Mississippi lawyer fired after filing subpoena over misspent welfare funds

• The subpoena suggested an interest in examining the Bryants and Favre's role in the state's welfare scandal.

The big picture: A state audit in 2020 found that Mississippi misspent tens of millions of dollars of welfare funds, including $1.1 million that went to Favre for speaking engagements he did not attend, according to the New York Times.

• While Favre eventually paid back the state $1.1 million, the Department of Human Services filed a lawsuit in May accusing Favre and others of misspending and wrongly receiving welfare funds, Mississippi Today reported.
• The University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation was not named in the lawsuit, despite receiving $5 million in welfare funds to build a volleyball stadium.

State of play: Pigott's subpoena this month asked for information about the volleyball stadium's funding, in addition to its communications with the Bryants, Favre and others, per the New York Times.

• The director of the Department of Human Services claimed that Pigott was fired because he did not consult with the agency prior to filing the subpoena.
• However, Pigott sent draft copies of the subpoena to the attorney general’s office and the welfare agency’s general counsel beforehand, according to emails obtained by Mississippi Today.