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| Luther Strange and Jessica Medeiros Garrison |
Jessica Medeiros Garrison divorced Tuscaloosa city councilman Lee Garrison in October 2009, roughly one year before Strange won his race for attorney general. Their son, Michael Lee Garrison, was born on March 27, 2007. The Garrisons became entangled in a protracted court battle over custody, and Luther Strange's name plays a prominent role in that case.
Strange has been married to his wife, Melissa, for more than 30 years, and they have two sons. In a 2010 campaign video, Melissa Strange talks at length about her husband's integrity and his determination to "do what's right." (See video at the end of this post.)
The Stranges for years owned a home at 3210 Briarcliff Road in Mountain Brook, but sources say Luther Strange has purchased a house in The Waters development in the Pike Road community, near Montgomery.
Revelations about an extramarital affair call into question any moral authority Luther Strange might claim as the state's chief law-enforcement officer. One of the grounds he has cited for aggressive actions against the VictoryLand casino in Macon County is his claim that the facility and owner Milton McGregor have "a sordid past."
Now it appears that Strange's past, and present, are a bit sordid. Neither Luther Strange nor Jessica Medeiros Garrison responded to interview requests for this story.
Sexual fidelity is not the only issue at the heart of the Luther Strange/Jessica Garrison story. It also involves curious financial transactions, which have benefited Ms. Garrison and raised questions about the AG's judgment. That is particularly relevant in light of the ethics and campaign-finance charges Strange has brought against former Democratic state senator Lowell Barron.
Who is Jessica Medeiros Garrison? She is a University of Alabama graduate who worked on Strange's failed 2006 campaign for lieutenant governor. She was his campaign manager in 2010, even though she had no previous experience in such a high-level position. Like Strange, Garrison has voiced powerful opposition to gambling in Alabama.
Garrison was a partner at the Tuscaloosa law firm of Phelps Jenkins Gibson & Fowler, which has powerful ties to University of Alabama trustee Paul Bryant Jr., before accepting a position as chief counsel for Luther Strange in January 2011.
Complications from her custody case led Garrison to decline that position and move to Birmingham, where she serves in an "of counsel" role with the firm Balch & Bingham. She lives at 119 Main Street in Mountain Brook, not far from the former Luther Strange residence.
Garrison's rise in Republican political circles might have grown from her ties to U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions and former Attorney General William H. Pryor, currently a federal judge on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. This is from a 2011 Tuscaloosa News article titled "Local Attorney To Join AG's Staff: Jessica Garrison To Be Chief Counsel For Luther Strange":
Garrison previously served in the attorney general’s office under Sessions and Pryor. She was director of Public Relations and Legislative Affairs for Pryor and was an intern and assistant director of Public Relations and Legislative Affairs for Sessions.
“It’s a true honor to return to the attorney general’s staff under the leadership of Luther Strange at a historical time for our state government,” she said. “Defending our state’s rights, protecting families and restoring honesty and integrity to the office are among our top priorities."
Garrison earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama, where she was president of the Student Government Association, and a juris doctorate from the UA School of Law. She clerked for then-Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Scott Coogler, who is now a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Alabama, and in 1998 joined Phelps, Jenkins, Gibson & Fowler, where she had been a partner since 2008.
Jessica Medeiros Garrison says that she and Luther Strange wanted to restore "honesty and integrity" to the office of attorney general. In a series of future posts, we will examine how such high-minded words square with reality.
Speaking of honesty and integrity, those words show up in the Luther Strange campaign video below.
(To be continued)
57 comments:
She didn't decline that position with the AG's office over "custody matters." Look at the timeline. The illegal PAC-to-PAC transfers to Riley's Alabama 2014 PAC were discovered by media in late June 2011 (during the height of the Bingo Trial); Bob Riley "had his accident" on June 26, 2011 so he "couldn't testify" at the Bingo Trial; Election PAC - the PAC Jessica set up to get gambling money from Paul Bryant Jr. to Luther - was hastily shut down in early July 2011; and Jessica was hustled out the door at the AG's office and off the RSLC (the Indian money source) in early July 2011 (you can see this by examining her pay records at Open Alabama).
This is a huge conspiracy. And well organized and financed.
Lots of patting going on by mrs. Strange, very improper on a staged video. I guess they were trying to impart some republican, right wing passion on the couch. I, for one, am not impressed by any of their talk about how good he is. In our society ,and especially the south ,tall men are admired and looked up to just by their stature and how much space they occupy..
