Richard N. Painter, expert on legal ethics, says efforts to overturn the 2020 election could bar Mike Johnson from serving as House speaker under 14th Amendment

Mike Johnson, plucked from obscurity on Wednesday to be speaker of the U.S. House, might be disqualified from serving due to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, with his behind-the-scenes actions helping lead to the Jan. 6 attack by Donald Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol. That is from Richard N. Painter -- former chief ethics  lawyer in the George W. Bush White House, law professor at the University of Minnesota, and vice chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog group.

In a post at X (formerly Twitter), Painter writes:

Under 14th Amendment, Section 3, anyone who gave aid or comfort to the insurrection of 1861 or the insurrection of 2021, is DISQUALIFIED from public office, and that includes Speaker of the House of Representatives. Is the Speaker's chair still vacant?

That thought probably jolts Americans on both sides of the political aisle. But our research at the blog Legal Schnauzer indicates the public should not brush it off. For one, the record indicates Richard Painter is a serious fellow, aligned with an organization, CREW, that does serious work.In fact, CREW already has filed a Section 3 lawsuit in Colorado, arguing that Donald Trump -- who was president on Jan. 6 and now is the runaway front-runner to be the Republican Party nominee in the 2024 presidential election, is barred from running for public office. Is CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder messing around? It does not sound like it, based on our post (dated 9/13/23) titled."Debate about Trump's possible disqualification is no longer an academic exercise; lawsuit in Colorado makes the 14th Amendment's implications very real."Says Bookbinder:

On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump stood before the nation and took an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” After losing the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump violated that oath by recruiting, inciting, and encouraging a violent mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a futile attempt to remain in office. . . . 

While Section 3 has not been tested often in the last 150 years, due to lack of insurrections, last year CREW represented residents of New Mexico who sued to remove county commissioner Couy Griffin from office, the only successful case to be brought under Section 3 since 1869. The judge in that case determined January 6th was an insurrection under the Constitution and that someone who helped to incite it–even if not personally violent–had engaged in insurrection and was disqualified from office. . . . 

In the wake of the Civil War -- the closest we have ever come to losing our Republic -- the framers of the 14th Amendment's disqualification clause understood we needed to make sure those who attacked our democracy would not then be put in charge of it, Bookbinder says, adding:

It is a self-executing provision that requires neither action from Congress nor a criminal prosecution to apply. . . .

This constitutional provision is not a punishment, it is a qualification. Just as a 30-year-old cannot serve as president, neither can someone who engaged in insurrection.

Debate over Section 3, as you might expect, quickly caught the attention of liberal legal scholars. But they are not alone. From a post (dated 8/16/23) under the title "Conservative profs say Trump is ineligible to serve as president under 14th Amendment, and D.C. ethics advocate plans to ensure that provision is enforced:

Two prominent conservative legal scholars determined that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to be president under a provision in the Constitution barring people who engaged in insurrection from office.

Professors William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St. Thomas — both members of the conservative Federalist Society (FedSoc) — studied the question for more than a year and detailed their findings in an article set to be published next year in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, according to The New York Times.

"When we started out, neither of us was sure what the answer was," Baude told the outlet. "People were talking about this provision of the Constitution. We thought: 'We're constitutional scholars, and this is an important constitutional question. We ought to figure out what's really going on here.' And the more we dug into it, the more we realized that we had something to add."

The professors' conclusion, he said, is that Trump "cannot be president — cannot run for president, cannot become president, cannot hold office — unless two-thirds of Congress decides to grant him amnesty for his conduct on Jan. 6."

What could lie ahead? The Federalist Society professors shine light on that question, per an article by Igor Derysh at Salon:

The article argues that there is "abundant evidence" that Trump engaged in an insurrection, citing his efforts to change vote counts through threats and intimidation and urging his supporters to march on the Capitol.

"It is unquestionably fair to say that Trump 'engaged in' the Jan. 6 insurrection through both his actions and his inaction," the article said.

Other conservative legal scholars have weighed in on the issue. Writes Deyrsh:

Steven Calabresi, a law professor at Northwestern and Yale and a founder of the Federalist Society, [said] "election administrators must act."

"Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot, and each of the 50 state secretaries of state has an obligation to print ballots without his name on them," adding that they may be sued if they refuse.

Trump is also facing prosecution for his role in the post-election scheme, but that case and Section 3 address "completely separate questions," U of Chicago's Baude said:

"The question of should Donald Trump go to jail is entrusted to the criminal process," he said. "The question of should he be allowed to take the constitutional oath again and be given constitutional power again is not a question given to any jury."

