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WV: Debates Fall out of Fashion; Dem McGraw Rejects All Offers
Last Updated on Monday, 15 September 2008 09:24 Written by rslcpol Monday, 15 September 2008 09:24
From Charleston Daily Mail:
Attorney General Darrell McGraw has so far rejected all debate invitations, according to his campaign.
McGraw campaign spokeswoman Denise Tucker said the attorney general has refused all requests to debate. They include one from West Virginia Public Broadcasting and The Associated Press, for an Oct. 19 forum. The Democrat is seeking a fifth term but faces Republican challenger Dan Greear.
“The attorney general stands on his track record and will let the voters look at his work and accomplishments and they can compare it to the campaign slogans of others,” Tucker said.
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WV: Dem AG McGraw’s Odd Ad
Last Updated on Friday, 26 September 2008 11:58 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 11 September 2008 09:59
It looks like General McGraw might be taking the same path his brother, the former Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw might be taking. Is Darrell’s Rant coming soon? From WOWK:
Last week, I commented that Attorney General Darrell V. McGraw was an effective politician who had built his career by waging class warfare. I also noted that he had a habit of behaving in an unpredictable way.
In a recent campaign advertisement on radio, an announcer trumpeted McGraw’s fight on behalf of West Virginians, how he had battled and beaten big drug companies and how the enemies of the people had tried to shut down his consumer protection office.
In that same commercial, we heard references to civil rights icons Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King.
Sorry, I don’t get it. What was McGraw trying to say? Was he somehow implying that his work was as courageous and praiseworthy as that of civil rights leaders of the past?
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West Virginia Democrat AG McGraw Complains About Ads
Last Updated on Friday, 5 September 2008 02:00 Written by rslcpol Friday, 5 September 2008 12:18
We have two ways to show you that the ads being run by the Center for Individual Freedom are resonating:
1) The comments section of the article below; and
2) The fact that General McGraw decided to heck with the First Amendment – these ads are getting West Virginian’s attention.
The ad he doesn’t like is posted here.
From the Charleston Gazette:
Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed an election violations complaint Thursday, asking Secretary of State Betty Ireland to investigate a group called Citizens for Individual Freedom.
Based in Alexandria, Va., CFIF has been running television ads attacking McGraw, saying he misused money his office received from settlements of a host of lawsuits filed in recent years.
During a press conference at the state Capitol on Thursday, McGraw said his office has used less than 1 percent of $2 billion he has collected from legal actions during the past 15 years. McGraw filed those suits on behalf of consumers against a variety of credit card, tobacco, insurance, energy and pharmaceutical companies.
The television ads urge voters to oppose McGraw’s re-election. But the ads do not specifically mention Dan Greear, his Republican opponent in November’s general election.
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WV: Dem AG McGraw Stays out of School Health Debate
Last Updated on Friday, 26 September 2008 11:58 Written by rslcpol Friday, 5 September 2008 12:05
No way West Virginia’s Democrat A.G. Darrell McGraw made any political calculations on this one – no way, no sir, no chance that he wanted his name associated with this type of problem heading into an election – nope, not a chance. He’s taking a stand on principle, and leadership – that’s what it is. From Charleston Daily Mail:
Because the debate is over the meaning of an accounting term, Darrell McGraw’s office determined it would be “presumptuous and inappropriate” to rule on the matter, deputy attorney general Silas Taylor wrote in a recent letter to the state superintendent of schools, Steven Paine.
The legislature may decide what happens next. They might act to shift the debt to the state. The debt would still exist – and taxpayers might be asked to shoulder it – but it would not be on the books of local governments.
But as the situation stands now, all 55 county school systems will be in the red in three years. And every local government in the state will face “devastating” financial obligations, according to Joe Panetta, director of finance for the state department of education.
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WV: GOP AG Candidate Takes Shots at Dem AG McGraw
Last Updated on Friday, 26 September 2008 12:01 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 August 2008 09:40
McGraw must be feeling the heat. GOP nominee Dan Greear is on the move, and it’s working. Note to Darrell McGraw – stop letting Fran Hughes talk to the press – it’s not working.
From Charleston Daily Mail:
Greear and McGraw were invited to participate in a forum at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Business Summit, which opened Wednesday at The Greenbrier Resort. But McGraw didn’t show. Chamber spokesman Larry Malone said he thought McGraw may have had a scheduling conflict, but was not certain.
“I thank my opponent for ceding his time,” Greear joked in his opening remarks. “I’ve tried letters, a certified letter, e-mail and every way I can think of to try to get some debate, to discuss these very important issues. So far he (McGraw) has not responded. I hope in the future he will show up at some of these events so people can hear our competing visions.”
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WV: Group Runs Ads Against Dem AG McGraw (Video)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 August 2008 01:20 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 27 August 2008 10:42
We’ve been following the mess of McGraw closely for some time now. Take a look here here, here. The West Virginia Chamber released this television spot in February and now the Center for Individual Freedom has theirs up. McGraw must be feeling the heat as GOP AG Candidate Dan Greear readies for the fall.
