SarahPAC Ensures That Sarah Palin Travels in Style

Apr. 15, 2010 — -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent more than $400,000 from her political action committee during the first three months of 2010, using the money donated by supporters to pay her team of advisers and cover the costs of stays in luxury hotels, flights, and even to de-ice a private jet that was shuttling her to a campaign rally.

The payments from her "leadership" PAC, called SarahPAC, are detailed in a newly released filing with the Federal Election Commission, and they lend additional insights into how the former GOP vice presidential nominee is paying for her whirl of post-governorship activities.

Much of the SarahPAC money contributed by her donors is being spent on legal and political advice. She has several consultants who help with media inquiries, and pays a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. John McCain to keep her fresh on global issues. A good portion is also going to the high-end hotels and first class travel that has become a staple of her life in the months since she left office.

Already, ABC News has estimated that Palin has earned more than $12 million through book and television deals and a packed schedule of paid speaking engagements, where she commands five and six figure fees for giving talking to corporate executives and advocacy groups.

The expenses related to those speeches are apparently billed directly to her hosts, according to documents that some California State University students said they unearthed in a dumpster on campus. And those expenses are not insubstantial – Palin flies business or first class, or by private jet, and she asks to be booked in high-end hotels.

For political appearances, the rules are no different, only the costs are often picked up by SarahPAC, which raises money mostly in small increments through individual contributions. The filing shows she stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix, Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake City, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, and the Peninsula Hotel in New York City (where the tab came to more than $3,400).