It seems that Big Luther and Jessica include extramarital sex in their list of honesty and integrity as most present day republican politicians do . Wonder how mr. Garrison and the son feel about Jessica's family values? Maybe the next political video could feature the strange family and Jessica garrison accepting some of that Indian cash while they talk about keeping bingo and gambling out of lives. Give us a break please. the name Strange is aptly applied when it comes to this guy's behavior. Thank you for exposing this arrogant, political Liar.
Bill Clinton has released a statement on Luther Strange:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6QlbKt3qcE
I think this answers Janie shores's question quite well...the one where she asked "who the hell is Luther Strange anyway?"
Lots of patting going on by mrs. Strange, very improper on a staged video. I guess they were trying to impart some republican, right wing passion on the couch. I, for one, am not impressed by any of their talk about how good he is. In our society ,and especially the south ,tall men are admired and looked up to just by their stature and how much space they occupy..
It seems that Big Luther and Jessica include extramarital sex in their list of honesty and integrity as most present day republican politicians do . Wonder how mr. Garrison and the son feel about Jessica's family values? Maybe the next political video could feature the strange family and Jessica garrison accepting some of that Indian cash while they talk about keeping bingo and gambling out of lives. Give us a break please. the name Strange is aptly applied when it comes to this guy's behavior. Thank you for exposing this arrogant, political Liar.
This just in from the crack media at al.com:
"Luther Strange - reached today while hiking the Appalachian Trail - responded to the scurrilous rumors by stating definitively that 'I did not have relations with THAT WOMAN!' Meanwhile, Mike Hubbard chimed in with a glowing endorsement of Big Luther: 'We know where these ridiculous stories are coming from - they are the product of gay commie godless government-school indoctrinator enviros who want to take over the PSC and force us to pay less for electricity thereby threatening my supply of campaign graft.'"
I understand that this is Big Luther's ringtone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oidm5Zfw_SA
On second thought, that couldn't be true. Luther doesn't posess the requisite coolness.
I think I have the perfect exit strategy for Luther.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPVxlBOjITI
I can see the convo between Hubbard and Luther now: "Sorry Luther - you have to be gay. It's the only way to get out of this situation. Now we'll need some evidence that yhou ARE actually gay so you'll need to do some gay stuff . . .hey Azbell? You got a minute?"
Anon at 6;43--
Very interesting information. You provide some depth and context on this that is new to me. Please feel free to contact me at my personal email--rshuler3156@gmail.com. I also can provide my home phone and address if that would be helpful. As I note in the post, Jessica M. Garrison was a partner at Phelps Jenkins in Tuscaloosa, which is THE Paul Bryant Jr. law firm. Scott Moore Phelps, formerly of Bradley Arant, is pretty much Bryant's No. 2 guy at Greene Group--and Phelps' late father was chief at the law firm.
Maybe I need to "get a life," but I could hardly sleep last night, wanting to read the post you had coming today. You didn't disappoint, LS. Excellent post, and I look forward to more in the series. I'm so thrilled to see someone finally expose these bastards. Thank you, thank you.
You just made me laugh until my sides hurt, @7:26. David Azbell finally serves a useful purpose! Whew, trying to catch my breath.
LS, I agree that @6:43's info is fascinating. What a timeline, involving Bob Riley, Paul Bryant Jr., Big Luther, Jessica MG, gambling money . . . wow. What a cast of characters! What if Jeff Sessions and/or Richard Shelby were involved somehow? That's about all we're missing.
That's how Azbell rolls in Frisco . . .
On a side note . . .all pics of Luther and Jessica together on her (and his) twitter feeds and on facebook pages for both of them have DISAPPEARED over the last couple of weeks (and there were a LOT of pics of them together) . . .right about when LS apparently contacted Jessica's ex-husband. Yet another coincedence!
Watching that video makes me squirm.
A question: If Scott Moore Phelps used to be with Bradley Arant, and he and his daddy have longstanding ties to Greene Group, and Greene Group was involved in a major insurance fraud scheme, does that mean Bradley Arant likely was connected to insurance fraud, too?
Anon at 8:18--
I think you ask excellent questions. And here's another one to ponder: If Bradley Arant has ties to insurance fraud via Paul Bryant Jr.--and Bob Riley, Rob Riley, Minda Riley, Rob Campbell, and Luther Strange all have documented ties to Bradley Arant--does that mean all of those folks are connected to insurance fraud, illegal PAC-to-PAC transfers, laundering of gambling money . . . and more?
In late March of 2009 Lee Garrison and his wife Jessica presented a picture of marital bliss at their (as far as anyone knew) son's 2nd birthday party.
Seven months later their divorce was final, which mean less than 6 months after showing a united marital facade they had signed the divorce papers. That also means they would have to have separated very soon after the aforementioned birthday party.
What happened?
