Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Did Bill Minor lie?

Bill Minor wrote a little hit piece last week on Treasurer Tate Reeves and Auditor Stacey Pickering. First he went after Reeves:

"But Hewes should rattle another money management tree in Treasurer Reeves' official domain where documentation indicates Mississippi taxpayers were short-changed at least $2.5 million from investment commissions in a 2006-2007 period and the self-proclaimed "watchdog" failed to bark. Trouble is no one seems to know who's pocketing the money.

We're talking about investments by the Health Care Trust Fund established in 2000 to invest in perpetuity funds from the state's $4.2 billion settlement with the tobacco industry (paid over a 25-year period) for damage its product caused to Mississippians' health. Reeves by law chairs the board charged with oversight of the HCTF.

A citizen, having used Freedom of Information requests to pry out of Reeves' office records and minutes of the HCTF board meetings, uncovered and informed the board in a Dec. 16, 2008, letter instances of costly mismanagement of the multi-million dollar fund.
"

Just one problem, Mr. Reeves is just one board member and appoints no one to the board. Want to guess who else was on the board? Attorney General Jim Hood and Representative Steve Holland.(2007 annual report, see page 2, 2008 annual report, 2009 annual report). The Attorney General and Treasurer have permanent seats on the board while the Governor appoints one member from each Congressional district. Mr. Reeves serves as Chairman of the Board and is outvoted six to one. The Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House each appoint three non-voting members. Mr. Minor for some strange reason does not accuse Jim Hood or Governor Barbour of mismanagement. One sits on the board and the other controls a voting majority. If Mr. Minor is going to go down this path, one would think he would mention the Governor or Attorney General. However, this is not the last time Mr. Minor intentionally keeps facts from getting in the way of editorial falsehoods in this column.

Mr. Minor gnashes his teeth and wildly shrieks about funds from the commission recapture program not going to the state. One can almost imagine him rending his shirt or chewing the carpet as he penned his attack. What exactly is the commission recapture program, you ask? The program places all the trades in one broker in exchange for a rebate on his commissions- a volume discount of sorts. Nothing wrong with that practice in principle as it can save the state money. However its also a way for someone to reward his friends as Marshall Bennett found out the hard way.

Mr. Minor wrote "A standing contract on such investments dating back to Treasurer Marshall Bennett's administration (prior to Reeves) calls for the state to recapture 50 percent of the commissions. Ah yes, Marshall Bennett, the Treasurer who suddenly announced his resignation to the surprise of everyone. However, Mr. Minor still was not through with his editorial falsehoods:

"Among the documents obtained by this writer was a March 17, 2009, letter from Attorney General Jim Hood to both Max Arinder, director of the PEER committee and State Auditor Stacey Pickering. Hood enclosed a copy of Dunbar's allegations as well as the accountant hired by Reeves and asked both Arinder and Pickering to make their recommendations. Only Arinder responded, stating his committee had approved a preliminary inquiry. Hood got no response from Pickering."

Actually, Mr. Minor flat out lied. JJ obtained a copy of a letter Mr. Pickering's office sent to Jim Hood on May 19, 2009 that is posted below. The letter admits a federal investigation took place:

"Mr. Max Arinder, Executive Director, PEER Committee, has been contacted regarding this matter. Mr. Arinder stated a PEER Committee CPA reviewed the analysis performed by the independent accountant hired by the State Treasurer and agrees with the findings by the independent accountant. Mr. Arinder stated that the PEER Committee CPA did an independent analysis in one area of the complaint for which the PEER Committee had concerns. Mr. Arinder stated the findings of the PEER CPA in this area were consistent with the findings of the independent accountant hired by the State Treasurer's office."

Everyone get that? Mr. Minor lied as he stated PEER "approved a preliminary inquiry". Yes, PEER did, Bill. However, Mr. Minor did not mention the CPA used by PEER agreed with the auditor hired by Mr. Reeves. Whether or not Mr. Minor's sins of omissions regarding the investigations of the commissions were intentional are between him and his creator. However, this is nothing but editorial filth that is not fit for publication in any newspaper. Mr. Pickering ends the letter with this note:

"The State Auditor's Investigation Division participated in an investigation with the FBI regarding this matter. After a thorough investigation, the FBI closed their case. The State Auditor's office also closed its investigation.

Due to the fact that this matter has been reviewed by several agencies, and no evidence was found that would indicate misuse of public funds, my office does not intend to pursue this matter further
."

