Hidden Records: Speaker Scott, LG Earle-Sears, and AG Miyares visit Israel

The latest meeting of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board leads to questions about transparency and disclosure.

On May 6, 2025, the Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) met and — although they weren’t providing video access to the public — Goad Gatsby was reporting on site. At one point, Goad reported that VIAB Executive Director Dov Hoch revealed House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D), Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R), and Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) have visited Israel:

Such a trip in December would’ve come after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif (who has reportedly been killed) for alleged war crimes. The U.S. Department of State currently warns citizens to reconsider any travel to Israel due to “terrorism and civil unrest.”

Speaker Scott: 248 Pages Withheld, Trip Disclosed on SOEI

Curious as to why elected Virginia officials were visiting Israel, particularly given the security concerns and questions of international law and justice, I sent a FOIA request to Speaker Scott’s office on May 6, 2025, requesting “any and all records, including but not limited to emails and text messages to both personal and official accounts/devices, mentioning or concerning Speaker Scott's trip to Israel in 2024.”

Scott’s office replied on May 12, 2025, informing me that “There were 76 records totaling 248 pages” but that his office was withholding them all as “working papers and correspondence of a member of the General Assembly.” Remember that this is a discretionary exemption; a member of the General Assembly could choose to release such records.

Speaker Scott did, however, disclose some details about this trip on his 2025 Statement of Economic Interests (SOEI) filed on February 21, 2025.

As you can see, Scott listed the trip on Schedule F of the form, indicating that the total value was $15,377.58. It was paid by the American Israel Education Foundation, the “charitable” organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Scott disclosed the dates of the event as “December 8-14, 2024” and the location as “Tel Aviv, Israel.”

I sent a FOIA request to the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council today to collect travel waiver requests submitted in 2024 and 2025, since Scott apparently received a waiver based on the Schedule F filing.

And the Speaker apparently referenced his trip in a January 27, 2025 post on X:

AG Miyares: 16 Records Withheld, 2023 Trip Disclosed on SOEI

Back in 2022, Attorney General Jason Miyares met with then Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, and presented him with a copy of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order Number Eight.

Miyares posted about the meeting on X on February 3, 2022:

On July 8, 2022, I sent a FOIA request to Miyares’ office requesting “all documents and communications from Jan 1, 2022 until today: (1) Mentioning Ambassador Michael Herzog; (2) Mentioning or concerning the Israeli Embassy; (3) Pertaining to the logistics or substance of AG Miyares' meeting with Ambassador Herzog.”

After invoking a time extension, on July 18, 2022 Miyares’ office replied:

Please be advised that we located approximately sixteen (16) records responsive to your request and that all these records are working papers of the Attorney General and are exempt from VFOIA pursuant to section 2.2-3705.7(2) of the Code of Virginia.

Miyares did, however, include his most recent known trip to Israel (in 2023) on Schedule F of his 2024 Statement of Economic Interests:

As you can see, Miyares claims Dr. David Konikoff paid $4,050 to cover “Travel to Israel to visit sites of 10/7 terrorist attacks and meet with government officials and survivors.” The location of the event was listed as “Jerusalem and Sderot, Israel.” And the dates of the event were listed as “November 13-15, 2023.”

Miyares posted on X on November 16, 2023 at 8:24am (it’s unclear if this reflects EST, UTC, or another time zone) that he “Landed in Israel at Ben Gurion one of the busiest international airports in the world…”:

Miyares posted the following day on X:

Although I don’t reserve much hope for disclosure, I submitted a FOIA request to Miyares today to try to get more records about this 2023 trip to Israel.

LG Winsome Earle-Sears: Undisclosed Trip, FOIA Response Pending

Lieutenant Governor and 2025 GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears visited Israel in 2024, a trip that she referred to as a “fact-finding trip” in a June 15, 2024 post on X:

Five days earlier, on June 10, 2024, Earle-Sears posted about her trip and identified the organization Combat Antisemitism Movement as affiliated with the events:

Here’s how Combat Antisemitism Movement describes itself on its website:

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of individuals and organizations, across all religions and faiths, united to combat antisemitism.

Our unique platform creates partnerships throughout the world, strategically implementing new and creative solutions to combat the world’s oldest hatred. We leverage the collective power of our broad-based coalition to unite individuals of all backgrounds in this fight. CAM is operated by the Combat Hate Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) entity.

The Combat Hate Foundation is based in Kansas, but its most recent IRS Form 990 filings don’t disclose its funding sources.

Earle-Sears’ affiliation with Combat Antisemitism Movement was reported by The Israel National News - Arutz Sheva in a June 18, 2024 article:

The following week, from June 9-14, a bipartisan group of 15 state legislators also visited Israel with CAM. Participants included Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears of Virginia, Sen. Daniel Dawson of Iowa, Rep. Randy Fine of Florida, Sen. Robby Mills of Kentucky, and Rep. Christopher Todd of Tennessee. This delegation focused on state-level policies, economic ties, and educational partnerships between the U.S. and Israel. They explored ways by which policymakers can help combat the rise of antisemitism within their respective communities.

"It is crucial that we promote understanding and fight against the spread of misinformation and hate," said Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears of Virginia. "By learning about Israel's vibrant diversity and the complex realities I just witnessed, we can better understand and combat antisemitism disguised as criticism of Israel. As state leaders, we have a responsibility to stand up against hatred and bigotry in all its forms.”

However, unlike Scott and Miyares, Earle-Sears did not disclose any details about this 2024 trip to Israel on her 2025 Statement of Economic Interests or her gift disclosure filings.

Schedule F of her 2025 SOEI indicates as much:

Nothing related to any trips to Israel appears on Earle-Sears’ 2024 SOEI or gift disclosure filings either, which suggests three possibilities: she paid for the trip herself, the Commonwealth paid for the trip, or an outside group paid for the trip and she failed to disclose the payment.

And as the SOEI explicitly states: “Any filer who knowingly and intentionally makes a false statement of a material fact on the Statement of Economic Interests is guilty of a Class 5 felony.”

I submitted a FOIA request to Earle-Sears yesterday seeking “any and all records, including but not limited to emails and text messages to both personal and official accounts/devices, mentioning or concerning the Lieutenant Governor's trip to Israel in 2024.”

As I await her response — and those of Miyares and the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council — keep your eyes on her 2025 SOEI on the online portal, and watch for any amendments that reveal who actually paid for her trip to Israel.