Former U.S. attorney nominee Melodee Hanes traveled abroad with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and six other staff members twice at the end of 2008, both times as a member of the lawmaker's office.
Those two trips -- to the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam -- occurred while Hanes was serving in an official capacity as the state director for the Montana Democrat, but before Baucus recommended her for an attorney position she later turned down.
Joining Baucus on both stops, which featured discussions about international trade and education opportunities, were William Dauster, a staff director for the Senate Finance Committee; Jon Selib, Baucus' chief of staff; Demetrios Marantis, Chelsea Thomas and Janis Lazda, formerly international trade specialists for the Finance Committee; and Carol Guthrie, the committee's former communications director.
All received the same per diem of roughly $200 for the UAE trip and more than $700 for the Vietnam stop, according to foreign travel reports published in the Congressional Record.
While it is normal for staff members to accompany lawmakers on foreign events and meetings, the Senate Finance Committee chairman's trip in particular could raise some ethical red flags, experts suggested on Saturday.
Hanes has been dating Baucus since the summer of 2008, and if she was invited on a trip that "she would not have gone on otherwise" based on her position, Baucus may find himself in the wrong, noted Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).Read on.
See Baucus' campaign finance/money.
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