Senate Finance looking into money that went toward Marshall baseball field
By Charles Young, WV News
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Gov. Jim Justice’s chief of staff and the chair of the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee have each weighed in on a controversy relating to how the state spent some of its share of federal COVID-19 funds.
The committee held a hearing Feb. 3 that raised questions about the legality and ethics behind a decision to give $10 million the state initially received through the federal CARES Act to Marshall University for the construction of its baseball facility.
Brian Abraham, the governor’s chief of staff, said the administration’s actions were vetted by the accounting firm BDO and the Charleston-based legal firm Bailey Glasser LLP.
Committee Chair Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said the governor’s office has misrepresented the guidance it received from BDO.
At issue is about $28.3 million from the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act that was transferred to the Governor’s Office Gifts, Grants and Donations Fund in October 2021. …
