Ben Carson spent $31K on dining set for his office

[mystery-ak]

Ben Carson spent $31K on dining set for his office
By Brett Samuels - 02/27/18 06:31 PM EST

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spent $31,000 late last year on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson’s office, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The purchase included a custom hardwood table, chairs and a hutch. Officials bought the furniture a short time after a HUD staff member filed a complaint that Carson’s wife, Candy, pushed to redecorate the department’s offices.

Helen Foster, who filed the whistle-blower complaint, claimed she was replaced in her role because she refused to fund a redecoration of Carson’s office. She alleged in the complaint that she was told to “find money” for the redecoration, despite it exceeding budgetary limits.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/375908-ben-carson-spent-31k-on-dining-set-for-his-office

[WingNot]

Damn him.  I told him Hookers and Booze. 

[edpc]

Is the chair upholstery covered in plastic?

[Victoria33]

Carson should be removed, as in kicked out, of office.  How could anyone use US money for that?  He has no thought of taxpayer money - it isn't his, so he spends it.  I am astounded at this.

[Suppressed]

Carson should be removed, as in kicked out, of office.  How could anyone use US money for that?  He has no thought of taxpayer money - it isn't his, so he spends it.  I am astounded at this.

His dishonesty became evident during the campaign.   This comes as no surprise.

[ABX]

If I ever get a government job, I'm going to create my own HUD, with Hookers and Blackjack.

[ABX]

Damn him.  I told him Hookers and Booze.

LOL.. I should have read the other comments..

[ABX]

Carson should be removed, as in kicked out, of office.  How could anyone use US money for that?  He has no thought of taxpayer money - it isn't his, so he spends it.  I am astounded at this.

Before we are too rash, many of these offices in historic buildings in DC, especially White House and Capitol Building, have very strict standards in place set by various historic commissions. They may have had a short list of options and suppliers to choose from.  For example, the President spends about $1-$2 Million in decorating the Oval Office and a few other rooms in the White House (not counting the personal quarters). It adds up fast when you have a supplier short list and very strict standards.

Personally I would have left well enough alone and just stuck with what was there, but we don't know the full story.

[mystery-ak]

I don't know what gets into people once they hold office...using gov planes for personal travel, redecorating their offices etc...who do they think is paying for all this.

[Right_in_Virginia]

If the dining set stays with his department ... who really cares.

[endicom]

The...GASP!...NYT did a better job of reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/us/ben-carson-hud-furniture.html

[Wingnut]

Is the chair upholstery covered in plastic?

Do you have friends of color" @edpc . 

I only ask because I attended a diversity college were I was a minority.  My roommate suggested I drive him home one weekend. I agreed to his demands and drove him home to East St Louis Illinois. I'm sure Belleville/ESL was a beautiful town back in the 1850's. ......  Not only was the furniture covered in zippered plastic but the whole interior of the house was shrink wrapped.   Sitting on that stuff was like having the walking farts... sitting down.

[edpc]

Do you have friends of color" @edpc . 

I only ask because I attended a diversity college were I was a minority.  My roommate suggested I drive him home one weekend. I agreed to his demands and drove him home to East St Louis Illinois. I'm sure Belleville/ESL was a beautiful town back in the 1850's. ......  Not only was the furniture covered in zippered plastic but the whole interior of the house was shrink wrapped.   Sitting on that stuff was like having the walking farts... sitting down.

Grew up a military brat, so my friends covered the spectrum.  We were Benetton before it was a thing.

[Concerned]

If the dining set stays with his department ... who really cares.

Because if the redecoration exceeds $5K, it requires approval of Congress.  From the link in the OP:

The Times noted that federal law requires approval from lawmakers “to furnish or redecorate the office of a department head” if it exceeds $5,000.

This is why the whistleblower resisted these expenses.

[Suppressed]

Because if the redecoration exceeds $5K, it requires approval of Congress.  From the link in the OP:

This is why the whistleblower resisted these expenses.

The Law?

"Where this Administration's going, we don't need the law!"

[Frank Cannon]

Dining room cost a fortune, but it is really pimp!

[corbe]

Spokesman falsely denied expensive table had been bought for Ben Carson
The Guardian

Jon Swaine in New York and Ben Jacobs in Washington
1 hr ago

Ben Carson, the secretary for housing and urban development, has gained a $31,000 table but lost a senior official who refused to authorise its purchase.© AP Ben Carson, the secretary for housing and urban development, has gained a $31,000 table but lost a senior official who refused to authorise its purchase. 

A spokesman for Donald Trump’s department of housing and urban development (Hud) falsely denied that an expensive dining table had been purchased for Ben Carson’s office.

Raffi Williams told the Guardian in an email last Friday it was “inaccurate” to say that a new dining table had been bought for Hud secretary’s suite at the department’s Washington headquarters.

