A.G. sues State Auditor
Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued the following statement.
"It
is again with deep regret that I must issue this statement. On February
5, 2024, Auditor Shad White filed an 86-page answer and counterclaim in
the defamation suit filed against him by Brett Favre, replete with
block quotes by Joseph Pulitzer, claims of defense related to loss of
enjoyment of life, and footnoted admissions of errors in its own demand
letters to Mr. Favre. As Chief Legal Officer for the State, I was forced
to respond and take the extraordinary action of seeking judicial
intervention to protect the laws of this State.
"The
authorities entrusted to us by the people demand the highest level of
our attention and reflection. Our standing as attorneys demands the
highest level of respect for the law and the practice of law. When we
file in court in our official capacity it is not for our own amusement
or political benefit; it is on behalf of the people and bears the burden
having repercussions for all of the people’s government. This filing by
Auditor White reflects none of this gravity.
"Over
the past four years, attorneys in this office have quietly sought to
work through demands referred by the Auditor for civil prosecution. As
the Auditor has acknowledged in prior court filings, this office has an
independent legal and ethical duty to review the investigatory files
transmitted by the Auditor to substantiate the legal basis for filing a
civil suit in a court of law. While the law gives prosecution and
management of these cases solely to the Attorney General, our attorneys
have nonetheless endeavored to work with the Auditor’s staff in the best
interest of the State. Unfortunately, we have encountered ongoing
interference as to the manner in which these cases should be prosecuted,
hampering progress towards recovery in civil cases, as well as
potential criminal prosecution.
"While
my office and the Department of Human Services have sought to recoup
funds misspent in the TANF lawsuit, we have been hamstrung from the
beginning by a slow drip of information from the Auditor’s
investigation, by repeated miscalculations, and now by a book rushed to
print while we remain embroiled in a suit against nearly four dozen
defendants. In fact, it was not until August 25, 2022, that the Auditor
even delivered the full case file to our office for review - more than
two and a half years following the Auditor’s February 6, 2020
announcement of indictments related to the TANF case with District
Attorney Owens. The actions of the Auditor’s office are aid to our legal
adversaries and a disservice to the people.
"The
Attorney General’s Office remains committed to serving the law and
serving the State. In our petition today, we repeat the arguments we
previously made in this case – the case of defamation against the
Auditor for those actions made in his official capacity should be
dismissed. But we also make the argument that the Auditor is without
statutory authority to make his frivolous counterclaim, and it likewise
should be dismissed."
State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement as well.
Fitch failed to sue Favre for everything he owes—and then sued to stop me from trying to get the money back, too.
Just let me do the job, even if you won’t.
I will fight in court for the right to get as much money back for the taxpayers as possible,” said State Auditor Shad White.
67 comments:
At some point, this will make national news.
I think Shad has overplayed his hand on this debacle.
Shad’s 15 mins of fame are just about up.
Although I am not a fan of Fitch , I’m siding with her this fight.
However it is embarrassing for our state.
Only one will survive to run for Governor. That's the real issue/purpose with this suit.
Is this the most "valid" suit Fitch has filed in her entire tenure?
I figured something like this would start. Shad apparently has gone too far up the food chain doing his job. Now he will be forced to back off. Very sad.
They don’t call Republicans the stupid party for no reason.
The damage caused by “Republican” controlled Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey’s goon squad is incalculable at this time, but it’s coming. Yet Bryan Bailey remains in place as sheriff.
Madison County is now controlled by Democrats because Madison “Republicans” threw out Republican Supervisor David Bishop after he voted for an upscale residential development, only to then turn that spot over to a Democrat in the general. Poor things are unable do the simple math required to realize that the only 2 Madison County Republican supervisors left can’t stop that C Store/Commercial development they don’t want. One can only wonder if the “Republican” women gobbled up all of Supervisor Gerald Steen’s BS when he spoke to them in late January???
And now we’ve got to watch this S__t show between the “Republican” State Attorney General and the “Republican” State Auditor. Pathetic!!!