Didn't see this in the column, did you? The FBI, PEER, and the State Auditor investigated the program under Mr. Reeves and found nothing amiss. However, Mr. Minor doesn't mention these investigations or that the State Auditor did indeed respond to Mr. Hood's inquiry. Of course, no one should be surprised as Mr. Minor is more interested in smearing Republicans than he is in telling the truth.

Mr. Minor owes his readers, the newspapers carrying his column, Mr. Reeves, and Mr. Pickering a column apologizing to them for his lies and correcting his falsehoods. Mississippi newspapers should refuse to carry his column until he comes clean and makes a full apology for using his column to slander Tate Reeves and Stacey Pickering. He has completely disgraced himself, his legacy as a crusading reporter, and his profession. Mr. Minor should either apologize or retire. His lying has no place on the pages of any newspaper in Mississippi.


Note: Letter not loading properly. Here is link to it.













46 comments:

Frugal Gal said...

This really makes me sad. I had tons of respect for the work Minor did in the 60's and 70's in Mississippi. Unfortunately, he's now just another crank who uses his platform to spew bitter, conspiracy-ridden crap. He weilds his columns as a weapon to attack the people he associates with the "persecution" of his beloved son.

All in all, it's just sad -- who wants to live long enough to be responsible for the destruction of your own reputation through failure to retire gracefully?

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, this is just what I expect from someone like Bill Minor.

What I think is hilarious is that Paul Gallo read large parts of this article on his show this morning like it was coming straight from the Bible. Of course Paul was so blinded by his support for Billy Hewes that he would use anything to take a jab at Tate. If you missed the show you should try to find it because my mouth hit the floor when he started reading and praising this article. As a faithful listener, I think Paul should have to apologize to his listeners for his failure to provide accurate information.

Kingfish said...

Gallo did what? Anyone have audio of the show?

KaptKangaroo said...

I heard it too.

Anonymous said...

"What Mr. Minor is not mentioning in his column is the reason Mr. Bennett suddenly stepped down as Treasurer."

This is a pretty wild accusation, Kingfish. You claim Bennett resigned because of an FBI investigation like it is a FACT. That is just what you and your "sources" speculate. That's pretty irresponsible. Were there ever any charges against Bennett? NO. Was there ever a report of illegal activity? NO. So what are you saying?...that the FBI just let it go because he resigned? I think you are condemning a man of a crime in an attempt to give credence to your blog post. Again, that is irresponsible on your part and you should clarify your post as what it actually is…rumor and speculation.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I heard that too. Don't know where you could get the audio, but I was on my way to work so it would have been his segment sometime between 7:30 and 8:00. It was right after he had the guy from Fire Billy McCoy on. I changed the station halfway through though bc there was nothing factual coming out of that segment just Paul bashing Tate and praising Billy and using Minor's article to do it

Kingfish said...

Oh well, get over it. I stand by it and I have some damn good sources.

i don't have to lie to give credence to my post. Pickering's letter does a good enough job without. Funny how you don't condemn Minor for his lying and smearing of Pickering or Reeves.

and yes, the Feds do make those deals from time to time. Was supposedly discussed in the Melton saga.

Anonymous said...

Oh please. Many of us know the FBI told Marshall he could resign or they'd prosecute. It was common knowledge for those of us who worked in state government back then.

I thought he was pretty lucky.

Anonymous said...

Bill Minor hasn't written his own articles in over a decade. The real question is, who is the ghost writer?

Anonymous said...

Which Pickering letter, Kingfish? The one that states “Due to the fact that this matter has been reviewed by several agencies, and no evidence was found that would indicate misuse of public funds, my office does not intend to pursue this matter further.”?

And again, you state as a fact that the FBI does this all the time and then you justify your statement by saying it "was supposedly discussed in the Melton saga". "Supposedly" discussed? Really? That is your proof that the FBI does this all the time?

Anonymous said...

I'm with 10:46. I think Gallo should be ashamed that he 1) favorably used a Bill Minor article as a reliable source and 2) that in another desperate attempt to make Reeves look bad(the segment should have ended with paid for by friends of billy hewes)he read as fact an article that has clearly got some missing pieces which Gallo probably knew about or could have reasonably inferred

Anonymous said...

"He has completely disgraced himself, his legacy as a crusading reporter, and his profession. "

This happened decades ago.

