New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununuâs office was tight-lipped about his trip to the United Arab Emirates for a conference in February, but a disclosure filed Monday shed light on his agenda.
Or at least some of it.
At least two of Sununu’s activities in Dubai for the World Government Summit were not disclosed to the Department of State, as required by law. The omissions were first reported Tuesday by InDepthNH, a publication of the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism.
After Sununu returned from Dubai, his office released a âbrief descriptionâ of his itinerary, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. His schedule included an event with Energy Secretary Rick Perry announcing a robotics competition and a meeting with students from Dartmouth Collegeâs Tuck School of Business.
As required, Sununu attached the conferenceâs agenda — printed from the eventâs website — to his paperwork disclosing that the summit, which was founded by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, paid $9,000 for the governor to attend.
But some events Sununuâs office acknowledged were not detailed in his disclosure: an all-day retreat at Al Maktoumâs desert camp and an event his office called the CEO Summit: Gathering of Game Changers, InDepthNH reported.
Under state law, failing to fully disclose trips paid for by companies or other governments is a misdemeanor.
Sununu, a Republican, was elected to a second term in November and is reportedly considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year against Sen. Jeanne Shaeehn, a Democrat who will be seeking her third term after she unseated Sununuâs father, John Sununu, in 2008.
InDepthNH also reported that a public-records request for Sununuâs travel receipts yielded heavily redacted documents showing the governor was reimbursed for thousands of dollars in hotels and flights.
The locations and dates were blacked out due to âexecutive privilege,â Sununuâs legal counsel, John Formella, told InDepthNH.