Cox, whose district falls close to Yosemite, had his staff request two parking passes for a personal visit to the park. At the time, people could request one of 340 tickets available. Tickets were given on a lottery basis.
Emails obtained by the Washington Examiner show National Park Service staff made it clear that they do not provide preferential treatment for members of Congress. The only time members of Congress are allowed to obtain tickets outside of the public allotment are if they are visiting in an official business capacity, not as someone trying to visit the park.
“Due to the personal nature of this visit, we are unable to honor your request,” Teresa Austin, Deputy Superintendent of Yosemite, told Cox’s staff.
When Cox’s staff asked for a reason, Austin had to get higher-ups involved.
According to Matthew Bigelow, the Associate Ethics Counsel for the National Park Service, the agency has a very clear policy on these types of scenarios.
“As far as ethics analysis is concerned, employees shall not use government property, or allow its use, for other than authorized purposes. … Authorized purposes are those purposes for which the Government property is made available to members of the public or those purposes authorized in accordance with law or regulation,” Bigelow wrote in an email to Cox’s staff.
Because Cox was wanting to visit on a national holiday and not in a business capacity, it was clear to Bigelow this was a personal trip.
After Austin’s call with Cox, the trip was changed from “personal” to “business.”
The preferential treatment has Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), the head of the House Western Caucus, wanting the Department of the Interior to investigate.
“Use of one’s status as a Member of Congress in an attempt to influence an Executive Branch employee to acquire preferential treatment for personal gain is a breach of that public trust,” Gosar wrote in his letter to the Interior Department on Aug. 3.
Cox used his position to pressure the NPS to give him access to the park despite this being a personal trip on a holiday.
“Subsequent telephone interviews with Yosemite Park Service staff indicate that Representative Cox’s call resulted in pressuring the National Park Service staff to change the request from personal to professional and grant him passes. National Park Service staff indicate this was done due to his status as a member of the Natural Resources Committee and to film a video to accompany the Great American Outdoors Act,” Gosar said. “However, nowhere in any of Representative Cox’s official active media streams are pictures, video or professional recognition that he attended any events or visited Yosemite over the 4th of July. In fact, since July 4th , there is no reference to Representative Cox’s official attendance at Yosemite on at all.”
Cox did, however, share a video from Yosemite back in June about the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act.
Talk about rules for thee but not for me.
karma will come around for the Demorats
DUMMYCRATS GONE WILD, the entire DUMMYCRATIC PARTY has lost it’s mind, they all want something that no one else can have because they are SPECIAL. They are SPECIAL IN THEIR OWN EYES, there was a time when the PARTY was a RESPECTED POLITICAL PARTY, now after the past three years of lies, kangaroo SO-CALLED HEARINGS, WASTING OF MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS ON PHONY CHATGES AGAINST THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND ANY BODY WHO IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIM, in my view is TREASONOUS. Now even to get to go where everyone has a chance to go, using your political position to overstep a rule that we the little guy must follow, just to impress family and friends is chicken little shit. DEPUTY SUPER OF YOSEMITE AUSTIN, YUOU DID THE RIGHT THING BY FOLLOWING THE RULES, THANK YOU FOR BEING AN HONEST RESPECTABLE RANGER.GOD BLESS AMERICA.
All of Congress needs to have term limits and absolutely no preferential treatment! I’m outraged and offended by Cox and his “Congress privilege”!
Amazing how publicly elected think their entitled to circumvent the law when ever they feel.?
Unbelievable! 160,000 people are dead due to Trump’s incompetence and he was using the Oval Office to promote Goya as well as give gov’t biz to his friends and you’re investigating Yosemite parking spot as example for abuse of power!!!!!!!!!
Touch this – YOUR BRAINS ARE FUCKED UP, Survival Update Team
So Right!!!
You are pointing your biased finger in the wrong direction. Trump was accused of xenophobia when he closed travel to/from Chin in January — and the dummycrats like cuoma and pelosi encouraged public gatherings.. cuomo’s edict to send COVI positives to nursing homes (where the highest vulnerability people live) led to NYC having one of the highest death rates in the US (a large percentage of thoe 160000 you so blindly quoted.) Get a grip on reality.
You chatter and carry on like a suckling pig yet other then wild “talking points” from the Dumbo rats, you offer nothing of
substance. As a result making a total ass of yourself and anyone stupid enough to fall for your iconic BS!