Olens defends trip with tobacco lobbyist

A spokeswoman for Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens justified a plane ride the state's top prosecutor took with a tobacco lobbyist.

A lobbyist for Altria, parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris, disclosed the flight to the state Ethics Commission, valuing it at $1,304.54. The lobbyist is Sean Collins.

Olens' office says Collins accompanied Olens on the round-trip flight. The Attorney General accepted the flights with the tobacco lobbyist in order to attend a meeting of Republican attorneys general in Palm Beach, Florida.

"Accepting an invitation to join this flight was legal and it was reported in a transparent manner," Olens spokeswoman Lauren Kane wrote in response to 11Alive's emailed questions.

Kane said the flight originated in the southeast Georgia city of Brunswick November 14 and "did enable (Olens) to attend the conference and keep his other commitments."

Kane says Olens flew back to Atlanta on the private plane following the conclusion of the conference.

The Attorney General's free flights came under attack from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, an anti-smoking group. It monitors payments by tobacco companies to states involved in a legal settlement reached more than a decade ago. An official with the group said it was a conflict of interest for Olens to accept the free travel from a lobbyist with an industry involved in ongoing legal issues.

"Public officials charged with enforcing this agreement, getting travel money to conferences from the companies that are subject to that agreement, is ridiculous and outlandish," said Danny McGoldrick of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids in Washington.

But Olens' spokeswoman says the face time with the Altria executive was useful.

"Tobacco companies are seeking to reduce payments to the states. We're vigorously fighting them," Kane said. "At that time, the companies had not decided which states to challenge, and Sam hoped to convince them not to challenge Georgia."

Kane said Olens was unavailable to speak on his own behalf due to an illness that has kept him out of the office this week.