BTW, I know for a fact that Minor is very involved still in writing his weekly article. I doubt he has a ghost writer.

He does have a serious chip on his shoulder about the matter concerning his son. he is very bitter, especially to Republicans, and this shows in his articles.

I heard the Gallo show as well. This all comes from Hewes going along with the advertising money that the state spends with Supertalk. If and likely when Reeves wins, he should drop that money for a couple of years to let Gallo and company know that there are consquences for taking one side.

Anonymous said...

This Bill Minor guy sure does like to protest, eh?

I've got to believe it is him posting anon or surely a likeness.

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows the church of Supertalk. Phil Bryant, Billy Hewes, Doug Davis are gods and anyone against them are devils. If Bill Minor had criticized one of those guys Paul Gallo would attack or ignore him. But because he goes after Tate Reeves, suddenly Bill Minor is part of the Supertalk gospel.

Anonymous said...

Libelous statements about Marshall Bennett? Better be careful Kingfish. This is where you can get into trouble. Marshall Bennett served this State with integrity and commitment for 16 years as Treasurer and many more in other capacities. I understand you wanting to refute any allegations Minor may make about Reeves, but attempting to lambast Reeves' predecessor is weak, contrived, and smells, well, fishy.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Tate the treasurer in 06 and 07? If so, that would mean this happened under his watch not
Bennett's. And, why in the hell hasn't Tate talked about it? Where is the money? It's still his responsibility to locate it and get it back for the taxpayers. Minor may be a bitter old bird with a few holes in his article, but the truth is Tate's not exactly Mister Squeaky Clean here. He owes people an explanation. That is, if you can find him.

Anonymous said...

All Tate would have to do is explain, and quite frankly that is all Gallo asked him to do. The problem is that Tate will not publicly appear and address anything that comes out about him. As the old saying goes" a lie left unanswered becomes truth". if its really a lie, then Tate should speak up. If he is running for second highest office in this state, he darn well better get accustomed to justifying his acts and omissions. Otherwise, he better get out the kitchen NOW!

Anonymous said...

i am also curious as to why Tate has not been running his invitations on JJ as he is a paid advertisor? perhaps its because the last two i received in the mail had only one supporter listed - his host! Kinda makes you wonder? I know the Hewes camp released their polling numbers yesterday and the spread was 8 points! This race is way closer than the Tate camp on this blog or other Tate supporters on MIM and Yall want to admit. I will at least give JJ credit for trying to be a little neutral on this one.

Anonymous said...

"All Tate would have to do is explain, and quite frankly that is all Gallo asked him to do"

Actually never once did gallo say I think Tate should explain or these are some pretty big allegations against Reeves I wonder what his response will be. Gallo read the Minor article as what he considered proof that Tate did something wrong. Gallo doesn't want Tate to explain because he's already convinced that Tate's in the wrong and has nothing to explain bc articles like Minor's speak the truth. If Gallo wasn't being completely biased then he would have presented these as just allegations and given both sides of the story

Anonymous said...

kind of hard to give both sides of the story when Tate will not appear on Gallo. I heard another open air invitation for him to appear today at noon. Also, i think its strange that Tate doesn't call his own press conferences to address anything. If he doesn't like Gallo, then take it to another forum??? Seems like he is just trying to limp across the finish line first hoping his money will get him through.

Anonymous said...

I think Tate was on Gallo back in June.

Anonymous said...

Tate, is doing what all folks with a giant lead do, lay low.Do not take any risk and just wait til time to vote. When it is your to lose do not lose it.

Anonymous said...

Very True. Billy is so desperate for media attention and he's figured out that ads saying why you should vote for him or what he'll do if he wins won't get him any attention. So trying to stir up allegations and running negative ads is all he can do.
I think Tate is intentionally laying low and not adding "fuel to the fire" by going back and forth with Billy and thus giving him what he wants-more media attention.
I do think after this new negative ad Billy put out today that Tate will do much like he did last time and issue a response ad. Also probably call Billy out again when Hewes actually tries to release his push poll results

Anonymous said...

Marshall Bennett didn't suddenly resign. He announced he wouldn't seek reelection in early 2003 (before the qualifying deadline in April 2003), was commended by the state legislature for his service in March 2003 and officially resigned in July of 2003 to take a job in New York. Your article implies the FBI came into his office and he skipped town "the day after" that.
You're a hack. Your sources are idiots. And you clearly have no integrity.

Anonymous said...

