Sears appears to have violated Virginia law by failing to disclose a free private plane trip and previously failed to disclose gifted trips

VIRGINIA – New reporting from WVTF details that “new questions have emerged about Earle-Sears' trips” as Virginia FOIA Advisory Chair, Del. Marcus Simon is concerned Winsome Earle-Sears accepted a secretive private flight without disclosing it. 
 
Earlier this week, the Richmond Times-Dispatch exposed that Sears appears to have failed to disclose a free private plane trip from a donor “whose business was regulated by the state.” This follows Sears failing to disclose – as required by ethics law – gifted trips valued at more than $15,780. 
 
“If Sears can’t keep her records straight or abide by ethics laws, how can Virginians trust her to lead the Commonwealth? The answer is simple: they can’t. Virginians deserve to know what happened with this secret flight and any conflicts of interest,” said DPVA Spokesperson Maggie Amjad.
 
WVTF: New questions have emerged about Earle-Sears' trips

• Democrats are saying Republican candidate for governor Winsome Earle-Sears is in violation of disclosure laws.
• In 2024, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears took a trip to Israel financed by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. That trip was not initially disclosed to the public, although Earle-Sears later amended her disclosure form. 
• Delegate Marcus Simon is a Democrat from Fairfax County who says he’s concerned Earle-Sears is accepting trips without disclosing them again.
• "As of this moment, she is not compliant with the law – either the disclosure law reporting who paid for it or the FOIA requests that require a five-day response," Simon says. "I think it's been 10 and 13 days, and so far all we've heard is, ‘We're still figuring it out.’"
• "We're still trying to figure it out" is the quote the Earle-Sears campaign gave to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which is reporting about new questions surrounding who is paying for her travel expenses.

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