JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - State Auditor Shad White wants the state’s highest court to dismiss a former NFL quarterback’s defamation lawsuit against him.
White has filed a request with the Mississippi Supreme Court, asking it to overturn Hinds County Circuit Judge Debra Gibbs’ decision denying his motion to dismiss the suit filed by Hall of Fame Quarterback Brett Favre, saying he was only exercising his First Amendment rights.
Favre filed a suit against the auditor back in 2023, citing numerous statements the auditor made against him in interviews with the press about his alleged role in the state’s largest bribery scandal.
Nearly two years later, that suit is ongoing, with Gibbs having twice denied White’s motions to dismiss, and with Favre filing an amended complaint based on statements made in a book detailing the scandal.
Gibbs’ latest decision was in February. White filed an appeal of that ruling with the Mississippi Supreme Court on March 12.
“The continued litigation of this case not only threatens important First Amendment rights. Equally, if not more worrisome, it discourages public servants from doing their jobs,” he wrote. “Favre uses this case to relitigate a state audit of the misuse of welfare funds, five years and seven criminal convictions later.”
FILE - Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre participates in a question and answer session at a...
FILE - Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre participates in a question and answer session at a fundraiser for Willowood Developmental Center, a facility that provides training and assistance for special needs students, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018 in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)(Rogelio V. Solis | AP)
At the heart of the matter are more than a dozen statements White has made about Favre, including to CNN and ESPN, and in his book, “Mississippi Swindle: Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America.”
Favre is one of several notable people tied to the scandal but has maintained his innocence throughout. He has even repaid some $1.1 million he received from the Mississippi Community Education Center, which was given to him for speeches that were allegedly never made.
White, meanwhile, claims Favre’s involvement goes deeper than money for speeches, going as far as telling EPSN that the Super Bowl champion knowingly took money designated to help “poor folks.”
The auditor doubled down on those claims in his filing with the Supreme Court, saying “Favre lobbied John Davis, then-director of MDHS, for money to build a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi... and for money to fund a startup company with a professor named Jake Vanlandingham,” he wrote.
“Davis caused MDHS to give the money to MCEC, an entity controlled by Nancy New, and New, in turn, wired the money to Favre and others at Favre’s direction.”
In 2022, Davis pleaded guilty to federal and state charges for his role. On the state charges, Circuit Judge Adrienne Wooten sentenced the former state director to 32 years in prison.
Favre filed his initial complaint in 2023, prompting White to file a motion to dismiss. Gibbs denied that motion on January 25, 2024. Favre amended the complaint in October of 2024 in response to comments White made about Favre in his book about the scandal.
Gibbs denied a second motion to dismiss the suit in February.
White now is asking that the court review that decision and grant a stay in the case, which is expected to go to trial on July 21.
“If a stay is not granted, the parties and the court will incur the substantial additional expense in time and resources that continued litigation and trial will cost,” he wrote. “This court’s immediate attention is necessary to save the parties and the court from the substantial additional expense in time and resources that continued litigation and trial will cost.”
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