FILE – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice speaks at an election night watch party at the governor’s mansion in Charleston, W.Va., May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, file)
CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice continued to label the pending auction of the Greenbrier Resort as politically motivated and said foreclosure on the historic property “almost approaches blackmail” during his online briefing Friday.
Following a briefing that touched on topics ranging from the death of a coal miner in Taylor County to the release of the state’s first fall foliage forecast map of the season, Justice fielded a question from a reporter about the auction of the luxury resort scheduled for Aug. 27.
After an attorney representing Justice’s family and businesses said last week the resort would not be sold, the governor said Friday that he believes “with all in me that it’ll get resolved.”
Justice is in the last year of his second and final term as governor and is running as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Joe Manchin, I-W.Va. He said that campaign is the reason the loan was sold by JP Morgan Chase to Beltway Capital Management and foreclosed upon.
“This is all about Jim Justice being the one who flips the U.S. Senate” to a Republican majority, he said. “It almost approaches blackmail.”
A representative of Beltway could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
McCormick 101, associated with Beltway, filed suit July 18 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking $40.3 million from Justice and his companies. Justice and his representatives have said the initial loan of approximately $142 million had been paid down to $9.4 million.
The auction of the White Sulphur Springs-based resort Justice purchased out of bankruptcy in 2009 was announced in a legal advertisement recently posted in the West Virginia Daily News in Lewisburg.
Justice’s daughter, Dr. Jill Justice, has run the resort since he took office in 2017, although he is still listed as CEO. During Friday’s briefing, Justice praised the work of his daughter and son, Jay, in overseeing the family businesses but said perhaps his experience could have made a difference in this and other situations.
“While I’m being your governor, and that’s my first and foremost responsibility, if I’d’ve been on the job all the time, I may have been able to make things a little bit better or a little easier because (of) just experience and knowledge,” he said.
Justice also answered questions about a potential special session of the Legislature to address his pitched 5% reduction in personal income tax rates and a child care tax credit. The governor did not confirm whether he would convene a special session when legislators gather for interims later this month but said he still wants both pieces of legislation to happen.
“Inflation is eating everybody’s lunch,” he said about potential tax relief. “We can afford it.”
Justice said he also wants to leave the state in solid financial shape when he departs from office. While he said he’s open to discussing a larger cut, “I absolutely want to first and foremost mind the store.”
Justice offered condolences on the death of 57-year-old Fairmont coal miner Joe Crandall on Thursday, the third mining fatality in the state this year. He called Crandall a hero who died “trying to make your lives and my life better” and criticized those who have pushed for an end to coal mining.
“This nation wants rid of these people, rid of this industry…,” he said. “Whether it’s the (President Joe) Biden administration or the (Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala) Harris administration, it’s a crying, pitiful shame.”
Another reporter asked about a recent motion by a U.S. attorney in Virginia to hold Justice-owned companies in contempt over non-payment of Mine Safety and Health Administration civil penalties and the overall state of his family businesses. Justice said connection issues made it difficult to hear the entire question but he emphasized his reduced involvement in the businesses and said problems would be addressed.
“We may be a few minutes late to the fire, but we always show up to the fire,” he said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com