Well, according To Jessica's Facebook she strted working for Luther Strange for AG in May 2009.
Like @7:31, I had trouble sleeping last night . . . because I couldn't wait to read all of the hilarious comments that I knew would be coming with this post. Great stuff, folks. More, more! (Oh, LS, your post is OK, too.)
LS @ July 17, 2013 at 8:22 AM
When I saw all those names rolling off your keyboard I had the strange vision of the "Horn of Plenty". But instead of the fruits of the earth pouring out, I envisioned a roiling wave of gruel and lumps of undefinable, wriggling blobs swimming in the same...
DM
Phenix City
Wonder why Luther bought a house in The Waters development? Is Melissa living with him there? Briarcliff Road in Mountain Brook is one of the prime addresses in Alabama. You don't leave that piece of real estate in a casual manner. Something seems unusual about the real-estate aspect of this story.
A comment for the ages, @7:26. What a scream, and there might be an element of truth to it. It might, in fact, be time for Luther to play the "gay card."
A reporter told me this week that Luther Strange and his wife are living separately. But he will never put that into print. That's Alabama media in 2013.
Is Melissa Strange clueless about all of this? She doesn't appear to be deaf, dumb, and blind in the video.
Anon at 9:10--
Do you know where she is living? Still somewhere in Birmingham area?
Luther gives me the creeps in that video. He looks like a 6-foot-8 turd.
Since that's a campaign video and JMG was campaign manager, don't you figure she had to be on hand for the shoot? Gee, that must have been cozy!
Speaking of real estate, how did single-mom Jessica wind up at 119 Main Street in Mountain Brook? That's a primo location in the heart of Crestline. Even a small house there goes for $300,000 to $400,000 and up. That "of counsel" gig at Balch Bingham must pay pretty darned well.
My guess is that Melissa Strange is getting the family home and is living there. Luther is probably commuting between his Montgomery home and his love shack.
BTW I imagine Bob Riley et al are VERY interested in Luther's divorce (if he is getting one). They would probably want Melissa Strange to sign a confidentiality agreement, and I would bet she is smart enough to make them pay for that.
Yet another use for BP money!
I hear Luther either owns, or has use of, a condo/loft in downtown Montgomery. My understanding is that JMG is a regular guest there.
Anon at 9:28--
Are you suggesting that Melissa Strange might have damaging information on the Riley crowd? That's an interesting notion.
I've been hearing about Jessica Medeiros Garrison and her ties to Luther Strange for quite a while. But I was not aware of her past associations with Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor. Not quite sure what to make of that, other than to go, "Hmmmm."
I wonder what Troy King is making out of all this hubbub. I bet he's enjoying the heck out of it. I actually kind of like ole Troy.
He is such a hypocritical piece of crap. He is so arrogant and worthless. What were people thinking when they elected him? Not only did he have zero courtroom experience but his background was being a lobbyist! It is no wonder why Riley and Hubbard pushed the (really) Strange campaign. They are all of the same immoral and criminal ilk.
Molli:
The word that jumps out at me from your comment is "arrogant." The timeline of events indicates this affair was going on quite a while before Big Luther was elected. With that kind of dirt in his closet, he could have chosen to step out of the AG race--no one was forcing him to run, and as you say, he wasn't qualified anyway. But Luther wanted to have his sweet young cake on the side and eat at the public trough, too. It takes a heaping load of arrogance, plus extremely limited vision, to think this wasn't going to surface.
I'm hearing that Mrs. Luther Strange is having divorce papers drawn up as we discuss this. Anyone else getting that message?
Thought this might support my earlier comment on Big people in Alabama .....size matters. he scares me...he is just too big.....said Jessica and Melissa.
Oops...got so excited I forgot to give the link.....
decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/061102/size.shtml
The game.
Michael Hastings' body was cremated and that wasn't supposed to be. His wife, is of course suing, but what is the point?
Strange and love the Weenie coupled together. These so called 'leaders' of 'Christian Values' watch too many Hollywood dangerous 'Liaison" movies.
KILLING 'life' by the destruction of any and all semblance of 'family values', as though the act of annihilating trust a game.
In a word, sick.
Great Community you have LS, the true Citizens' United!
Typical Schnauzer. Anonymous source + circumstantial evidence apropos of nothing = SCANDAL! COVER-UP!
I don't think Lee Garrison is an anonymous source. And FCPA reports, Federal PAC and 527 filings, incorporation records, property ownership records, legal filings . . .those are cold hard facts. And unfortunately for Luther Strange, facts are stubborn things.
