Lawyers for Attorney General Lynn Fitch and State Auditor Shad White will argue before the Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday over which of them has the right to claw back state money they believe was illegally spent.
Fitch believes she has the exclusive right to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of the state. White contends state law gives him the authority to file a suit to recoup funds in some instances.
The issue is over a section of Mississippi law stating that the state auditor is “to institute suit, and the attorney general shall prosecute the same in any court of the state,” when recovering misspent tax dollars.
Fitch first took White to court when the auditor attempted to sue Pro Football Hall of Fame athlete Brett Favre to recoup allegedly misspent welfare money. A Hinds County chancery judge disagreed with Fitch, so the attorney general appealed to the state’s highest court.
The two officials have said they’re considering running for governor and have clashed in recent years over the handling of Mississippi’s massive welfare scandal, which has seen multiple people plead guilty to state and federal crimes.
Fitch also withdrew her office’s representation of the auditor in two defamation lawsuits, including one filed by Favre, after determining a book White wrote about the welfare scandal cast her office in a negative light and created a conflict of interest.
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