Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s personal attorneys said the governor and ethics board are close to reaching a deal over ethics charges he faces. (John Ballance/The Advocate, Pool)
Gov. Jeff Landry’s attorneys told a judge Tuesday that the Republican expected to reach a deal with the Louisiana Board of Ethics over ethics charges linked to a trip to Hawaii by December, but they did not provide specifics on what that agreement might look like.
“We’ve continued to have discussions with the Board of Ethics and the discussions have been fruitful,” said Stephen Gele, a lawyer representing Landry, at the status hearing conducted by phone.
The governor has been in a dispute with the ethics board since August 2023 over what the appropriate punishment should be for failing to disclose flights he took to Hawaii on a political donor’s plane. The trip took place in 2021 while he was attorney general and before he was elected governor.
The ethics board is expected to sign off on an agreement struck by Landry’s attorneys and its board members at their Dec. 6 meeting, according to Gele.
Gele said negotiations with the ethics board needed to extend for another two months primarily because of the ethics board’s procedures. The board comes together to meet only once per month, which might have slowed down the deliberations.
Anticipating a resolution to the dispute, Administrative Law Judge Monique Baham scheduled what is expected would be expected to be the final hearing over Landry’s ethics charges for Dec. 17.
Should the matter drag on past December, the dynamics between the ethics board and the governor could shift.
Landry pushed state lawmakers to pass a law to give him control over the ethics board that will take full effect in January. At that point, the board will expand from 11 to 15 members and the governor will have more control over who is appointed to the body.
Over this nearly two decades in politics, Landry has gotten in trouble with the ethics board more than once for violating state ethics laws.
On top of not disclosing his trip on the donor’s plane to Hawaii, the ethics board reprimanded Landry for using his campaign funds to pay back a car loan, though he didn’t face charges over that matter.
The board has also fined Landry twice for failing to turn in his campaign finance reports on time. Last month, Landry attempted to have the most recent of these fines waived, but the board declined to do so.
In addition to Landry, Stanton Aviation is also facing ethics charges. Landry’s political donor Greg Mosing owns the company and it provided the travel for Landry to and from Hawaii.
Gele is also representing Stanton Aviation in the case.