry took that roundtrip flight in June 2021 to attend the Conference of Western Attorneys General, at which Landry was a presenter and speaker. According to the charges filed by the Ethics Board, Stanton provided the flights to Landry at no cost, and Landry did not pay back Stanton for his travels. That, ethics officials say, violates Louisiana’s laws prohibiting public officials from taking something of economic value related to their functions as a public official at no cost.
Furthermore, the charging document claims Landry did not disclose the complimentary flights in his financial disclosures to the Ethics Board.
On Facebook, Landry’s campaign page accused Governor John Bel Edwards of having a hand in the getting charges filed against the GOP gubernatorial candidate.
“The weaponization of our government institutions has expanded from President Trump to our own backyard,” the post reads. “Taking a page out of the Democrat Playbook, the 11 member Louisiana Board of Ethics - most of whom are Democrats appointed by Liberal John Bel Edwards - is now labeling a private citizen a target in a desperate attempt to meddle in our election and take down our campaign.”
In a formal statement issued to LAPolitics.com, Landry spokesperson Kathy Kelly defended Landry while also reiterating the claim that the Governor’s Office is trying to subvert Landry’s campaign.
“Attorney General Landry has always, in good faith, complied with the rules & regulations of the Board of Ethics,” Kelly said. "It is sad, but not surprising that right before the election, John Bel’s Ethics Board decided to bring up a two-year-old false claim to damage not only Attorney General Landry’s reputation but his longtime friend Mr. Mosing’s as well. Mr. Mosing is not a lobbyist and has no business with the state—he does not deserve this type of character assassination.”
Although Mosing is not a lobbyist, he is an active Republican donor who has contributed cash to campaigns in Louisiana and across the United States. In 2017, he donated $25,000 to President Donald Trump's inauguration. According to other published reports, Mosing, who made his fortune through his family's oilfield company Franks International, has offered his airplane at no cost to Republican politicians in other states.