Mississippi
Lawsuit against Favre should be dismissed, attorneys argue
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Attorneys for retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre argued in a new court filing Monday that a civil lawsuit against him seeking to recover misspent welfare money in Mississippi’s largest ever corruption case should be should be dismissed because the state Department of Human Services lacks evidence and is attempting to deflect from its own culpability.
Millions of federal welfare dollars intended to help low-income Mississippi residents — some of the poorest people in the country — were instead squandered on projects supported by wealthy or well-connected people, including projects backed by Favre, between 2016 and 2019, prosecutors say.
In a response to the department’s statements that a judge should ignore Favre’s request to be removed from the lawsuit, Favre’s attorneys wrote there is “no legal, factual, or moral basis” for the agency’s claims.
“It is plain that, as it did in its original complaint, MDHS — which itself carried out the allegedly wrongful transfer of funds to another state entity, a transfer approved by, among others, Mississippi’s Attorney General — continues to sue Favre solely to attract publicity for improper political purposes,” Favre’s attorneys wrote.
Last year, the Department of Human Services sued Favre and more than three dozen other people or businesses. The suit says federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money was misspent, including $5 million that went to a volleyball arena that Favre supported at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi — where his daughter also played the sport — and $1.7 million toward the development of a concussion treatment drug by a company in which Favre was an investor.
Kaytie Pickett, an attorney for the department, wrote in March court papers that Favre’s attorneys failed to provide solid legal arguments to get their client out of the lawsuit. Calling the attorneys’ motion to dismiss “a long press release,” she said the court should “disregard Favre’s diatribe.”
“MDHS deems Favre’s Motion a ‘long press release,’ but the shoe is on the other foot,” Favre’s attorneys countered Monday. They say Favre and his wife fulfilled commitments they made in a written pledge — months after the transfers that form the basis of MDHS’s claims — to raise funds to construct the volleyball facility.
Pickett declined to comment Tuesday on the new filings.
No criminal charges have been brought against the NFL Hall of Famer, although other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending. Those who have pleaded guilty to criminal charges include John Davis, a former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services; and Nancy New, the director of a nonprofit organization who had ties to Favre and the concussion drug and volleyball projects.
As Favre has attempted to get out of the lawsuit, he has also filed three defamation lawsuits against Mississippi State Auditor Shad White and two former NFL players, Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe, who have sharply criticized Favre in their roles as national sportscasters.
“My hope is that the state can recover as much misspent welfare money — whether it’s from Mr. Favre or anyone else who bears responsibility — as possible,” White told The Associated Press Tuesday. “We are the auditors, not the lawyers who try these cases in court, but my team stands ready to provide the audit evidence for the criminal and civil cases as they proceed.”
Washington
State stocks up on abortion pills ahead of court ruling
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Washington state has purchased a three-year supply of a leading abortion medication in anticipation of a court ruling that could limit its availability, Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday.
The Democratic governor said he ordered the Department of Corrections, which has a pharmacy license, to buy 30,000 doses of the generic version of mifepristone at a cost of about $1.28 million, or $42.50 per pill. The shipment arrived in late March.
A two-pill combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. Research shows that medication-induced abortions are safe and effective. They were approved by the Food and Drug Administration over 20 years ago.
The awaited ruling in a Texas lawsuit brought by a Christian group — in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year to strip away the constitutional right to end a pregnancy — would affect states where abortion is legal as well as those that outlaw it.
“This Texas lawsuit is a clear and present danger to patients and providers all across the country,” Inslee said in a statement. “Washington will not sit by idly and risk the devastating consequences of inaction.”
Former President Donald Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk heard debate in March over the Alliance Defending Freedom’s request to revoke or suspend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. The conservative group claims it was improperly approved.
Kacsmaryk said he would rule “as soon as possible” without giving any clear indication of how he might decide.
The bulk pill purchase also comes as Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson pursues the issue from another angle: He’s helping to lead a multistate lawsuit in federal court meant to further ease restrictions to the medication.
The lawsuit filed with Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in February against the FDA accuses it of singling out mifepristone for excessively burdensome regulation despite evidence that the drug is safer than Tylenol, Ferguson said in a statement at the time.
The lawsuit asks the court to find certain FDA restrictions unlawful and to stop the federal agency from enforcing or applying them to mifepristone.
State lawmakers are also bringing legislation that will authorize the state Department of Corrections to sell or distribute the drug stockpile to licensed providers in Washington.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Karen Keiser, of Des Moines, said the last year has made it clear that they can’t be complacent when it comes to reproductive health.
“The Legislature is taking a number of crucial steps this session to protect abortion rights,” Keiser said, “but those rights are meaningless without access to care.”
Several moves have been made in Washington to strengthen abortion access, including a directive from Inslee instructing the Washington State Patrol not to cooperate with out-of-state abortion investigations. Other abortion and gender-affirming care bills are expected to pass the Washington Legislature this session.
Abortion has been legal in Washington since a 1970 statewide ballot referendum.
