Here’s a weird twist on the corruption probe involving Justice Elliott “Spike” Maynard and Don Blankenship. Something that goes waaayy beyond their trip to Monaco and the casinos of Monte Carlo.
Because of the ripples caused by the probe, people in the Court’s Administrative Office have been coerced into signing what is tantamount to a loyalty oath.
A few days back I got a post from someone named “longsword.” He/she said Steve Canterbury is the connection between Spike Maynard and Don Blankenship, and the other “Big Three” members of the Supreme Court, Robin Davis and “who is Brent Benjamin.” Longsword said looking into that connection might be enough to show that Davis and Benjamin also shouldn’t be hearing cases involving Blankenship’s company, Massey Energy.
Steve Canterbury is currently the Administrative Director for the entire West Virginia court system. He is a constitutional officer that works under and for the members of the Court.
Canterbury was Spike Maynard’s campaign director in 1996, and is apparently his de facto campaign manager now (and rumored to be running Spike’s campaign from his desk in his State Capitol office). Otherwise, I’m not yet sure how Canterbury is directly related to the Monaco-gate mess.
But sometime last week, a one-page statement of support for Canterbury was circulated around the court’s administrative offices. Court employees were told they “could sign it if they wanted to.” The rumor is that every employee signed, not because they wanted to, but because they were afraid of the repercussions if they didn’t express fealty to the Court’s Administrator. The rumor is also that the statement of confidence, or whatever it was called, was originated by either Canterbury himself, or by one of his lieutenants in the office.
An article in the Charleston Gazette this weekend indicated that Spike’s female companion on the trip to the Riviera was a court employee. That means she’s one of Canterbury’s subordinates who was compelled to sign the statement.
I’m guessing that maybe Canterbury is afraid of losing his job — why else conjure up a unanimous pledge of support from the staff?
Maybe Canterbury knew that one of his court employees went to Europe with Spike and Don — and he helped to conceal the trip.
Anyone else got any ideas? Or information?
January 30, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Here is an idea for you. Why don’t you steal the photos off of the computer of the court employee who went on the trip and then give them to a political consultant for the trial lawyers who can give them to the attorneys for Caperton?
January 30, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Little late for that, isn’t it? Unless you know there are more photos we haven’t seen.
Of course, knowing Canterbury and his crew, they’re probably hard at work zapping everybody’s hard drive, and wiping the servers clean too. Make all that evidence disappear before the fuzz comes knockin on the door with a search warrant.