Within the next ten days, the audit on the governor of Arkansas’s $19,000 lectern will be made public

Little Rock, Arkansas – Within the next ten days, the public should be able to access the report on the $19,000 lectern that was purchased for Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, according to the co-chairman of a legislative committee that ordered its audit.

The report from the auditors was received on Friday afternoon, and Republican Rep. Jimmy Gazaway and Republican Sen. David Wallace, who co-chairs the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, are currently analyzing it. Gazaway stated that he was unsure at this time whether the committee will have a hearing or whether the report would be made available to them in advance.

“As the chairs of the committee, we felt like it was important to review it before it’s released,” Gazaway said. “I think we must ensure it’s in good form and good order, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Gazaway declined to comment on the conclusions of the research.

The acquisition of the lectern, which had sparked national attention due to its high cost and concerns about the public documents surrounding it, was approved by the committee last year.

The lectern, standing at one meter in height and measuring 3 1/4 feet, was purchased from an events firm in Virginia in June for $19,029.25 using a state credit card. Sanders’s office has described the usage of the state credit card as an accounting error, and on September 14, the Republican Party of Arkansas refunded the state for the purchase. According to Sanders’ office, the lectern arrived in August.

The Republican Sanders, who formerly worked as President Donald Trump’s press secretary, has called inquiries concerning the lectern a “manufactured controversy” and said that she has not seen the item at any of her public appearances.

It was anticipated that the audit would be finished by the end of March. However, Sanders’ office was offered an extension to submit its response to the audit’s findings, according to the state’s legislative auditor’s report from last month.