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From: Attorney General Peter
Nickles Re: Mayor Adrian Fenty's Travel to The United Arab Emirates and China In August of 2008 the Mayor visited China during the Olympic Games, making stops in Beijing and in Shanghai. In addition to engaging in activities in his personal capacity, he performed his official duties and formal governmental functions while in China, including meeting with local government officials and furthering the District's Sister City relationship with China's capital. The value of the Mayor's travel and accommodations expenses was donated to the District government by the municipal governments of Beijing and Shanghai and by a Chinese government entity, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship. The donation was valued at $11,300, including $3,800 from the Beijing municipal government, $5,000 from the Shanghai municipal government, and $2,500 from the Chinese People's Association for Friendship, and it covered food, hotel, incidental, and transportation expenses related to the Mayor's performance of his official duties. The donation was provided to the District in-kind, such that all tickets and arrangements were taken care of directly by the donors. No funds were received by the Mayor or the District, and no taxpayer funds were used. The Mayor was joined on his trip to China by his family. Although the invitation from the Chinese included the Mayor's wife, the donations received from them only covered the cost of the Mayor's official travel and accommodations. The Mayor's family's expenses were paid for privately. In February 2009 the Mayor visited Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. As with his trip to China, in addition to engaging in activities in his personal capacity, he performed his official duties and formal governmental functions while in Dubai, including, as previously noted, meeting with local government officials and business leaders. The value of the Mayor's travel and accommodations expenses were donated to the District government by UAE Ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba. The donation was valued at $25,000, and covered food, hotel, incidental, and transportation expenses related to the performance of the Mayor's official duties. As with the China trip, the donation was provided to the District in-kind, such that all tickets and arrangements were taken care of directly by the donor. No funds were received by the Mayor or the District and, as before, no taxpayer funds were used. The Mayor was joined on his Dubai trip by his family. Again, as with the China trip, the donation only covered the cost of the Mayor's travel and accommodations. The Mayor's family's expenses were paid for privately. Reporting ProcedureThe documentation for both the Mayor's China and UAE trips will be publicly reported through the District's donations process in full compliance with the law. Those reports are posted quarterly on a fiscal year basis. These two donations will appear in the next report compiled by the District's Office of Partnerships and Grants Services, which is scheduled to be posted on the OPGS' Website shortly after the close of the second quarter of the fiscal year, March 31, 2009. Prior to 2009, District international travel donations were handled through the Office of the Secretary and publicly reported by the end of January of the year following the trip through the U.S. State Department. In early 2009, in an effort to increase transparency and to better streamline our donation acceptances, and following discussions with the State Department, the District has begun to report international travel donations through its internal authorized donations reporting procedures--with the Mayor's trip to Dubai being the first such trip handled by the OPGS. Because the Mayor's trip to China was processed through the Secretary's Office the documentation is different than that for the Mayor's UAE trip. Nonetheless, the acceptance of both donations (both allowing the Mayor to perform formal and official governmental functions) were found by the Office of the Attorney General to be legally sufficient and in compliance with applicable law. |
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