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West Virginia Supreme Court Faces Impeachment Threat
Wall Street Journal ^ | Aug. 7, 2018 | Jacob Gershman

Posted on 08/08/2018 1:50:54 AM PDT by Pontiac

West Virginia lawmakers voted to recommend the impeachment of all four sitting members of the state’s highest court on charges of abusing tax dollars for personal use.

The move Tuesday against the justices on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, which observers called unprecedented for a state’s high court in the modern era, came after a weekslong legislative probe into spending practices that lawmakers said ran amok.

The Republican-led judiciary committee of the state House of Delegates accused each of the justices of violating their oaths by making “unnecessary and lavish” expenditures, including a combined $1.5 million to design and furnish their personal offices.

Other articles of impeachment charged justices with abusing travel budgets and accused the court’s chief justice, Democrat Margaret Workman, with overpaying senior judges on lower courts in violation of a statutory salary cap.

None of the four justices responded to requests to comment.

The scandal has already resulted in criminal charges. Menis Ketchum II, a Democrat who resigned from the bench last month, has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud, according to authorities. Prosecutors alleged he claimed fuel expenses for private travel, including trips to a private golf club.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: West Virginia
KEYWORDS: 2018election; 2020election; courts; election2018; election2020; menisketchumii; westvirginia
Pay wall.
1 posted on 08/08/2018 1:50:54 AM PDT by Pontiac
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To: Pontiac

Must you post articles that require a subscription to read it?


2 posted on 08/08/2018 2:10:08 AM PDT by Shamrock-DW
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To: Shamrock-DW

No

But I do on occasion.

A simple search will find others I did do a search for other articles on the subject and they are local or state news.

I just happen to like the WSJ writing style and I subscribe for that reason.

I did find it odd that no one has posted anything about this for quite a while.

I am not even in or of WV and I find the story compelling


3 posted on 08/08/2018 2:19:11 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: Pontiac

It should make it much less appealing to be a Democrat in WV


4 posted on 08/08/2018 2:23:42 AM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: Pontiac

Well well well, look at the party involved. Not saying that some republicans don’t partake in uncontrolled personal spending using tax dollars as their personal bank account, but that is done far more often by democrats.

More judges need to be impeached anyway.


5 posted on 08/08/2018 2:24:14 AM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: skr

To vote for a Democrat in WV, I meant


6 posted on 08/08/2018 2:24:36 AM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: Pontiac; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Thanks Pontiac, good article excerpting.

7 posted on 08/08/2018 2:35:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: skr

Never. Although they are finally a right to work state, the generational gun grabber joe Manchin types are the best they have. Generational union slavery has created legions of people who will sell their souls and the souls of their children to sit at home and get paid.
Whenever I see any administration cozy up to Manchin I shudder.. he co authored the most aggressive gun grabbing legislation of its time... and WV voted for him again.


8 posted on 08/08/2018 2:38:26 AM PDT by momincombatboots (How many vetoed spending dollars with chuck n Nancy without wall funding?)
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To: wastedyears
More judges need to be impeached anyway.

Amen to that brother.

9 posted on 08/08/2018 2:41:13 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: Pontiac

It would have been nice to link to a non-paywall article too, if you’d already done the searches: This one requires some reading (and scrolling) to get into the details, but gives a good amount of info.

http://wvmetronews.com/2018/08/07/impeachment-day-8-case-continues-on-supreme-court/

Note that while (at the point I found the article) two articles of impeachment were rejected on close votes, and at least a couple were close in favor of impeachment, some were NOT close, with several Dems agreeing to impeach. Some of these judges are toast...


10 posted on 08/08/2018 2:51:09 AM PDT by Paul R.
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To: wastedyears

This is what the Pennsylvania legislature should have done to three members of the PA Supreme Court when the hack judges illegally ORDERED the state to change the redistricting maps to favor the rat party. All three should have been immediately arrested and sent to death row prison.


11 posted on 08/08/2018 4:18:08 AM PDT by Flavious_Maximus
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To: Pontiac
"..West Virginia lawmakers voted to recommend the impeachment of all four sitting members of the state’s highest court on charges of abusing tax dollars for personal use.."

What? Somebody got a realllly nice double-wide? d;^)

.

West Virginia State Flower? Satellite dish

What's the difference in a divorce and a tornado in WV? Nothing. In either case, somebody loses a trailer.. d;^D /couldntresist

12 posted on 08/08/2018 5:07:19 AM PDT by CopperTop (Outside the wire it's just us chickens. Dig?)
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To: Shamrock-DW
Not the same article...but the same subject...no paywall.

https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/politics/wv-house-committee-approves-articles-of-impeachment-against-justices/article_f4795b83-ba20-5ac8-a267-aeb4b10060fa.html

13 posted on 08/08/2018 5:48:25 AM PDT by moovova
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To: CopperTop

Good stuff, real creative.


14 posted on 08/08/2018 7:02:07 AM PDT by phormer phrog phlyer
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To: Shamrock-DW

Another Freeper posted using Firefox with Bypass Paywalls (add on) allows you to avoid most of the paywalls. It takes an extra step to open Firefox but I have found it to be extremely helpful. It’s absurd all these sites want me to pay upwards of $100 for a year’s subscription just to read one article.


15 posted on 08/08/2018 7:08:42 AM PDT by luv2ski
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To: skr

Republican Justice involved in this scandal has already been suspended.

Fact is, the state is run by the UniParty.

More on this thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3677265/posts?page=25#25


16 posted on 08/08/2018 8:24:01 AM PDT by Roccus (When you talk to a politician...ANY politician...always say, "Remember Ceausescu")
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To: wastedyears

A couple of federal judge impeachment scalps per year would do wonders.


17 posted on 08/08/2018 4:15:21 PM PDT by Jacquerie (ArticleVBlog.com)
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