I asked Gov. Reeves to clarify why he hasn’t given away campaign $ from people who have pleaded guilty in Mississippi’s welfare scandal.
Part of his response: “… You don’t get to follow around and ask the governor questions.”
Taylor Vance
2,826 posts
Taylor Vance
@taylorcvance
Covering campaigns & state government for @MSTODAYnews. Previously @DJournalnow. Always craving Delta tamales and a good story.
- Breaking MS election news: The Mississippi Democratic Party is planning to file a lawsuit asking a Hinds County judge to keep all Hinds County polling precincts open until 9 p.m. More details to come soon.
- A Mississippi lawmaker today asked a physician if there was some way the state could educate women on the need to seek healthcare early on in a pregnancy. Hmm, if only there was some course that could be taught in high school that explained sex and reproductive health.
- Replying to @taylorcvanceBut this story isn't about me or any other news outlet the governor criticizes. The story is about a sitting governor refusing to clarify to voters and the public why he hasn't given away money he received from two people who have pleaded guilty to several crimes.
- Replying to @taylorcvanceThe governor said during a 2020 press conference that he would place campaign donations from Nancy and Zach New, two central people in the welfare scandal, into a separate bank account. But there's no evidence that ever happened.
- Replying to @taylorcvanceGov. Reeves is now saying he will give those funds away to charity when the civil and criminal cases about the welfare scandal conclude. But why? Nancy and Zach New have already pleaded guilty to federal and state charges, and the litigation likely won't change that.
- Replying to @taylorcvanceWhen I tried to clarify why he's waiting for the litigation to end -- something that could take years -- he refused to answer my question and launched into a tirade about Mississippi Today.
- A MS state senator at a hearing asked the director of Child Protection Services if the agency was prepared to handle around 5,000 more births in the state because abortion is now largely illegal in MS. CPS director: No sir, not by myself I'm not.
- Replying to @taylorcvanceThe full audio of the interview is linked at the bottom of the story if anyone wants to hear the full context.
- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley yesterday pledged that if he's elected governor in November, he will urge the state Ethics Commission to appoint an independent investigator to scrutinize the state's welfare scandal.
- A White House spokesperson told me that President Joe Biden intends to nominate Northeast Mississippi prosecutor Scott Colom to be a federal judge in Mississippi's Northern District. If confirmed, Colom would be the second Black judge currently serving in the Northern District.
- Brandon Presley, the Democratic candidate for MS governor, raised $1.3 million between January and May - that's more than any Democratic candidate for governor in at least 20 years. This brings Presley's total cash on hand to around $1.6 million.Brandon Presley raised more money between January and May of an election year than any Democratic candidate for governor in at least two decades. mississippitoday.org/2023/05/03/bra…
- Gov. Tate Reeves has long been opposed to Medicaid expansion in Mississippi. Today, former Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones said that Reeves admitted to him years ago that Medicaid expansion would be beneficial for MS, but hurt him politically.
- Brandon Presley, a Democratic candidate MS governor, has assembled a team of veteran strategists who specialize getting Democratic governors elected in southern states.
