Here Come the Feds — Updated

A few days ago I said someone had obliquely mentioned that Justice Elliott “Spike” Maynard is currently being investigated by the FBI, the IRS, and the U.S. Justice Department.  They’re trying to figure out if any, or how many, crimes were generated by Spike’s trip to the French Riviera with Don Blankenship.

You probably thought I was making that up.

Well, now I’m looking rather prescient, aren’t I?

Reporter Kris Maher, writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, says:

[F]ederal investigators have interviewed court employees to learn more about the Monaco vacation, according to two court employees and a lawyer briefed on the case.  Representatives of the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of West Virginia and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on whether their offices have opened investigations.

The Journal article also notes that Spike has produced only two receipts for the entire trip.  He hasn’t shown any receipts for food, for a vehicle, for gasoline, or for repairs to the vehicle’s diesel engine after Spike filled ‘er up with gasoline (what an arrogant dumbass).  He also hasn’t proven wrong the rumor that Blankenship gave him cash to pay for the trip.  And he hasn’t proven wrong the story going around that Blankenship gave him and his girlfriend thousands of dollars in cash to gamble with in the casinos.

The Journal says:

Justice Maynard, a Democrat up for re-election to a second term this year, has made available an American Express bill for airline tickets and his hotel stay but hasn’t released any other receipts related to the trip.

We also haven’t seen any receipts for the dinners with Blankenship at the Chophouse, the dinner with Blankenship in Logan County, the dinner with Blankenship at the Greenbrier, etc., etc., etc., . . .

Now, are there any smarmy comments from the peanut gallery?  Trodd, where are you?  I still haven’t gotten that apology that you owe me.

UPDATE:

Today’s Charleston Gazette followed up on the Wall Street Journal.  It looks like reporter Paul Nyden cornered Spike in middle of a Democratic candidate get-together yesterday, and ambushed him with the Journal story before Spike could meet his advisors and spin-up some B.S. response:

At a Thursday meeting between Supreme Court candidates and Gazette editors, Maynard said he had just been informed about the Journal report. “That’s all I know about it,” he said.

Spike then made the cardinal sin of any candidate for office: he rambled. 

But the chief justice also said he did not believe such an investigation is ongoing.  He indicated that he thinks the Journal article is mistaken.

Oops.  Nope.  Sorry Spike.  No mistake. 

Then Spike really went overboard, and said: 

Maynard said he would welcome an independent investigation of the incident, so he could display his receipts from the vacation he spent with a Supreme Court employee, to show that he received nothing from the Massey chief.

Spike would “welcome an independent investigation?”  Whoa, that’s way off his campaign’s message.  Only a week ago, candidate Bob Bastress asked for an independent investigation – and Spike’s campaign manager (court administrator Steve Canterbury) totally rejected the request.

Administrator Steve Canterbury said Thursday he can only refer Bob Bastress to the Judicial Investigation Commission, which oversees the ethical conduct in the state’s courts.  “It’s not one of the things this office does,” Canterbury said.

And, let’s face it, Spike’s had — what, six, eight weeks now? — to manufacture and/or produce any receipts.  He hasn’t done it, hasn’t even tried.

And that speaks volumes to me.