Louise Linton’s very bad week may have just gotten a little worse.
Linton hit the headlines on Monday when she got in an Instagram spat over a photo of her and her new husband, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, arriving at Fort Knox on an official visit.
Now watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is questioning the timing of that visit, noting that Mnuchin landed in Kentucky in time to view the eclipse.
Going for gold? Louise Linton caused a brouhaha on Monday when she shared this image of her and hubby Steven Mnuchin arriving in Kentucky – and tagged her clothing labels
Nobody’s vault but his: Mnuchin was there to talk up Trump’s tax plans, but said he would also visit Fort Knox with Sen. Mitch McConnell (both seen left) and watch the eclipse with Linton
Kept in the dark? Now an ethics body is arguing that Mnuchin’s trip was arranged to coincide with the eclipse close to where it would be darkest – and wants to see who paid for the flight
Mnuchin’s trip to Kentucky – during which he talked up Donald Trump’s tax plans – made him just the third sitting Treasury Secretary to visit the bullion depository.
Writing on Monday, the Courier-Journal said that Mnuchin had answered questions at he Olmsted hotel, in a meeting sponsored by the Louisville Chamber of Commerce.
It noted that afterwards Mnuchin, 54, and Linton, 36, were to engage in a tour with Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who was also present.
‘The two were headed to Fort Knox with McConnell after the lunch to tour the bullion reserve at the Army post and view the eclipse,’ the paper reported.
For CREW, that appears to have set off Fort-Knox-sized alarm bells, with the organization putting in a Freedom of Information Act request for related records.
It wants to see ‘all records concerning authorization for and the costs of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s use of a government plane to travel to Lexington, Kentucky on Monday, August 21, accompanied by his wife Louise Linton.’
Work it out: The body says Mnuchin shouldn’t have used a taxpayer-funded plane if he was there to see the eclipse. His tax talk was paid for by the Louisville Chamber of Commerce
Instagrim: Their visit hit the public eye after Jenni Miller (pictured), scolded Linton for getting a ‘free flight’ in a comment on her Instagram pic, and Linton responded with an arrogant screed
It also wants ‘copies of all records concerning authorization for and the costs of Secretary Mnuchin’s use of a government plane for any purpose since his appointment as Treasury Secretary.’
It claims that the documents ‘would shed light on the justification for Secretary Mnuchin’s use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the Secretary to secure a viewpoint in the path of the eclipse’s totality.’
South-west Kentucky – around 100 miles from Fort Knox – was indeed directly positioned to get the best views of the eclipse as it occurred over the country.
CREW added: ‘At a time of expected deep cuts to the federal budget, the taxpayers have a significant interest in learning the extent to which Secretary Mnuchin has used government planes for travel in lieu of commercial planes, and the justification for that use.’
On Monday, a government spokesperson said that Linton’s seat on the taxpayer-funded flight had been paid for by Mnuchin.
That announcement was forced out of officials after Linton – a minor TV and film actress from Scotland – blundered into an Instagram argument over her flight.
Plane crass: Linton was slammed for boasting of her $14,540 outfit in a state where 19% live under the poverty line. A spokesperson said her seat on the flight was paid for by Mnuchin
She posted on Monday a photo of herself and Mnuchin getting off the plane in Kentucky – accompanied by hashtags for all of the clothing brands she was wearing.
Her wardrobe totaled more than $14,000, DailyMail.com revealed today.
That incurred the wrath of Jenni Miller, a mother-of-three from Oregon, who commented: ‘Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.’
Linton then responded with an extended rant in which – despite having grown up in a castle – she accused the mother of being ‘Adorably out of touch’.
Linton, whose most notable acting role was as a murder victim in a 2007 episode of CSI, also boasted that she and her husband – whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be upward of $500 million – pay more in taxes than Miller.
That quickly led to her being roasted on Twitter, to which Linton responded by locking up both her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
In the furore that followed, Linton became a figure of hate and mockery across the county, with many noting that her CSI victim had been dressed as Marie Antoinette – another rich woman whose mockery of the working classes ended badly.
Linton’s publicist released a curt apology on Tuesday, writing: ‘I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response. It was inappropriate and highly insensitive.’
Getting a head in acting? Linton is a minor actress who played a Marie Antoinette lookalike in a 2007 episode of CSI (pictured). Her response to Miller – whom she called ‘out of touch’ while boasting about how many taxes she pays – led to many likening her to the executed aristocrat