Since the Daily Beast reported on a leaked staffing memo from Kyrsten Sinema’s office, many reports have focused on whether Sinema’s demands violate Senate ethics rules, with Vanity Fair even calling it a “celebrity rider”. In addition to her blatantly shafting her constituents in favor of creature comforts like weekly massages, Sinema is clearly toeing very close to the ethical line, and it may warrant further investigation.
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Politico: SINEMATOGRAPHY
A 37-page memo for aides to Sinema lays out the centrist’s very specific preferences, from omnipresent bottles of room temperature water to a deathly aversion to middle seats on airplanes, The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey reports. It’s a fun read, but the guidelines — which are from a couple of years ago — also “appear to go right up to the line of what Senate ethics rules allow, if not over,” he writes. Though staffers are supposed to assist members of Congress only with professional duties, the Sinema memo includes instructions for getting her groceries (with CashApp reimbursement) and fixing her home internet.
The guide given to staff reveals her precise requirements, including the temperature she prefers her drinking water, when she likes to eat, exactly where on the plane she is willing to sit and strict instructions regarding her weekly hour-long massage appointments.
To ensure Sinema can work out before her 8.45am start time and has a chance to rest to aid recovery, she also insists staff never schedule her for any meetings or events outside of her work hours without talking to her first.
Yet the Senate ethics handbook suggests Sinema may be pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable.
Rolling Stone: Sinema Expected Staffers to Handle Her Grocery Shopping, Internal Memo Reveals
GROCERY RUNS, HOTEL pool specifications, weekly massages, Wi-Fi repairs, and an abundance of room-temperature water are just some of the demands placed on Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema’s staffers, according to a document obtained by The Daily Beast.
Business Insider: Internal memo reveals how Kyrsten Sinema instructed staffers to handle grocery runs and make sure she gets her WiFi fixed: report
The document obtained by The Daily Beast also includes tidbits about how the senator shouldn’t be disturbed outside office hours if possible.
Raw Story: Questions raised about Kyrsten Sinema’s staff demands after 37-page memo leaked
As for the personal tasks, such as being available to let workmen into her apartment, ethics experts claim she is right up to the line — or slightly over it — with her demands of aides.
Vanity Fair: Kyrsten Sinema’s 37-Page Staffer Guide Reads Like A Celebrity Rider
It’s common knowledge that Kyrsten Sinema—about as elusive sartorially as she is ideologically—is one of the oddest birds in the Senate. But according to The Daily Beast, the Arizona senator’s workplace oddities might very well violate Senate ethics rules.
Salon: Expert: Leaked memo suggests Sinema violated ethics rule by making aides perform “personal tasks”
As for the personal tasks, such as being available to let workmen into her apartment, ethics experts claim she is right up to the line — or slightly over it — with her demands of aides.
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