Carsons Personally Involved In Selection of $31K Dining Room Set

HUD Secretary Ben Carson has said that the purchase of a $31,000 furniture set for his office dining room was made without his knowledge. However, new emails obtained by CNN show that’s not the case. He and wife, Candy, appear to have been intimately involved. An August email from a career administration staffer, with the subject line "Secretary's dining room set needed," to Carson's assistant refers to "printouts of the furniture the Secretary and Mrs. Carson picked out." When confronted Tuesday with the discrepancy between his past comments and the internal emails, HUD spokesman Raffi Williams offered only this explanation: "When presented with options by professional staff, Mrs. Carson participated in the selection of specific styles." The newly released emails show discussions about the dining set going back to last May when two Carson aides asked for repairs to the chairs of the existing furniture. Secretary Carson acknowledged there was a deadline to make a decision on the furniture purchase. He said that he and his wife "were told there was a $25,000 budget that had to be used by a certain time or it would be lost." A quote for the dining room furniture, released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, came in at $24,666, just under budget. More here.