Attorney General Hood opposes bill to give state auditor wiretap authority
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is opposing HB 944, which would give the state auditor authority of request wiretaps, investigate certain cases, hire outside counsel and impanel grand juries.
“The bill, sponsored by the chairman of House Judiciary-A, is nothing more than petty partisan politics,” said Hood. “My staff never had the opportunity to testify in committee against a proposal that may circumvent state law and violate the separation of powers.”
“For the nearly 200 years of our state’s existence, the Attorney General has served as the state’s chief legal officer. While serving in that role, I have repeatedly requested that the Legislature grant my office wiretap authority, only to see those bills die session after session,” added Hood. “Now, in this brazen political stunt, this bill takes identical language from my draft legislation and gives that authority to the auditor, who has no experience as a prosecutor and is not permitted by state law and court rule to attend grand jury proceedings.”
WDAM
2/16/16
Magnolia Tribune
