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Congresswoman criticized for taking private jet flights

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree used to criticize public officials who travelled on private jets. However, she was recently seen by reporters flying on a private jet.

“Most Americans never have and never will fly on a chartered jet, much less a fancy corporate jet complete with wet bar and leather couches,” Pingree said in a Subcommittee on the Constitution in 2006. “So when members of Congress constantly fly around on corporate jets and pay only the cost of a commercial ticket, it contributes to the corrosive public perception that members of Congress are more like the fat cats of Wall Street than they are like the rest of us.”

Last July, Pingree’s representatives said that they had no knowledge that the Maine representative was travelling in private jets. But a watchdog from Maine caught her on video boarding a private jet, which was owned by her significant other—Donald Sussman.

As of press time, it has not been confirmed if Pingree had been frequently traveling via private jet.