For years, the infamous Bilderberg Group has met in secret, the great and the good(?) assembling to allegedly carve up the future of the world. Their cloak of secrecy has been almost perfect for decades, the list of attendees the subject of myth and speculation. Well, it would be, if it wasn’t for the fact that Gov. Rick Perry‘s press people had told everyone he was going. But now some details of the trip have been clarified, courtesy of Texas electoral law.
According to campaign finance documents filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, our very own governor flew out on May 30 from Austin to Istanbul, Turkey. Under “purpose of travel,” it reads “Guest speaker at Bilderberg conference.” D’oh! That’s no way to keep a secret organization secret. Perry then flew back to Austin on June 4.
For those of you with a taste for campaign finances, don’t worry, the cash didn’t come from the governor’s office. Nor, although it’s on their paperwork, did his PAC Texans for Rick Perry cough up the travel expenses. The flight came courtesy of American Airlines, as an in-kind contribution.
And don’t worry that the governor would have gotten bored on the 20-something hour flight: he had company. In the same document, there’s also records of a free trip to the Bilderberg conference for Phil Wilson – Perry’s former deputy chief of staff and director of communications, who since their summer jaunt has been appointed secretary of state.
This article appears in July 20 • 2007.