@ 2:27 - you must be part of Tate camp because there is that word again "desperate". Maybe if you keep saying it someone will actually believe it. And Billy Hewes ads only address official acts of Tate while in office - clearly of public interest. Billy Hewes is a fighter, and he is gaining ground and the Tate camp knows it. Billy Hewes is also addressing the issues with his ads and his press stops. "People are responding to our message of reform and education. Providing for a dual track career diploma for our kids so if they are not going to college they have a place to go. They have a track that is very clear for them." said Hewes. "I want to lower people's taxes and help our home grown businesses by eliminating the inventory tax. Every Hewes article and video you see has him actually addressing the issue instead of same old tired " i am a conservative" rhetoric.

Anonymous said...

@2:50: Sorry I hate to disappoint you, but I don't work, volunteer, etc for the Reeves campaign or any other campaign. In fact I've never had anything to do with politics other than a natural interest in the people who represent me. I do find it funny that on these blogs when people express an opinion for one side or the other, people who don't like it immediately throw out the "you must work for them" card. In turn I could definitely say the same about your comment too, but I won't because at the end of the day I like to think that it's possible to not have to "work" in politics to be interested and have an opinion about it. However, "desperate" is a pretty common adjective and has been applied to Billy a lot lately so I wouldn't make the mistake of assuming that every person on a blog using it is the same person. I made my comment @ 2:27 and now this one. I can't account for the rest of the 23 comments...

Anonymous said...

I don't see calling Billy as desperate means you are part of Tate camp. It is only and observation that Billy has to tear down his opponent rather than talk about positive things he can do.

Anonymous said...

@ 3:24 and @ 3:30 - so are you both 1) arguing that Billy is not out there talking about positives and his platform? Let me know, i can site plenty of examples? and 2) are you saying that facts about a persons record should not be disclosed in commercials?

KaptKangaroo said...

It sounds to me like Anon Billy supporter is desperate.

Anonymous said...

@ 3:53: If you read my comment it's a lot more narrowly applied than those 2 broad statements you just made. So let me clarify. I'm not saying that Billy hasn't made positive statements or talked about his platform(even though based on what the average person sees and reads, I still can't say that Billy has told me exactly what his platform is). What I'm saying is that I think Billy's negative ads and the fact that very rarely(if ever) does he have an article or interview where he doesn't accuse or have something negative to say about Tate is what helps keep Billy in the news and thats why he keeps doing it. I have no problem with pointing out facts,if they are true, meaning backed up by a reliable source. I don't think that you have to attack someone in a negative ad to bring those facts out though. None of the other races have gone negative. I'm sure it's not bc Dave doesn't have some "facts" he could start calling Phil on, but maybe bc he'd rather focus his time and money on promoting himself. People are suppose to vote for you, not against your opponent

Anonymous said...

Billy, Tate, blah blah blah.

What I'd like to know and nobody really answers is what happened to that commission money. Some questions are asked and then Marshall Bennett rides off into the sunset and this matter is what...swept under the rug? If the state was to receive money and didn't, where did the money go? Just because a couple of letters are fired off stating there's nothing to see here, move along, doesn't mean a crime didn't happen. So, again, if money is in fact missing, where is it?

Anonymous said...

I can not believe that Paul Gallo woudl read anything that Bill Minor wrote-the liberal of all liberals--Pleassse That totally discredits Paul- he does need to apologize to his listeners. If this is true about Bennett then why are we just hearing about it?
AS for Tate and Hewes- north of I-55 it is all Tate country so the coast had really better turn out for their boy- toss up is central Miss and Tate is a Rankin county son- 20 days and counting

Anonymous said...

@12:03pm Actually, Reeves' predecessor was Peyton Prospere.

@2:50pm "Every Hewes article and video you see has him actually addressing the issue." You've got to be kidding. The only two I can remember are the ones of him driving down the road with the blimp in the air and his kid trying to decide where to go to school.

@5:29pm "That totally discredits Paul" I think what we're seeing from all of Supertalk totally discredits the station. It might as well be owned by lobbyists.

Anonymous said...

5:29
North of I-55? I-55 runs north and south, moron.

Anonymous said...

I'm with 5:15pm
Could care less what Hewes/Tate supporters have to say and Bennett is out of the picture. I read Minor and this site with an understanding of each writer's political leanings .

I have not noticed a benefit to the State from the tobacco monies and have wondered for quite some time how it is being spent. I see a few ads but little else.