It’s only a matter of time before Bill Crawford and Sid Salter get their way with the state of Mississippi being turned over to Democrats. One only has to look at Jackson and the other Democrat controlled war zone cities throughout the country to see how this will end.
As a regular poster here likes to say, “Will the last one in the room please turn off the lights.”
If Shad and Lynn are paying political advisors, they should fire those people.
I told you this was the future under the GOP. This same joke is being played out it Washington .
Shad would have EVERYBODY’S support on this if he went after Phil. But he’s still off limits.
I thought the SA could only go after State employees. If he is successful in doing this would it open up another can of worms that can cause the Auditor to be able to go after other non state employees? I’m not an attorney or state employee so I’m just asking a question. In my thought I would say only the AG could bring a suit against Favre. At least someone needs to.
Marcus Dupree got around a million dollars and has not paid one bit of it back and has even stated he has no intentions of paying it back. Favre on the other hand did not receive any money for personal use but was basically mislead about the money that was obtained for the use of the facility at USM. I also understand that Favre has personally paid this money back but has refused to pay interest and penalties that Shad is requesting. I'm taking Favre's side on this one.
Look up "thin skinned" in the dictionary and you will see a photo of Fitch.
I didn’t know ‘they’ called the Republican Party the stupid party. As a moderate Democrat, when it comes to politics the Republican Party looks like a bunch of rocket scientists to me.
Unfortunately, there are no adults in the room to settle this childish dispute.
"for the taxpayers", yeah right
Doesn't she have something better to do, like maybe sue China, or make sammiches for her staff?
@ 7:13. You can not even begin to imagine the shit show if the Democrats ran this state, if you think things are bad under the Republicans. Think Joe Biden and his team, but in your state all day, every day and that will give you a small idea. By the way, for every time ANYONE refers to the Republicans as the "Stupid Party", there are 4 or more lined up to refer to the other party as the stupid party. Which they are and is obvious to anyone with any degree of situational awareness not clouded by indoctrination.
I wouldn’t vote for either for governor. There are better options out there.
As far as Madison county goes, it is beyond me how anyone believes anything that two faced, double talking, bs artist, closet Democrat Steen says. He is so sleazy & slimy he leaves a snail trail behind.
@8:47
Both political parties have failed this country. One offers an 80+ year old mentally declining man who needs to go home. The other offers a mentally ill narcissistic pathological lier that approves of sexually assaulting women according to his own words and hawks trinkets like a carnival barker.
Uhhhh 8:47,
Your post shows a lot of indoctrination.
There's a part of me that just wants to grab both of these people, go into a private room, slap all hands with a ruler and read them the riot act. What the hell is wrong with you two? Grow the hell up. Shut up and do your jobs.
"Unfortunately, we have encountered ongoing interference as to the manner in which these cases should be prosecuted, hampering progress towards recovery in civil cases, as well as potential criminal prosecution."
If, by "encountered" you really mean "caused", I would agree. The AG office CAUSES interference, as needed, to protect their crones. The fact that Bryan Bailey is still walking around a free man after his activities were reported to the AG's office, should demonstrate this for anyone with doubts.
Never forget Shad chose to team up with Jody Owens, instead of Mike Hurst. Mike would send his own mother to Jail, and Shad knew that....
"and now by a book rushed to print while we remain embroiled in a suit against nearly four dozen defendants."
THIS RIGHT HERE.
Shad showed his colors and intentions by this damn book. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know you don't publish a book about an ongoing suit.
As others have said, this seems like the first legally valid thing of substance Fitch has done since she took office.
The Brett Favre obsession to to get headlines is ridiculous. He repaid the money and yet he is the headline every time.
Should the sitting MS Auditor be writing and releasing a book about something he audited while he is still the MS Auditor? I would think he would do this after he has left office? Just seems odd timing to me.
