Will ethics charges lodged against Attorney General Jeff Landry hurt him in the weeks leading up to the Louisiana gubernatorial primary?
On Saturday, we reported that the Louisiana Board of Ethics charged Landry with violating a law prohibiting elected officials from taking anything of value without paying for it if those goods are related to the public position. Specifically, Landry is accused of accepting free rides on a private plane to attend a conference in Hawaii. Landry camp is downplaying the charges, saying an exception in the law allowed Landry to take those flights.
However, a campaign spokesperson admits that Landry neglected to file paperwork that would have allowed him to accept those flights. Landry's campaign also accuses the ethics board of attempting to "meddle in the election."
Still, LAPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford says he doesn't think this cost Landry any votes--not yet, any way.
"Jeff Landry, if you look at the polling, is very much in the vein of a Donald Trump," Alford told WWL's Tommy Tucker. "I'm not sure this shakes off Jeff Landry's diehard supporters, but I also think that this is a developing story."
Alford notes that a former governor experience a similar situation nearly 20 years ago and faced no sanctions from the ethics board.
"Kathleen Blanco went through the same thing with her relationship with the Shaw Group," Alford said. "I don't think anything came of that in terms of the Ethics Board"
Regardless of the case's outcome, Alford says the questions surrounding the Landry's flights and ethics laws could play a role in the election.
"The real story here is that the Board of Ethics has formally filed charges against the attorney general for his use of private planes," Alford said. "The ethics board definitely has made Jeff Landry its target."
