Louisiana Governor’s Ethics Settlement Highlights Growing Risks of Political Control over Oversight

In a striking example of how power can be wielded to evade scrutiny, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has agreed to pay a modest $900 fine for failing to disclose a series of free flights, including an unreported private plane ride to Hawaii valued at nearly $13,000. This barely scratches the surface of a yearslong ethics probe that brought uncomfortable facts into the spotlight just before Landry flipped a Democrat-held governor’s seat in 2023. While the details may seem technical—disclosing complimentary trips within state law timelines—the implications run far deeper than bureaucratic housekeeping. Landry’s settlement ends an ethics investigation involving nearly...