“I’m a Mississippi native, and this particular form of fraud was just a particularly offensive failure to use money to serve what the TANF bill calls ‘needy families,’ of which we have an oversupply in Mississippi, and have large “Great needs,” he said. “I found it especially offensive that they were so arrogantly spending so many millions of dollars to remove poverty in this state, and instead on each other and on celebrities and corporations and their favorite institutions.”
Mississippi politics has been dominated for years by Republicans who tend to be skeptical about the effectiveness of the federal social security system. Their concern over the potential misuse of federal funds by poor people has resulted in the introduction of strict safeguards to prevent fraud, and the state has been particularly careful about which poor people can get help: an article by ThinkProgress, a progressive news site, found that in 2016, only 167 of the 11,700 Mississippi families who applied for a TANF payment were approved.
Critics say the abuse that occurred in Mississippi should have been foreseen when the old Social Security system, which gave benefits to poor families, was replaced in 1996 by a system of block subsidies to the states, giving them much more leeway over how to to spend the money.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the scandal for more than two years, according to Logan Reeves, a spokesman for the state audit. This month, Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to focus on Mr. Favre and Mr. Bryant, writing that the latter has “clearly taken steps consistent with ensuring that the poorest Mississippi citizens do not receive social funds intended for their households.”
“The people of Mississippi deserve answers,” wrote Mr. Thompson.
Mr. Bryant did not immediately respond to a message on Saturday, but in an earlier statement this month, in response to Mr. Thompson’s letter, a representative for Mr. Bryant said he denied any wrongdoing. “These allegations against Governor Bryant are false,” the statement said. “Any claim against these individuals was discovered and prosecuted as a result of an investigation that Gov. Bryant had asked the state auditor.”
In April, Mississippi Today reported that $1.7 million in welfare money went to a pharmaceutical company in which Mr. Favre had invested, and that Mr. Bryant, knowing that public funds were going to the company, had agreed to take stock of the company. after leaving the office. (Eventually, the news service reported, Mr. Bryant did not take stock.)