However, Williams confirmed the purchase to the New York Times on Tuesday after the Guardian broke the story that a senior Hud official alleged that she was demoted after refusing to break a $5,000 spending limit for improvements to Carson’s office.

<..snip..>

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spokesman-falsely-denied-expensive-table-had-been-bought-for-ben-carson/ar-BBJGciE?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=ientp

[libertybele]

Spokesman falsely denied expensive table had been bought for Ben Carson
The Guardian

Jon Swaine in New York and Ben Jacobs in Washington
1 hr ago

Ben Carson, the secretary for housing and urban development, has gained a $31,000 table but lost a senior official who refused to authorise its purchase.© AP Ben Carson, the secretary for housing and urban development, has gained a $31,000 table but lost a senior official who refused to authorise its purchase. 

A spokesman for Donald Trump’s department of housing and urban development (Hud) falsely denied that an expensive dining table had been purchased for Ben Carson’s office.

Raffi Williams told the Guardian in an email last Friday it was “inaccurate” to say that a new dining table had been bought for Hud secretary’s suite at the department’s Washington headquarters.

However, Williams confirmed the purchase to the New York Times on Tuesday after the Guardian broke the story that a senior Hud official alleged that she was demoted after refusing to break a $5,000 spending limit for improvements to Carson’s office.

<..snip..>

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spokesman-falsely-denied-expensive-table-had-been-bought-for-ben-carson/ar-BBJGciE?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=ientp

...hmm...looks like the favor that Trump owed Carson for lying about Cruz paid off!

[edpc]

A spokesman for Donald Trump’s department of housing and urban development (Hud) falsely denied that an expensive dining table had been purchased for Ben Carson’s office.

A false denial?  Don't they mean lie?

[thackney]

The...GASP!...NYT did a better job of reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/us/ben-carson-hud-furniture.html

Yes indeed they did.

...Mr. Williams said department officials did not request congressional approval because the dining set served a “building-wide need.” The table is inside the secretary’s 10th-floor office suite.

The decision was made by a “career staffer” who selected the company, Sebree and Associates, which is based in Mr. Carson’s longtime hometown, Baltimore, from a list of preapproved federal contractors, Mr. Williams said.

Neither Mr. Carson nor his wife — who expressed a strong interest in sprucing up the drab, wood-paneled, 1960s-era secretary’s suite, according to several current and former department staff members — requested that the 50-year-old table be replaced, Mr. Williams said....


...“Secretary Carson, to the best of our knowledge, is the only secretary to go to the subbasement at his agency to select the furniture for his office,” Mr. Williams said.

[WingNot]

Dining room cost a fortune, but it is really pimp!

Hey, where is the shag rake?

[The_Reader_David]

A false denial?  Don't they mean lie?

Only if the spokesman knew it was false.  The spokesman could have been lied to, or issued a denial without knowing the truth of the matter (not lying, but the worse attack on truth, bulls**t. See the charming little volume titled On Bulls**t by Harry G. Frankfurt on why bulls**t is a worse enemy of truth than lying).

[Sanguine]

Spokesman falsely denied expensive table had been bought for Ben Carson
The Guardian

Jon Swaine in New York and Ben Jacobs in Washington
1 hr ago

Ben Carson, the secretary for housing and urban development, has gained a $31,000 table but lost a senior official who refused to authorise its purchase.© AP Ben Carson, the secretary for housing and urban development, has gained a $31,000 table but lost a senior official who refused to authorise its purchase. 

A spokesman for Donald Trump’s department of housing and urban development (Hud) falsely denied that an expensive dining table had been purchased for Ben Carson’s office.

Raffi Williams told the Guardian in an email last Friday it was “inaccurate” to say that a new dining table had been bought for Hud secretary’s suite at the department’s Washington headquarters.

However, Williams confirmed the purchase to the New York Times on Tuesday after the Guardian broke the story that a senior Hud official alleged that she was demoted after refusing to break a $5,000 spending limit for improvements to Carson’s office.

<..snip..>

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spokesman-falsely-denied-expensive-table-had-been-bought-for-ben-carson/ar-BBJGciE?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=ientp

Isn't Raffi Williams Juan Williams' son? 

[Right_in_Virginia]

Carson should be removed, as in kicked out, of office.  How could anyone use US money for that?  He has no thought of taxpayer money - it isn't his, so he spends it.  I am astounded at this.

What should astound you is Hillary Clinton losing $6 billion at the State Department.

[catfish1957]

What should astound you is Hillary Clinton losing $6 billion at the State Department.

Every time DJT or his cronies does something wrong, you throw the Hillary or some other left wing puke out there..  Yeah she's a bitch, but since when does two wrongs make a right?