Legislative auditors have released their findings after a months-long investigation into the purchase of a $19,000 lectern by the governor's office that has been at the center of controversy and widespread speculation since the purchase was revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee approved the audit in October after state Sen. Jimmy Hickey Jr., R-Texarkana, requested the investigation after it was revealed the lectern was purchased in June and paid for with a state credit card.
The Republican Party of Arkansas has since reimbursed the state $19,029.25 for the purchase.
Records show the governor's office purchased the lectern from Beckett Events LLC, of Arlington, Va., paying $18,475 for a lectern and a custom travel case. The state also was charged a $554.25 a credit card processing fee.
Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for Sanders, has said the purchase of the lectern with a state credit card was an "accounting error."
Legislative auditors finished a draft report in March and awaited for response from the governor's office.
The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the findings of the report and to to question legislative auditors about their investigation into the purchase.
Matt Campbell, a Little Rock attorney and author of the Blue Hog Report blog, was the the first to report the on the podium's purchase, releasing a photo of a state credit card statement on social media that read "Do you want to know things like "Sarah Sanders inexplicably paid nearly $20k to Beckett Productions LLC in mid-June? Her Anti-Transparency bill would prevent you from knowing that."