Louisiana governor pays fine and discloses $13K in unreported free trips in deal to end ethics probe

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry agreed Friday to pay a $900 fine for failing to disclose a free plane ride to Hawaii and other free flights, ending a yearslong ethics investigation into his travels. The Republican also revealed he accepted nearly 20 complimentary trips worth more than $13,000.

Landry’s agreement with the Louisiana Board of Ethics ends a civil case hanging over the first-term governor, who has tightened his grip on the agency since taking office in 2024. He has blasted the charges as a “weaponization of our government institutions,” akin to what he described as liberal forces operating against President Donald Trump.

Landry’s attorney Stephen Gelé told the Associated Press that the governor “is glad to bring an end to this matter and continue to save the taxpayers money, as he was already doing.”

Landry used a wealthy donor’s private plane in 2021 — when he was still the state’s attorney general — to fly to Hawaii, where he spoke at a conference. He did not report the use of the plane and was charged with violating state ethics laws by the board two years later.

The charges were made public a month before his 2023 victory in the governor’s race that flipped what had been a Democrat-held seat. Landry has continued to face criticism from political opponents and watchdog groups for what they call a lack of transparency over his use of campaign funds.

The settlement, which passed without debate following more than a year of lengthy closed-door negotiations, avoids a trial before a panel of administrative judges. If a court had found the governor in violation of state law, it could have imposed fines up to $10,000 for each violation and ordered him to pay additional financial penalties for the cost of the gifts.

The settlement resolved investigations into five other complimentary trips and flights between 2022 and 2023, including to Washington, D.C., and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Landry stated in the settlement that he would have testified at trial that he accepted the free flights to save money for the Louisiana Department of Justice.

Under the settlement, Landry released information about nearly 20 complimentary trips while serving as attorney general and governor, including free transportation to Washington, D.C., as recently as July. He self-reported the total value at more than $13,000.

These trips including transportation to northeast Louisiana to announce Meta’s plans to build a data center there last December and numerous trips to Washington, D.C., this year for events including executive order signings at the White House.

The state code of ethics requires public officials to report complimentary work trips within 60 days. The board reiterated on Friday in a legal memo that Landry is still required to disclose free transportation.

David Bordelon, the board’s ethics administrator, said during the Friday meeting that the reporting process may be revised.

“We want to make sure the instructions are clear and that everyone has an understanding of exactly how it should be filled out,” Bordelon said.

Gelé said that Landry “is pleased the Ethics Board agreed to clarify who needs to file paperwork related to official travel” and that the legal memo prevents “future confusion.”

Landry took the Hawaii trip on the private plane of Greg Mosing, who owns an aviation company and has been a political supporter.

Since becoming governor in 2024, Landry has pushed through legislation tightening his grip on the state ethics board, removing measures intended to insulate it from political pressures. Landry now has the power to appoint nine of the 15 members.

Earlier this year, the Louisiana Legislature passed sweeping changes to the state ethics board, written by Landry’s personal attorney, raising the bar for future investigations and providing more opportunities for officials to challenge allegations of misconduct. The changes did not affect Landry’s settlement.

Landry has had other run-ins with the ethics board. In 2022, the board sent Landry a confidential letter warning him to stop using campaign funds to pay for a car loan on a vehicle but took no further action, The Advocate reported.

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Brook reported from New Orleans.