Pelosi's use of gummint planes

Speaker Hankey Travels

A dozen years ago during the Terror, David Watkins, director of the White House Office of Administration resigned after publicity over his use of the presidential helicopter, Marine One to take him and friends on golfing jaunts. Earlier Bill Clinton had used  FBI director William Sessions' use of gummint airplanes to visit his wife's mother as an excuse to fire him.  That this happened the day before the FBI was scheduled to raid Clinton business associates David Hale's offices in Arkansas was of course coincidental. So, what to make of Speaker Hankey's recent actions? The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the Bush administration for routine access to military aircraft for domestic flights, such as trips back to her San Francisco district, according to sources familiar with the discussions.     The sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said the Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation. A knowledgeable source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time."     "They are pressing the point of her succession and that the [Department of Defense] needs to play ball with the speaker's needs," one source said. The request originally went to the Pentagon, which then asked the White House to weigh in. [Speaker pursues military flights] Speaker Hankey, appearing flushed over the allegations,  responded with, ''this is just a bunch of crap"