Senate Ethics Committee members gave zero information on what they’re up to this morning before going into executive session and kicking us all out.
But here are some clues:
- Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale/Hot Springs), the censured purloiner of per diem who has all but vowed his revenge, zoomed in for the meeting, despite not being on the committee. He’s clearly the complainant.
- Sen. Keith Ingram (D-West Memphis) also zoomed in from his car, looking fly in Biden-style aviators but hopefully keeping his eyes on the road. Ingram is not usually on the committee, but is filling in today.
- Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff) was there, and according to people in the know she is the person about whom the complaint was made. Sen. Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville) came to the meeting as her wingman, but said he is not named on the complaint.
As was the case earlier this summer when Clark and Sen. Mark Johnson (R-Ferndale) were in trouble for sign-ins to a meeting Clark did not attend, everyone seems to know the backstory but no one feels at liberty to go on record with it. The state Senate is operating under a new set of rules regarding ethics violations, and while they’re getting used to a new system, senators are being hyper-cautious about what can and can’t be shared.
Unofficially, though, today’s meeting is said to have to do with mileage and expenses erroneously paid to Flowers for meetings she attended virtually. Flowers reportedly did not request the payments, and when she learned they were paid in error, she reimbursed the state, according to the unverified rumors.
Leding, who had to leave along with reporters when the committee went into executive session, said he showed up Friday to support Flowers. Leding said he’s read the complaint, but he declined to offer any details. He did say he thinks the complaint is “nonsense,” but that the committee should follow their normal procedures, hear from the parties involved and then file their findings report to the full Senate. That report, once finalized and approved by the committee, will become public.
Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Kim Hammer (R-Benton) said the committee would take no action until 9 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1.