C.J. LeMaster
@CJLeMaster
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Journalist. #IRE winner. @WLBT's 7x EMMYⓇ-nominated Investigative Reporter/5 pm co-anchor. Public records advocate. Opinions mine. Signal: 769-218-8386
Jackson, MS
Joined September 2008
THREAD: After 2 homes on @AtmosEnergy gas lines explode within days in Jackson, a 3 On Your Side investigation finds the company has the highest rate of pipe incidents of any U.S. operator. That's not all we found in our exclusive investigation. /1 https://t.co/rgvtOl69ql
wlbt.com
WLBT looks into Atmos’ safety record, months after deadly explosion.
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The point isn’t that this advocacy is illegal. It isn’t. The point is that policy advocacy by a government entity isn’t inherently improper, and it’s something the Auditor’s office itself has done often in recent years. /6
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4. "Plugging the Brain Drain: Investing in College Majors That Actually Work" (September 2023) argues that taxpayer dollars should be directed away from certain degree programs and explicitly recommends that MS needs to "adopt policies" for that. /5
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3. "The Cost of 'Diversity, Equity & Inclusion' Programs at MS Public Universities (June 2023) is framed as a spending survey, but goes well beyond that. It frames DEI as a taxpayer burden & cites sources in that vein, including a survey promoted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. /4
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2. "Dads Matter: The Taxpayer Cost of Fatherlessness" (August 2022) frames fatherlessness as a social problem taxpayers "cannot afford to ignore." It contains moral framing and conclusions about what society should value. /3
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Those reports are: 1. "The High Cost of Violent Crime in Mississippi" (June 2022) argues hiring more police is a policy solution, and LEA funding is an "investment" with "returns." This report is in favor of expanding law enforcement staffing and spending. /2
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Yes, according to a cursory review. I found four reports where OSA appears to have taken sides on policy issues and produced materials that qualify as advocacy. That's not a violation of law, but appears to be the same thing Madison County Schools was criticized for here. /1
@CJLeMaster Has the auditor's office ever taken a side on an issue or put out information that constitutes advocacy?
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Most importantly, in the past twelve months, the Auditor’s office has released no public finding that Madison County Schools' spending violated state law, something it typically does when taxpayer funds are found to have misspent and the office discovers it. /6
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White is correct that the flier was political and takes sides on issues. It could be seen as advocacy. But those questionable optics don't automatically translate into illegal activity. /5
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Outside of that, there is no blanket restriction in state law that bars school districts from having a legislative agenda, voicing that agenda, or spending public funds explaining how proposed laws would affect them. /4
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This flier doesn’t urge voting or mention preferences toward specific candidates or ballot measures. Mississippi law bars public funds being used to influence an election outcome. That’s the line. /3
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White demanded the district tell the state how much the flier cost taxpayers. His tweets allege impropriety, but didn't cite state law. The flier does not advocate voting in an election, which is where statute draws its clearest restrictions on the use of public funds. /2
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THREAD: State Auditor Shad White's retweeting himself from a year ago, when he admonished Madison Co. Schools for an allegation of wrongdoing his own office has never publicly substantiated. White posted about this flier allegedly passed out by the district's superintendent. /1
Reminder: do not use school property to promote your political agenda.
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In other words, if the individuals in your investigation refuse to comment, the story itself won't be broadcast. I don't know of a single reputable news organization that does this, because it flies in the face of investigative journalism. This is a dangerous precedent.
Here's what Bari Weiss said on the CBS 9am call, per a source who transcribed it: "I want to say something about trust: our trust for each other and our trust with the public. The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious
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Also, most major cities are seeing big decreases in rates of killings over last year. We know that because we track 50 top cities’ homicide rates weekly to see how Jackson stacks up. Unfortunately, Jackson still ranks highest because everybody else’s rates are also dropping.
@Sparks4Senate My post says in Jackson. Last year to this year. Neither JPD nor Capitol PD report to DOJ or DPS. But they can’t hide homicides. These numbers are widely reported. @CJLeMaster
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Our homicide tracker, which I’ve been publishing w/data since 2016 (and is widely available for any legislator to see) shows a reduction of 35% from 2024 to 2025 YTD. Not sure if JPD or Capitol PD report #’s to the FBI, but that process is voluntary. https://t.co/qps40Bld3E
@statedefender From which year to which year?Do they report to FBI statistics of all crimes each year? Cite your sources. I’ve been to two public safety summits this summer/fall and keep hearing these statistics and then they say departments aren’t reporting their #s. 40 of 82 counties in MS
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I analyzed how the shutdown affects Mississippians who rely on SNAP by showing how it impacts every county, w/ interactive maps. Today, I got a hostile email from someone calling me "a low life POS democrat." And we wonder why civil discourse is dead. https://t.co/r0Xpd3dwAy
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Read the article itself, not Ms. MacDonald’s inaccuracies and mischaracterizations. As multiple outlets have reported, Nexstar’s courting a merger with the FCC, which likely has something to do with all this. https://t.co/WOCslFFQKS
hollywoodreporter.com
Disney’s Bob Iger and Dana Walden wanted to know how Kimmel was going to address the situation. Sources say he planned to defend what he said rather than "kowtowing” to the outrage. Disney thought...
NEWS Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and co-chair Dana Walden made the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show after he planned to double down and go on camera to defend his lie that MAGA voters killed Charlie Kirk rather than "kowtow” to the outrage, Hollywood Reporter reports. They
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Wow.
BREAKING: Trump just suggested the federal government might revoke the licenses of broadcast TV networks that are "against me." "I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me again … They're 97% against, they give me only bad press. They're getting a license."
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We have borders showing the CCID and real-time data showing percent change of homicides this year versus last year. May not look like much, but it's been a lot of work behind the scenes. Our new map can be found here: https://t.co/GqIMz3rAcD /3 #WLBT #3OnYourSideInvestigates
wlbt.com
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This week, we launched an upgrade that I've been working on for weeks. For the first time, we have real-time demographic data for every year, plus weekly updates on how Jackson ranks among other major cities across the country. /2
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