Michelle Obama’s One Night Stay in Morocco Cost Taxpayers $612,322

Trip aimed to promote ‘Let Girls Learn’



First Lady Michelle Obama’s one night stay in Morocco cost taxpayers over $600,000 in hotel and car rental costs alone.

Mrs. Obama traveled to the North African country with her daughters Sasha and Malia and mother Marian Robinson to promote her education initiative “Let Girls Learn.” She arrived in Morocco wearing a $1,750 designer dress and ended the night with a “lavish dinner” with Princess Lalla Salma and actress Meryl Streep.

Rooms were booked at three five-star hotels for the 24-hour visit, according to contracts signed off by the State Department.

Two contracts were signed for rooms at the Royal Mansour worth $50,000 and $10,073. The five-star hotel has a mother-daughter spa suite, promises its guests “wonder, luxury and unparalleled services,” and offers a “spiritual spa journey.”

The Hotel Sofitel Marrakech Lounge and Spa was also booked for Mrs. Obama’s trip, including contracts worth $200,000, $31,968, and $28,039. The Secret Service also stayed at the Sofitel for $133,493. A pre-advance visit cost $4,676.

Additional rooms were booked at the Pearl Marrakech Hotel, costing $24,934.

Renting a car and driver for Mrs. Obama’s visit cost $6,966, and other car service for Secret Service, the White House Military Office, and the White House Communications Agency totaled $122,173. In all, the contracts totaled $612,322.

Aside from hotel and motorcade costs, the Daily Mail estimates that flights for the trip totaled $300,000.

Morocco was the second stop on Mrs. Obama’s three-country visit. Obama first traveled to Liberia, and headed to Madrid on Wednesday to promote girls’ education.

People.com noted, “The exciting trip closely follows Malia’s graduation from Washington, D.C.’s private Sidwell Friends School.”

http://freebeacon.com/culture/michelle-obamas-one-night-stay-morocco-cost-taxpayers-612322/

so who cares, like the bushes never spent like drunken sailors!

More fraud, waste, and abuse. Amazing how it just doesn't matter any more because it is such common place now. You could have put $660 trillion and nobody would have noticed. Just another sign of the major disconnect. Money has become almost worthless. It will collapse.

You might want to check your facts if your talking about "W"! He refused opulence or extravagance because he felt it wrong to even spend for such things while we were embroiled in conflict.

Most of his vacations were at his ranch or Camp David, and his visits to meet with heads of state were out of necessity and again, strictly budgeted.

Well, yes, sort of. But the thing is, no matter where a head of state or relative of a head of state goes, there are very high costs due to standard security requirements, among other things.

There are also a great number of accounting tricks used by people who are trying to make one person seem more efficient than another.

This is not a situation where the First Lady decided to vacation in Morocco on the tax payers dime. Pretending it was, is an ingenuous (i.e. dishonest) act.

Well, yes, sort of. But the thing is, no matter where a head of state or relative of a head of state goes, there are very high costs due to standard security requirements, among other things.

There is no reason for that project, of her's in Morocco.
And the article isn't listing 'security & other things", just MORE of her extravagance.
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There are also a great number of accounting tricks used by people who are trying to make one person seem more efficient than another.

She has to file expenditures.
I don't think anyone made up the price of the ugly dress or 4-5 stars rooms. All that could be easily checked.
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is is not a situation where the First Lady decided to vacation in Morocco on the tax payers dime. Pretending it was, is an ingenuous (i.e. dishonest) act.

Vacation, no it was not.
(There are years of articles on her extravagance & vacations & trips to Italy for ONE designer dress, that was not a vacation either & she took 8 friends with her).

Work related, no it was not.
She doesn't work for us.
And neither does her mom & daughters.
This is just another pet project of her's that will or has already failed.
She should be concerned about how many homeless & hungry children are in the USA, that are citizens.
And stop pretending she is Queen or an elite spending her own money.
She should be home, on the sidelines, trying to gain the respect & admiration of the American people.

Geez. With all the terror & alerts, & hyped up security & drills & invasion of privacy, in the name of safety & security..... why are ALL the President's women leaving the country, anyway ?

Just like Trudy,hmm?

yep,as you say,another Vacation on the Taxpayer's Purse!
She has been having quite a few of them in the last seven years plus!
But we can't question Big Brother,can we?

Considering who the person is in the OP, I keep thinking a more appropriate thread title would be "One Night In Bangkok"

The Funds she allegedly brought to those Countries could have been disbursed by the US-Embassies,instead of Moochelle having another Trip wasting Taxpayer's Funds!
But then,we can't question Big Brother,can we?

The Obonzos have only put the country, 20 trillion in debt.

What's another half mil?

Play it again,Sam..............

Bitchelle and Barry aren't noted about caring much for the concerns of the American people or its taxpayers.