Travel by Financial Supporters: The White House Statement

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Travel by Financial Supporters
January 1, 1995 – November 6, 1996
Air Force I (and accompanying helicopters)
April 14, 1997

During 1995 and 1996, President Clinton made 103 trips aboard Air Force One or Marine One involving approximately 490 separate legs or movements (excluding Marine One trips between the White House and Andrews Air Force Base, Camp David, and Bethesda Naval Hospital). For example, if the President flew from Washington, D.C., to Dallas, Texas, to Los Angeles, California, and then back to Washington, D.C., this travel would constitute one trip with three legs.

Approximately 477 guests (excluding Executive Branch officials, family members and the press) accompanied the President on trips on Air Force One or Marine One and accompanying helicopters. Guests include former Presidents and other former administration officials, members of Congress, state and local elected officials, foreign leaders and dignitaries, DNC and campaign staff, supporters, and others. Of these guests, 56 contributed (personally or through their company, business or organization) at least $5,000 to the DNC or raised at least $25,000 for the DNC or the Clinton/Gore campaign in the 1996 election cycle. The names of these individuals and the legs on which they flew are identified below.

Note 1: This compilation reflects the White House’s best efforts to identify individuals who may be financial supporters of the President and the Democratic Party using the criteria stated above. It may not be complete.
Note 2: While DNC and campaign staff are guests, we have identified travel by Marvin Rosen, Richard Sullivan, Terry McAuliffe and Laura Hartigan along with supporters who contributed at least $5,000 or raised $25,000 or more.
Note 3: Consistent with the billing practices of the White House over the past several administrations, on official trips (or trip legs), guests are not required to pay for airfare. For campaign trips (or trip legs), airfare is billed directly to the guest or to the campaign; for political, but not campaign, trips (or trip legs), airfare is billed directly to the guests or to the DNC. For mixed political/official trips or trip legs, the billing is for the share of the airfare that is political.

1995 and 1996 Travel by Financial Supporters
Air Force II (and accompanying helicopters)
April 14, 1997

From January 1, 1995 through November 5, 1996, Vice President Gore made 169 trips aboard Air Force Two or Marine Two involving approximately 500 legs or movements (excluding Marine Two trips between the Naval Observatory and Andrews Air Force Base). For example, if the Vice President flew from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, from Chicago to Fargo, and then back to Washington, D.C., this travel would constitute one trip with three legs.

Approximately 208 guests (excluding Executive Branch officials, family members and the press) accompanied the Vice President on 76 trips on Air Force Two or Marine Two and accompanying helicopters. Of these guests, 17 contributed (personally or through their company, business or organization) $5,000 or more to the DNC, or raised $25,000 or more for the DNC or the Clinton/Gore campaign in the 1996 election cycle. The names of these individuals and the legs on which they flew are identified below.

Note 1: This compilation reflects the White House’s best efforts to identify individuals who may be financial supporters of the President/Vice President and the Democratic Party using the criteria stated above. It may not be complete.
Note 2: While DNC and campaign staff are guests, we have identified travel by Marvin Rosen, Richard Sullivan, Terry McAuliffe, Scott Pastrick and Laura Hartigan along with supporters who contributed at least $5,000 or raised $25,000 or more.
Note 3: Consistent with the billing practices of the White House over the past several administrations, on official trips (or trip legs), guests are not required to pay for airfare. For campaign trips (or trip legs), airfare is billed directly to the guest or to the campaign; for political, but not campaign, trips (or trip legs), airfare is billed directly to the guests or to the DNC. For mixed political/official trips or trip legs, the billing is for the share of the airfare that is political.


Statement of Lanny Davis
April 15, 1997

In response to follow-up questions regarding travel by financial supporters, we are posting the following information:

  1. Identification of passengers on official trips
  2. :
    There is no reimbursement required for guests on official trips or trip legs (note: there are no additional airfare costs incurred when these guests travel).

    [Editor’s Note: Guests who traveled on official trips (or trip legs) with the President or Vice President for which reimbursement was not sought are identified in the Frequent Fliers database with this symbol: . The April 7, 1995 trip traveled on by Wayne Reaud, Ken Melley, and Mary Teasley was considered to be a “mixed (political/official) trip; thus, the DNC paid for that portion of their travel that was political.”]

  3. Questions regarding inclusion on list of spouses and associates of those listed
  4. :
    The list identifies the names of individuals — other than Executive Branch officials, family members, and the press — who contributed (personally or through their companies, businesses, or organizations) at least $5,000 to the DNC or raised at least $25,000 for the DNC or Clinton/Gore campaign in the 1996 election cycle.

    The list also identifies spouses when they accompanied a financial supporter. The list does not identify any other individual who may have been traveling with the supporter, since the manifest does not specify parties that are traveling together.

  5. Were any passengers traveling on Air Force One for foreign trips excluded from the list?

  6. No.

  7. What is the rate that people are billed at for trips?

  8. Pursuant to government regulations, guests are billed coach airfare for political (non-campaign) trips; first class airfare for campaign trips.

  9. To whom are reimbursement checks made out?

  10. The U.S. Treasury.

Excerpted from the Official White House Press Release regarding Air Force I & II trips, released April 14, 1997.

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The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

Because the in-depth journalism on underreported beats and unique perspectives on the daily news you turn to Mother Jones for is only possible because readers fund us. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism we exist to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we need readers to show up for us big time—again.

Getting just 10 percent of the people who care enough about our work to be reading this blurb to part with a few bucks would be utterly transformative for us, and that's very much what we need to keep charging hard in this financially uncertain, high-stakes year.

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