We are not electing out best and brightest to public office. This is as pathetic as it is comical and a real black eye for conservatives in the state. Tater needs to give Shad a hug and give Lynn a timeout. Grow up and do your jobs you snot-nosed attention seeking snowflakes.
and the catfight escalates . . .
Shad needs to shut up about Favre, and send his people to get back the double dipping people in Rankin County (Chief of Police, etc.). That will save taxpayers considerably more over the long run. Think if a man eligible for retirement received basically double pay for 4 years, he will be getting a retirement benefit for those high 4 years. Costing PERS 50-100k a year (compounding). Since we are talking about the hole it is in, every bit will help if those people can’t show that they actually did the work.
759 am - you need to check your facts and until you do, check your keyboard at the door.
Dupree was paid to provide specific services, which it appears he did. Whether that was a good and wise use of TANF dollars is a great question - but that's not Dupree's fault, that is the fault of those at DHS that approved the expenditure.
Farve was also paid to provide specific services (in addition to the volleyball facility and in addition to the drug company shit) - and it appears but has been questioned as to whether he provided those services. Just like Dupree, whether using TANF dollars to pay Farve to speak motivationally or not is a great question and again that would not be Farve's fault, but those at DHS (or above) that agreed to the deal and signed the papers. And last I read, Farve had paid those dollars back but has refused to pay the 'interest' and investigative fees that Shad has charged.
Every state agency should follow Shad's leave and start doing for themselves since the Attorney General's Office is where cases go to die and no one can get movement on anything.
@9:28
To do that you would have to find Lynn
and the Feds would've taken another 1-2 years before indictments dropped.
Shad needs to keep worrying about Barbarba from Sebastopol who habitually doesn't clock out for lunch but has a $50,000 surety bond for him to collect for his $9700 investigative costs plus interest and quit writing books while he is still in office about ongoing cases.
"There's a part of me that just wants to grab both of these people, go into a private room, slap all hands with a ruler and read them the riot act. What the hell is wrong with you two? Grow the hell up. Shut up and do your jobs. "
As I read this I was picturing Moe lecturing Larry and Curly.
From afar, Shad's stance on this one appears to reflect the countenance of his mug.
I’m getting sick of political disputes clogging up the court system(s).
It seems like true litigants are getting put on the back burner.
This is what happens when you have an entitled egotistical maniac in office who doesn’t know his place. Unfortunately, Lynn ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer so she may not be the one to show him.
Shad recently wrote a dissertation about the Trump civil case on his public state page about how unfair he thinks the case was. If anyone things this guy is ready for the big seat, dream on
@11:24 pm....this is 9:28 AM. You cracked me up.
So Lynn is suing the guy trying to reclaim stolen tax money instead of suing the guy who stole the money? Why is she so insistent on protecting criminal thugs? Is she part of a crime ring? Is she selling out our state to more dangerous criminals than Favre? As lazy as she is, she still found the energy to file this to protect a criminal, she must really have some debts to repay.
@ 10:52 I think I understand this now.
Dupree is paid with stolen funds everything is OK.
Favre is paid with stolen funds everything NOT ok.
Hell, I’m a Democrat and I agree with the dude who says the Democratic Party is the stupid party. There's not much he says I disagree with.
This has been no secret to the legal community. All you have to do is open the newspaper (online now) and see Shady White, trying to grab a headline, placing evidence into the media chain and obliterating legal doctrine. Don't care what law school he attended, he is a blabbering fool, with no regard for rules of evidence or the law. He places his interest above that of conviction or the people of Mississippi. He writes a book while being paid by the taxpayers 24/7. Has anyone gone through his expenses (audit) to be find where the state taxpayers have paid for hotels and meals and mileage for his book? It is interesting if you really think about it, is the Mississippi auditor's office just a stopping off place for crooks and fools.
Shady (writing my book on the taxpayers dime) White
Stacey (Disney World/RV/get on my desk) Pickering
Phil Billy (Bribe me) Bryant
Steve (Pat me down) Patterson
Good grief, Shady is in the right job!!!!!!!