From MetroNews:
The ads, paid for by the Center for Individual Freedom, criticize McGraw for spending $10 million from a settlement and using it on his “trial lawyer buddies” and for a fund only he controls, instead of using the money to help those named in the lawsuit, workers and the elderly.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Fran Hughes says the Center for Individual Freedom is nothing more than big business that wants McGraw out of office so they can break the law. “It doesn’t matter what the group calls itself, there are all kinds of names and the money all from the same source,” Hughes said. “It’s some of the biggest, multi-national corporate interests in the world.
Hughes says big business doesn’t like it when it’s sued and “they’re coming after us.” She says the business industry has deep pockets and is trying to taint West Virginia’s election.
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly | 4 Comments
WV: Attorney Fees Withheld in Dem AG McGraw Case
Last Updated on Friday, 26 September 2008 12:01 Written by rslcpol Friday, 22 August 2008 09:21
Oh this has got to just make Darrell McGraw’s blood boil. From Legal News Line:
Ohio County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Wilson is withholding $3.9 million from lawyers who helped West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw sue Visa and MasterCard.
The judge held the money while he considers an objection to the payment from West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Wilson unexpectedly heard testimony from Steve Cohen, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.
Cohen identified himself as a watchdog and as a class member in the Ohio County action that McGraw filed against Visa and MasterCard.
Visa settled the lawsuit months ago by agreeing to pay $9.3 million to the state treasury, $425,000 to McGraw’s office and $3 million to private law firms.
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WV: Dem AG McGraw Has Taken Outside Counsel to New Heights
Last Updated on Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:15 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:15
From LegalNewsLine:
New York’s Eliot Spitzer made may have made the practice fashionable, but West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw has a lengthy and enduring pattern of hiring outside counsel and appointing special assistants to help bring sizable financial settlements to the state coffers.
The practice, once all the rage among attorneys general across the country, is now under scrutiny by legal reform groups, state legislators and business organizations. McGraw is chief among those drawing criticism.
“McGraw is probably one of, if not the most, aggressive state attorneys general in this regard,” said Amber Taylor, a Washington-based lawyer who has written articles about the need for reform.
Spitzer earned acclaim and criticism for his high-profile lawsuits, which helped vault him to the New York governor’s mansion. McGraw’s track record — one many of his critics say he continues to build with infuriating regularity — is far more extensive and enduring, if not as flashy.
Also, the attorney general regularly teams with lawyers who are also his faithful campaign contributors. These appointments, most often made without an open and public process, have helped earn outside legal firms huge sums of money in partnership with the powerful office of Attorney General.
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WV: Dem AG McGraw Blames Congress For His “Hijacked” Case
Last Updated on Wednesday, 2 July 2008 11:22 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 2 July 2008 10:29
And maybe while they’re at it, West Virginia citizens could take the time to express their outrage over the sweetheart deals that trial attorneys are getting from the A.G.s office in West Virginia just because they drop a little green on the A.G.s political campaign. From the Charleston Gazette:
Attorney General Darrell McGraw urged state residents Tuesday to contact members of Congress and urge them to vote for bills that would allow states to enforce their own credit laws after a federal judge said McGraw’s investigation into a bank was “hijacked.”
McGraw’s plea comes after a federal court decision blocking his investigation into alleged unlawful credit card practices by Capital One Bank and Capital Bank Services.
“Until Congress decides to take action, states are powerless to protect consumers who are charged such unlawful fees,” McGraw said in a news release. “There are currently several bills pending in Congress that would correct some of the worst credit-card abuses. I strongly recommend that consumers write their congressmen and senators to urge passage of such reforms.”
After receiving 264 complaints from state residents about Capital One Bank and Capital One Services in 2005, McGraw filed suit in Lincoln County. His office subpoenaed a number of the firms’ records, which Circuit Judge Jay Hoke upheld in 2007.
The firms appealed that order to the state Supreme Court. In the meantime, Capital One Bank changed its registration from a Virginia-chartered bank to a national bank, meaning only the federal Office of the Comptroller of Currency can investigate it.
It then filed a federal lawsuit to block McGraw’s investigation.
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WV: “McGraw Should Be Stopped Now”
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 June 2008 09:11 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 17 June 2008 09:24
From Charleston Daily Mail:
STATE Attorney General Darrell McGraw uses his office in part as a state-sanctioned tort law firm. In the name of consumer protection, his office files actions against companies.
Although some of the target companies have richly deserved the attention, this use of the attorney general’s power is troubling on a number of counts.
The plaintiffs in these class-action cases rarely see more than a token amount of the settlement money.
The people who profit most are the private-sector attorneys McGraw picks to pursue the cases. Some are campaign contributors, and some receive millions.
And, of course, McGraw himself benefits politically from this industry, obtaining money for his consumer protection operation, then handing out grants hither and thither, currying favor with the electorate.
Look at a recent case.
McGraw hired four law firms to pursue antitrust and consumer protection cases against Visa and Mastercard. Although the companies admitted no wrongdoing, they agreed to pay $11.6 million to fund brief sales tax holidays on energy-efficient appliances.
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