Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, is facing scrutiny from ethics watchdog groups for accepting a trip to the Masters golf tournament from a business mogul with investments in the district — who also happens to be a Bowser donor.
Bowser flew to the exclusive Augusta, Georgia-based tournament in April with CEO Jodie McLean of the real estate developer EDENS on a private jet that McLean’s company arranged, the Washington City Paper reported, noting tickets on the flight run between $5,000 and $6,000. The ritzy trip was planned with the understanding from both parties “that the expense would be reimbursed,” according to EDENS, but ethics experts are concerned about an apparent lack of government transparency over the excursion. On her schedule at the time, Bowser had listed it as a “sports and economic development” trip.
“Mayor Bowser appears to have encroached upon numerous violations of D.C.’s gift laws for public officials, which she is now back-peddling on in an effort to correct the violations,” Craig Holman, an ethics expert for the Public Citizen think tank, told the Washington Examiner.
Holman pointed to how Washington, D.C.’s ethics manual out …