The Mississippi Department of Human Services was a major player and totally complicit in this fraud! MDHS paid that kind of money before services rendered! Would you pay all the money up front to get a new roof at the start of the job?
I’m like Brett when it comes to give away money! Now MDHS is wrong for giving it to a select few!
If there ever was a classic example of “getting in your own way” it’s Shad White. He could benefit greatly from some good Ol folks wisdom in his inner circle. I’m gonna put my money behind Fitch on this one. When it’s all said and done she wins both legally and politically.
Shad sent a group text to his online grovel boys to comment, tweet, and share things. He's spooked.
So she fired her client, told him to find someone else, and then sued him for doing just that?
Lynn sounds like a jilted teenage girl to me.
As the late Jerry Clower said, one of them has got to find some relief.
This tempest in a teapot is just another GOP circular firing squad.
There are no winners here, only losers.
Shat White better stick to his knitting and let the big boys do their work.
@ 4:42 - Please identify 'the big boys' and what work they're doing. Thanks.
Why wouldn’t Shad collect interest/fees when Favre has slow played the money owed? Good for Shad. Fitch is an idiot.
All these comments prove to me is that the AG has more employees and thus more comments than the auditor does…
Regardless of what Brett said in electronic communications he didn’t steal the money! The monies were given to him for services he never provided because allegedly MDHS did not expect him too and no one from DHS checked and reported the fraud!
Now they expect him to pay interest on that money given to him.
DHS that’s what’s yo ass get, you give the needy pure hell to get a few dollars and give the rich unlimited monies intended for the needy!
The Mississippi Department of Human Services committed the ultimate breach of Trust of the Federal Government Monies.
People Brett Favre never did the Speaking Engagement he was paid in advance by TANF or tax dollars. It was a nice chunk of change if KF can repost. We will all be able to cast our VOTES soon. It will be interesting as no other was criticized more than the Trump family. It is a shame we don’t have two better & younger candidates to vote for in our up coming elections. The US has been made to look week with the Biden Administration.
If I was Fitch, I’d seek to enjoin the distribution of Shads book after it was printed but before it hit the market. I I’d ask for it to be delayed until the legal case is fully litigated and all appeals have timed out. That would show balls! Shads writing a book during an ongoing case is an unbelievable unforced error.
Also, I’ll bet a decent sum of $$$ that Marcus Dupree is never forced to pay a nickel of his TANF money back. He has a contract; he fulfilled said contract; and he was paid for doing so. You’ll never get a Mississippi jury or a federal judge to reverse that.
"I’d seek to enjoin the distribution of Shads book after it was printed but before it hit the market. I I’d ask for it to be delayed until the legal case is fully litigated and all appeals have timed out. That would show balls!"
4:16 sounds like a politician with a law degree: use the courts to be a maximum a-hole to the other side, in the most self-aggrandizing way possible.
Favre is a POS. He should pay what he owes. He knew all along he was doing a shady deal. What kind of a man would take money from the poor after he himself made millions playing a game for a living? No respect for this clown.
8:46- what a dumb comment. Truly one of the dumbest.
If DHS pays you to do something and you don’t do it, that is stealing.
Likewise, if you know that DHS is committing fraud by giving you federal money for doing nothing, that too is stealing.
Mississippi is a cesspool of crooked politicians and their cronies. It seems half of you idiots are okay with that.
Why is Fitch so hell bent on protecting Favre?
12:37 if MDHS treated the poor and needy the same way they did their friends Favre, Nancy New et al this whole fraud would be a moot issue.
This shigity may sound dumb to you but it’s a fact and I agree wrong!
Mississippi poor needs help, the Federal monies were for that purpose! Why were the powers to be even entertaining Brett, Nancy et al?
Yes, my statement was dumb but it served my purpose! Thanks
Sometimes when you mess with the bull you get the horns!
This is what happens when you vote for a letter not a person.
attorneys now suing each other for being accused of working
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