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Sanford Changed Flight To Elude Reporters Upon Return
It's worth noting that Globetrotting guv Mark Sanford seems to have gone to some lengths to avoid reporters upon his return.
Sanford left for this trip from the Columbia, South Carolina, airport, it turns out. But he came back by flying into Atlanta. Why?
The State reports:
Sanford said he decided not to return via the Columbia airport to avoid the media. The State Media Company was the only media who greeted Sanford this morning.
Gina Smith, the State reporter on the story, just added a bit of detail in an interview on CNN, saying that Sanford had told her that when he talked to his chief of staff yesterday, he was told there was a lot of "media hype" around the story, and so he thought it would be easier to return through Atlanta.
Smith also said the paper was tipped to the governor's revised plan, and that she staked out the gate in Atlanta.
It's usually kind of a hassle -- and not cheap -- to change your return flight to a different airport. Sounds like Sanford really was hoping to keep his return hush hush.
Josh
Zachary
Certainly not the first far right politician in history to seek asylum in Argentina.
June 24, 2009 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Skating damn close to violating Godwin's law. But funny.
June 24, 2009 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was gonna go with a Hyman Roth comparison, but it lacked the bite.
June 24, 2009 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
How did she get to the gate?
June 24, 2009 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Probably just bought a ticket to wherever without intending to use it - once she was past security screening it wouldn't be hard to stake out an arriving flight.
June 24, 2009 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Certainly not the first far right politician in history to seek asylum in Argentina.
But the first to come back voluntarily, I think.
June 24, 2009 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, personable if not an intellectual lightnin' bug, was on "Rachel Maddow" last night, and he seemed baffled as anyone as to Sanford's whereabouts and motivations; more troubling, he had no idea how to trigger constitutional mechanisms that would allow him to sub gubernatorial duties for this phantom politico. (Are we absolutely sure Sanford isn't related to Sir Allen? Just asking...)
If my longtime favorite son-of-a-bitch wasn't dead (or so it is sung in the canciones, senor) , I'd swear Robert Vesco was involved...
June 24, 2009 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
How come his name didn't come up on a list as having left the country? Or did he fly under an assumed name? The airlines log your passport data upon leaving the country. If there had been a serious search for him, that would have turned up.
June 24, 2009 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
The reporter's story doesn't make sense. International passengers are run through immigration and customs first. Then they exit though doors with others coming from flights from all over the world. There is no "gate" to wait by.
Delta flys direct from Atlanta to Buenos Aires. Return flights from Buenos Aires are to Atlanta, Houston (Continental), NYC (AA), and I think Washington (United). Even if Sanford had wanted to fly on to South Carolina, he would have to clear customs and immigration first and then mix it up with the throngs. Maybe that was his original plan but decided to scrap it knowing that reporters would be all over him.
June 24, 2009 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
If he ever did get mentioned as a serious candidate for office again, his health records are suddenly going to be pretty important. Hopefully he was very safe with whatever hijinks he was up to.
June 24, 2009 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
"It's usually kind of a hassle -- and not cheap -- to change your return flight to a different airport."
He was spotted in the Atlanta airport on the way out. He probably had a connecting flight in Atlanta and just got off one stop early.
June 24, 2009 10:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not a Republican by any means, but in all fairness (complementing tchamps note above), if the governor flew out of Columbia on Delta, he would have connected in Atlanta coming and going. Whatever his motives for the trip, it was prudent on his part to return to Atlanta, and most likely cost nothing more than a half tank and four hours' drive the rest of the way to Columbia.
Of course, the two overarching questions are: did no one really know where he was, and was he doing something naughty down there. I've visited the city several times and can attest that that there are plenty of ways to get in trouble, but it's also an incredibly beautiful city that is one of my favorite escapes for perfectly innocent reasons.
June 24, 2009 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for all the compliments to my place of birth, imoretti! Buenos Aires is certainly worth visiting for all its attractions [culture, food, music, architecture, etc.] All strictly legal, of course! In the last few years, however, a "parallel market" of not-so-legal-activities has emerged, fueled by the sharp increase in foreign visitors resulting from a very favorable exchange rate. Now, if you have been in Buenos Aires you must certainly know that 5 days are barely enough to recover from the flight (8 hours each way) which only leaves about 3 days for sightseeing and resting. All this begs the question, if all he wanted was a relaxing getaway why would he go all the way to Argentina????
June 24, 2009 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
last-minute roundtrip ticket to buenos aires: $7,000
your name on the tip of everyone's tongue: priceless
June 24, 2009 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I call BS... there was a state vehicle in Atlanta. This guy flew out of Atlanta, how can he justify a "coastline" drive.
June 24, 2009 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yesterday, it was reported that a federal agent had seen Sanford in Atlanta. But it was also reported that a state car was in the Hartsfield parking lot, which isn't consistent with him having left from SC and returning to Atlanta, unless someone on his staff drove the car down there for him. In which case, they knew where he was was and lied about that, too.
June 24, 2009 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good points, Alguien. I've done the trip from SF via Dallas. But, living where I do now in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia), it's only a couple of hours and one time zone. That said, no doubt it was (a) tango that drew him down...
June 24, 2009 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
But the car was in Atlanta. That he flew out of Columbia contradicts that information. Or at the very least it means he was in touch with his staff who drove the car to the Atlanta airport and left it for him. He would have connected through Atlanta so it would still make sense that he was seen leaving there.
Furthermore, the info about coming off the gate from the reporter doesn't compute...at least the way it's being reported. He would have been caught coming out of customs.
In any case, there is definitely a woman in Argentina.
June 24, 2009 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Atlanta vehicle was a SLED vehicle. The Columbia vehicle was a black SUV with a school sticker/state vehicle. There are many differences between a normal state vehicle and a SLED vehicle. State vehicles are what you and me could purchase and drive. A SLED vehicle is for governmental security details (weapons and armor). Look up Knott's statement.
It was verified that Sanford took a SLED vehicle. A SLED vehicle was identified in Atlanta. Sanford drove to Atlanta. His staff has limited authority and I don't think they would go thru the trouble to sign one out in a cover-up.
Now, staff may have planted the vehicle in Columbia upon him being reported missing and Sanford came into Atlanta with a different story.
June 24, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where did you get your information about the different vehicles? I read that the vehicle in Columbia was supposedly also a SLED vehhicle, and CNN seems to have reported that it was the one that Sanford checked out. In any case, the SLED vehicle in Atlanta was also a black SUV as was the vehicle in Columbia. So either this is involving two state officials, both with access to state owned black SUVs or SLED is also participating in the cover up (which is what it sounds like since they responded to Knotts on Saturday that Sanford's whereabouts were known).
Whatever, there is a heap o' lyin' goin' on.
June 24, 2009 1:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
In any case, there is definitely a woman in Argentina.
This assumes too much. I'd speculate that he has a sexual partner in Argentina, but whether that person is a woman is a whole other question.
June 24, 2009 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink