Not much has been disclosed to the public about a coming meeting of a group of state attorneys general that will take place in South Africa.
All the way in South Africa, the event, which begins Nov. 25, seeks to further the goals of the Attorney General Alliance - Africa Programme. The AGA began as the Conference of Western Attorneys General and says it is an alliance of AGs, other officials and private sector partners "throughout the world who come together to address complex issues in law and policy."
What will be discussed at the Africa meeting (and which AGs will take the long flight into foreign soil) is so far a mystery to the public. Legal Newsline's phone messages and emails seeking information, like an agenda, have gone ignored.
Beyond the formal schedule, one former attendee says companies attend AGA meetings to gain access to state attorneys general to help with future lobbying efforts.
"The events are off the books," another former attendee said. "You might not be lobbying, but the AGs know exactly why the company joins the association and how much they've paid to be there.
"In turn, they know exactly how much the association contributes to them."
The AGA Africa Programme aims to educate officials on how to combat transnational crimes. This event will be held in Johannesburg, a hotbed of illegal activity. The U.S. Department of State has a South Africa travel advisory that warns against crimes like armed robbery, rape and carjacking, calling them "common."
The Daily Wire and other media outlets have reported on the AGA's controversial trips, like embattled Texas AG Ken Paxton's visit to China and Qatar trips by several other AGs whose tabs were paid by the country.
One aide to a state AG is quoted by The Daily Wire as saying AGA is "a laundromat for anybody who wants to do stuff without having to disclose it."
The cheapest one way flight from Pierre, South Dakota, where Marty Jackley, chair of AGA works, to Johannesburg will take 43 hours and 25 minutes in three stops and cost $1,156, according to a review of the best available options on Kayak.com.
Jackley could leave on Friday at 4:35 p.m. on a one hour and 25 minute Denver Air Connection flight to Denver, arriving 5:00 p.m.
After a four hour and 23 minute layover, he could take a 9:23 p.m. Frontier Airlines flight to Chicago Midway, arriving 12:44 p.m., then get a car service to Chicago O'Hare to catch a 9:45 a.m. flight on Ethiopian Air to Addis Ababa, arriving 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, a nine hour flight.
After a seven hour layover in Addis Ababa, he could take a five hour flight to Johannesburg, arriving 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.