BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on the lawsuit Attorney General Jeff Landry has filed against Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office (all times local):
1:50 p.m.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is calling Attorney General Jeff Landry’s lawsuit against him “nothing more than a dog and pony show.”
The Democratic governor says the Republican attorney general is trying to get access to $4 million in an escrow account that doesn’t belong to him.
Landry filed a lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the Edwards administration of improperly withholding the money. Landry says the money is owed to the attorney general’s office for operations.
The dollars are from a 2014 pharmaceutical settlement. The Edwards administration has said they are not legally Landry’s dollars to spend.
Edwards said in a statement: “The law clearly states that this money does not belong to the Department of Justice, and I am more than willing to defend that in court.”
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11:45 a.m.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is suing Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration, accusing it of improperly withholding money owed to the attorney general’s office for operations.
Landry filed the lawsuit Tuesday, the latest in a string of feuds between the Republican attorney general and the Democratic governor.
The lawsuit says Edwards’ Division of Administration has refused to transfer $4 million in an escrow account that belongs to the attorney general’s office. Landry’s lawsuit says the Edwards administration’s refusal to shift the money has caused problems running the agency.
The dollars are from a 2014 pharmaceutical settlement. The Edwards administration has said they are not legally Landry’s dollars to spend.
Edwards tried to move the money to fill budget gaps earlier this year, but lawmakers decided against taking the dollars.
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