Brett Favre takes first legal step to clear his name in Mississippi welfare scandal

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has begun the process of attempting to legally clear his name in Mississippi welfare fraud scandal. 

During his Hall of Fame career as the Green Bay Packers quarterback, Brett Favre became famous for his ability to evade pressure and escape the pocket.

Staring down the evidence levied against him in a Mississippi corruption scandal that has rocked the state, it appears Favre is attempting to transfer his athletic evasiveness into the courtroom.

Despite the mounting evidence against Favre and the text message receipts implicating his involvement in the misappropriation of state welfare funds, Favre’s response has been to vehemently deny his involvement as he takes his first legal step in combatting claims against him.

On Monday, Favre filed a motion through his legal team to dismiss the complaint filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS).

“It is apparent that MDHS has sued Favre, a Mississippi and national celebrity, in an effort to deflect responsibility for its own egregious wrongdoing,” Favre’s motion read, per ESPN’s Anthony Olivieri.

Brett Favre answers back to Mississippi welfare fraud lawsuit by blaming state government

Favre’s legal team claims that it was the state which was in charge of distributing funds, which by their argument, means that Favre had no influence on the misappropriation of funds.

“[MDHS]’s lawsuit is nothing more than a baseless attempt to blame Brett Favre for its own failure to oversee the welfare funds placed in its trust,” Favre’s lawyer, Eric Herschmann, told ESPN. “Mr. Favre never had any control over how Mississippi spent its welfare funds. He never made any misrepresentations to anyone.”

However, details that have emerged from the case, including incriminating text messages between Favre and former Governor Phil Bryant. Favre’s legal team may argue that Favre was not a political official in control of appropriating funds, but it has become abundantly clear that Favre attempted to influence public policy and take advantage of misappropriating funds, which would implicate him in fraud.

For MDHS, the government agency believes “merits of the case will stand on their own,” according to ESPN. “We will leave that to a court to decide.”

As of now, Favre has been ordered to repay $1.1 million in fees for speaking engagements he never attended, as well as $228,000 in interest accrued on said fees.