Biden DOJ Interfering in Upcoming Election?

West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Jim Justice in April announced his U.S. Senate campaign for the seat currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin.

Republicans are eager to flip the seat since Donald Trump performed exceptionally well in West Virginia in the 2020 presidential election.

From Politico:

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced on Thursday that he is running for the Senate, challenging Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in what will likely be one of the most hotly contested and closely watched Senate contests in the country.

“The nation needs us as Republicans to win,” said Justice.

Justice is a well-liked and wealthy coal magnate who is an ally to former President Donald Trump, and Republicans believe his campaign kickoff goes a long way toward retaking the Senate next year. Trump won the state by 39 percentage points in 2020, and the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund recently commissioned a poll showing Justice is the strongest candidate against Manchin.

“Jim Justice is a proven winner whose record of creating jobs, cutting taxes, and fighting for conservative values has made him one of the most popular governors in the country,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Recent polls show Justice dominating Manchin in the U.S. Senate election, assuming Justice wins the GOP Primary.

From The Hill:

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) is leading incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) by 22 points in a hypothetical U.S. Senate matchup in 2024, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Justice leads Manchin 54 percent to 32 percent, with 13 percent of respondents saying they are undecided, according to an East Carolina University Center for Survey Research poll of registered voters in West Virginia.

The same survey found that Justice has a job-approval rating of 57 percent and a 29-percent disapproval rating. Manchin’s job-approval rating sits at 33 percent, with a 59-percent disapproval rating.

Justice currently serves as West Virginia’s governor and recently announced a run for Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat in 2024. Conservative Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) also announced his candidacy for Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat.

Could Joe Biden’s Justice Department be targeting Justice in attempts to remove the candidate before the 2024 election?

The Department of Justice on Wednesday sued Gov. Jim Justice’s son and his coal companies for “failing to pay millions of dollars in penalties for environmental violations,” CNBC reports.

DOJ sues son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his coal empire over millions in unpaid fines https://t.co/XIhozhujFT

— CNBC Politics (@CNBCPolitics) May 31, 2023

CNBC reported:

The Department of Justice on Wednesday accused the son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and 13 coal companies the younger Justice owns or operates of failing to pay millions of dollars in penalties for environmental violations.

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Jay Justice, the governor’s son, and those companies under his control, have been cited for over 130 violations and owe more than $5 million in civil penalties, among other unpaid fees, the DOJ alleged in a civil complaint.

“Our environmental laws serve to protect communities against adverse effects of industrial activities including surface coal mining operations,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a press release.

“Through this suit, the Justice Department seeks to deliver accountability for defendants’ repeated violations of the law and to recover the penalties they owe as a result of those violations,” Kim said.

The elder Justice, who is reportedly the richest person in West Virginia, has been accused of meddling in his family business empire as governor even after vowing to separate himself from the companies upon taking office. Those businesses have also faced accusations of not paying their bills.

Read the full Department of Justice press release:

The Justice Department today announced the filing of a civil action against James C. Justice III and 13 coal companies he owns or operates seeking to collect unpaid civil penalties previously assessed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), as well as Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation fee and audit debts.

“Our environmental laws serve to protect communities against adverse effects of industrial activities including surface coal mining operations,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Through this suit, the Justice Department seeks to deliver accountability for defendants’ repeated violations of the law and to recover the penalties they owe as a result of those violations.”

“Over a five-year period, defendants engaged in over 130 violations of federal law, thereby posing health and safety risks to the public and the environment,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia. “After given notice, they then failed to remedy those violations and were ordered over 50 times to cease mining activities until their violations were abated. Today, the filing of this complaint continues the process of holding defendants accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of the public and our environment.”

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Pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), when a permittee violates SMCRA or their applicable permit, OSMRE issues a notice of violation (NOV) for non-imminently dangerous violations. The NOV sets a deadline for abating the violation. If the permittee fails to abate the violation by the NOV’s deadline, OSMRE issues a cessation order to halt mining until the violation is abated. If the permittee still fails to abate the violation within 30 days of the cessation order, OSMRE can take certain actions, including assessing civil penalties. If the violation creates an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public, OSMRE issues a second type of cessation order, called an Imminent Harm Cessation Order (IHCO), in lieu of an NOV, which requires cessation of active mining until the violation is abated. Separately, a director, officer or agent of a corporate permittee can be subject to individual civil penalties for willfully and knowingly authorizing, ordering or carrying out a permit violation or failure to comply with certain OSMRE orders.

From 2018 to 2022, OSMRE cited the defendants for over 130 violations and issued the companies over 50 cessation orders. The underlying violations pose health and safety risks or threaten environmental harm. In addition, defendants failed to pay required AML fees, which fund the reclamation of coal mining sites abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status. According to today’s filing, the total amount of the penalties and AML fees, plus interest, penalties and administrative expenses, owed by the defendants is approximately $7.6 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Krista Consiglio Frith for the Western District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Sally J. Sullivan and Clare Boronow of the Environment and Natural Resources Division are handling this matter.