I've suspected that the money is being wasted. I've suspected little organizations were created to benefit from the money ( salaries for people who do little to earn them). Such would be legal but that's how our tax dollars and other revenues are wasted these days...stealing made legal by creation of jobs for friends and relatives.

The fight between the parties tends to be over whose friends get the spoils.

So where's the money going?

These political fights are distractions to keep the public from asking that question.

J. Kev said...

Know what's funny about Bill Minor?

His scumbag son is ROTTING IN JAIL. HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Anonymous said...

I used to respect billy but he has really gotten bad advice in this election that caused him to go negative.

Kingfish said...

Yup. Morgan, Josh, & Steve.

Anonymous said...

12:54....He went negative 'cause he is getting his ass kicked.

Anonymous said...

@ 2:23: Amen!
I'm a Tate supporter, but I'm not a diehard or anything. I've got no problems with Billy and if he wins I won't have any trouble supporting him as Lt. Gov. But I have to say that I'm still dumbfounded that just 3 weeks out from the primary I run into people everywhere that still have no idea who Tate is running against and when you tell them have no idea who Billy Hewes is. That's a big problem.

Anonymous said...

I agree ... I had never heard of Billy Hewes until last week and frankly cannnot figure out what his position is since all he seems to be running on TV are negative ads.

Kingfish said...

I removed the Marshall Bennett section. I've received several emails from his son that were rather caustic in nature. I stand by what I wrote as I have several excellent sources on what I reported. However, the main point of my insertion was to give Mr. Minor and his allies a dose of their own medicine, not drag Mr. Bennett, who I've known for years and respected, through the mud. After several days, I made my point and frankly, it does not have much to do with the story itself: that Bill Minor lied about Reeves and Pickering. The difference between me and Bill Minor is I verified what I wrote in my post and backed up up a large part of it with documents. I don't expect any corrections or apologies from Mr. Minor as that would denote something he lacks: class.

Kingfish said...

Also, not once in his emails did Mr. Bennett decry Minor's smear of the Treasurer and Auditor. He is just fine with smearing and making up things when it applies to his political opponents but is not fine with it when he imagines it happens to his own.

Anonymous said...

Russell Bennett is a Republican. Another failure to check the accuracy of your statements before you publish them. Good grief. You're no better than Gallo.

Kingfish said...

I referred to the fact his father is a Democrat and those Mr. Minor wrote about are in the opposite party from his father. I did not assume Mr. Bennett was a Republican, Democrat, or Communist.

Anonymous said...

True Story. I am an outsider (not even a southerner), who lived in Jackson during the 1990s. When Marshall Bennett was undertaking his run for Congress in 1993-94, I attended a self-promotional talk he gave to garner support from a group of civic-minded Jackson citizens that were rather liberal in their politics. Going into it, I didn't even know, who he was.

He gave his little promotional talk to us--a kind of stump speech--that seemed like it had been put together based upon the latest market-tested, "fiscal responsibility," Clintonesque-"centrist Democrat" talking points some highly paid Democratic Party consultant had coached him to believe would carry the day during that election season. Needless to say, the room Bennett spoke to, being biracial in make up, all college-educated in terms of demographics, and liberal in its political orientation, was unimpressed with what came out of his mouth. In fact, it came off to all of us as a phony and concocted speech.

To me, Bennett came off as no more than a self-serving and empty political hack, who had completely misjudged the particular audience he was speaking to. After all, we weren't just another bunch of southern rubes that would get taken in by the latest, market-tested-by-political-consultant bull$hit.

That was one of my first encounters with a Mississippi politician. (Though I would have numerous others over the ensuing years, all of which helped me to appreciate the disingenuous, con-man realities of what Chuck Berry was referring to when, in his song "Nadine," he sang about "campaign shoutin' like a Southern diplomat.")

That Bennett's son is now a Republican does not surprise me at all. Apparently, for the Bennetts, and consistent with my impression of Marshall Bennett, politics is the family business, and if you are nothing more than a shrewd, conviction-less, self-serving, and would-be-careerist politico (which, let's face it, most elected politicians are), then you better have that "R" brand after your name if you hope to succeed in politics in a "red state" place like Mississippi in the early 21st Century.

To me, this all just confirms how conviction-less and self-serving the types of people that go into elective politics are--not just in the South, but all over the country (and during my life, I've lived and worked in quite a few places.)



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