Just in time for today's Board of Bar Commissioners Meeting. Roger, have you noticed who is the new Chief Judge at the Court of the Judiciary where Judge Batiste is on trial? He was just a lowly circuit judge in Shelby County when you began writing this blog in 2007. Now he has the power to remove any judge in Alabama from the bench.
Big Luther forgot that the most important six inches in the law office is between your ears. You don't get the smarts just because mommie & daddy could afford to pay for law school. Any single guy who meets a GOPer like Strange needs to give him a firm handshake & wink at his girlfriend because these women know they are dating losers. Wait until that woman gets all the GOPer's money, then make your move, I always say.
Yes, Rob, Mike Joiner is standing up for honor and integrity on the bench. I can't think of a bigger joke than that.
in the pines in the pine
ole nigtht right routhlt e rgIght throught night on not .. ?? >>
http://youtu.be/mcXYz0gtJeM
Mike Joiner himself needs to be removed from the bench.
I didnt' have to listen to the video. All it took was to see the picture of the Mrs. looking at hubby. She is not a happy woman. It doesn't matter what she says, turn off the sound and you will just have to watch the body language. Sometimes the "patting" is actually something else.
why anyone would crawl into the sack with Luther Strange is beyond me. The guy is seriously creepy. Oh, well different strokes for different folks. So if Luther is currently shacked up with a new "mrs." who is he having his current affair with??? Well if they'll do it with you, they'll do it to you....as the old saying goes.
Fifty Shades of Strange
Luther's fave song - he "gives in to sin"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs1xpKv2xdI
Did I miss something in your reporting? Could not find any facts. Do you have facts that gives your reporting any creditability? All I saw in your report were that a source told you. Are you kidding me? Are you making a claim for the world to see that Luther Strange is having "a Messy Extramarital Affair" with Ms. Garrison without any facts or proof? Well hey, I am a source telling you that your wife is having a messy affair with Lowell Baron. Report that on your blog.
Statements from knowledgeable sources are reportable facts. That's how the Watergate scandal broke, that's how journalists have broken scandals throughout the ages. Police detectives act on tips from confidential sources all the time.
As the chief law enforcement officer in this state, Luther Strange has the capacity to retaliate against any source who speaks out on this matter by name. That's why my sources asked for confidentiality, and I granted it. That is standard journalism practice.
Luther Strange and Jessica Garrison both were given ample opportunities to respond to questions about this matter; they did not respond.
If you want to give me information about my wife having an affair with Lowell Barron, provide your contact information and I will get in touch with you. I need to know who you are, and I need to ask some tough questions to determine if you know what you are talking about. That's the process I've gone through in researching the Strange story over about three months, and I will be glad to go through that process on your tip about my wife and Lowell Barron. I look forward to receiving your name and contact information.
Anon at 1:25 - you say you are looking for "facts."
Well look at Luther's FCPA reports, particularly the one after the 2006 election where Luther lost and weeks AFTER the election see the $17,500 payment to a company that did not yet exist - BUT when it did begin to exist, the sole incorporator and legal agent was a then-pregnant Jessica Medeiros Garrison. Then look at the RSLC's contribution of $100,000 to Luther Strange - his biggest contribution of the election - in 2010 using Poarch Creek Indian money. Then note that Ms. Garrison now works for the RSLC. And note that Ms. Garrison also has a position at Balch & Bigham, the lead law firm for Alabama Power - whom is supposed to be opposed by AG Strange before the PSC. And note Ms. Garrison's hurried departure from the AG's office (and into safe haven with Luther's supporters at Blach and the RSLC) during the Bingo Trial when the money transfers from the Poarch Creeks to Luther Strange were discovered by media . . .and it goes on and on.
Gimme a break. There's enough factual basis to report an affair bewteen Big Luther and Little Jessica that Stevie Wonder could spot it.
Roger.... All of this is interesting and probably true; you have certainly compiled enough circumstantial evidence to give it credibility. However, you should focus this energy on LS and his "consulting" contract with ASU. Most of that is attainable as public record through a FOIA Request with the University. The AG as a constitutional officer was paid to consult by a university with public tax dollars. As AG, he is required to devote his full time to that public position. Additionally, he is a "public official" and and while being paid to consult, he violated the new ethics law. Why is his lapdog Matt Hart not investigating this? That's a rhetorical question. It's a shame that the head of LS Public Corruption Unit (Mr. Hart) is not even welcome in any of the US Attorneys Offices' in this state. This is what you should focus on... Just a suggestion.
Those who do not know Jessica may be foolish enough to form an opinion based on your defamatory comments. I hope you are rich and that she sues you! (In Australia)
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She sure doesn't have left go of his leg. And the way she holds it in the beginning with her arm fully and firmly outstretched is more than odd.
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