I also asked Mr. Porter whether senior TABC officials were permitted to drive state vehicles to and from their homes outside of Austin. Mr. Porter wrote that state vehicles may not be used for that purpose, but “TABC policy allows employees to deploy from their residence when conducting business away from their regular duty location.” He added that Mr. Beal “was using a rental car to return to Huntsville following visits to industry members and TABC field offices in the area.”
In the video, Mr. Beal says he is driving a state vehicle rather than a rental vehicle, but maybe that’s a distinction without a difference. I’m more curious to know how many times Mr. Beal has visited “industry members and TABC field offices” around Huntsville versus other parts of the state.
I’m sure an enterprising reporter could figure that out, and I happen to know a journalist who is now asking inconvenient questions about the FBI’s investigation of alleged corruption at TABC headquarters. Stay tuned.