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Gov. Jeff Landry’s attorneys told a judge Tuesday that the elected official expected to reach a deal by December with the Louisiana Board of Ethics over ethics charges linked to a trip to Hawaii, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
While the deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, attorneys did not provide specifics on what the terms might be.
“We’ve continued to have discussions with the Board of Ethics and the discussions have been fruitful,” said Stephen Gele, a lawyer representing Landry, at the status hearing conducted by phone.
The governor has been in a dispute with the ethics board since August 2023 for failing to disclose flights he took to Hawaii on a political donor’s plane. The trip, which took place in 2021, occurred while he was attorney general and before he was elected governor.
Gele says the ethics board is expected to sign off on an agreement struck by Landry’s attorneys and its board members at their Dec. 6 meeting.
Negotiations with the ethics board needed to extend for another two months primarily because of the ethics board’s procedures, according to Gele. The board comes together to meet only once per month, which has delayed deliberations.
The ethics board’s attorney, Charles Reeves, didn’t comment on the progress of the discussion during Tuesday’s hearing. Ethics board staff was not immediately available to answer questions after the hearing Tuesday.