How might these issues apply to Mike Johnson? In terms of personality, he and Trump are radically different -- with Trump seemingly combustible at any moment, while Johnson tends to give off more rational, considered vibes. But ideologically, the two sing from the same hymnal. If anything, Johnson might be more to the extreme right than Trump. And a number of analysts have said Trump essentially picked Johnson to be speaker by pulling his support for Tom Emmer (R-MN), who was the nominee for a few hours, and calling him a RINO (Republican in Name Only).

Does Richard Painter have a point about Mike Johnson and Section 3? We think he does, and we will examine, in an upcoming post, issues that might prove challenging for Johnson.

Norman Jones, a top official at Alabama A&M, fled the campus after being caught having sex with a woman in his office, making him a member of the "rat pack"

Norman Jones: Joining the notorious "rat pack"

 

A former high-ranking official at Alabama A&M left the university in 2019 after reportedly being caught having sex with a woman on a desk in his campus office, according to a report at donaldwatkins.com. Norman E. Jones, who was assistant vice president and comptroller at A&M for roughly nine years, chose to hastily leave the university after an internal investigation into the office incident. Donald Watkins, a longtime Alabama attorney who has become a leading voice in online investigative journalism, reports that Jones' current whereabouts are unknown, even though he has been a close ally and business partner with embattled A&M President Daniel K. Wims..

Under the headline "What Happened to Norman Jones, a Former Alabama A&M VP for Finance & Daniel Wims' Business Partner?" Watkins writes:

Norman E. Jones was Assistant Vice President for Finance & Comptroller at Alabama A&M University from April 2010 to February 2019. Jones was reportedly caught having sex with one of his female employees on the desk in his office on campus. Jones felt the urgent need to flee the university following an internal investigation into this incident.

Norman Jones also is listed by the Mississippi Secretary of State as Dr. Daniel Wims' general partner in Univest Limited Partnership, a Natchez, Mississippi, company. The Secretary of State's office reports that Univest, which was formed in 1999, is "active" and in "good standing" today. Both men are still business partners, according to the Secretary of State's website.

For whatever reason, Dr. Wims did not reference Univest on the annual Statement of Economic Interest he filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission in 2021 and 2022. In fact, Dr. Wims, who earns more than $400,000 per year, reported that he had no outside business relationships or associations of any kind in 2021.

Watkins' research produced several clues about what happened to Norman Jones:

According to his LinkedIn page, Norman Jones is now Vice President for Finance at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, a position he has held since June 2021. According to his LinkedIn page, Jones served as Vice President for Administration and Fiscal Affairs at Paine College (Augusta, Georgia) from October 2019 to June 2021. Jones also started consulting in higher-education finance after his sudden departure from Alabama A&M, beginning in June 2019. According to his LinkedIn page, Norman Jones is now Vice President for Finance at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, a position he has held since June 2021. According to his LinkedIn page, Jones served as Vice President for Administration and Fiscal Affairs at Paine College (Augusta, Georgia) from October 2019 to June 2021. Jones also started consulting in higher-education finance after his sudden departure from Alabama A&M, beginning in June 2019.

Norman Jones and  Dr. John D. Jones worked together at Fisk University when John Jones served as the university's provost and vice president for academic affairs from May 2021 to April 2022. John Jones reportedly was forced out at Fisk for inappropriate sexual conduct. Like Dr. Wims, Dr. John Jones has a record of undisclosed job firings and sexual-misconduct complaints against him. Dr. Jones is now the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Alabama A&M, a position he acquired on July 13, 2022. Dr. Wims initially hired Dr. Jones as Alabama A&M’s interim Associate Vice President and Dean of Graduate Studies after Jones was forced out at Fisk.

Wims, John Jones, and Norman Jones apparently developed quite a reputation for their social activities in and around A&M's Huntsville campus, Watkins writes:

Norman Jones was part of the notorious “rat pack” of “womanizers” that Dr. Daniel Wims nurtured on the campus of Alabama A&M, while serving as Provost and President of the university. This was particularly true after Dr. Kevin Rolle resigned as Alabama A&M's Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer in 2017. Wims performed much of Rolle's duties on an interim and de facto basis. Rolle is now Chief of Staff to President Quinton Ross at Alabama State University.

Again, Dr. Daniel Wims' relationship with Norman Jones goes all the way back to 1999, when the two men (and several other partners) formed Univest Limited Partnership in Natchez, Mississippi.

Alabama A&M somehow created a culture that proved attractive to men who led what might be called "swinging" lifestyles. And the revelations about these Lotharios still are  picking up steam. Watkins calls it a case of "birds of a feather, flock together," and he writes:

All three men – Daniel K. Wims, Dr. John Jones, and Norman Jones – have been forced out of a host of top administrative positions at various universities. All three of them have been on the receiving end of sexual-harassment complaints. All three of them have succeeded in their ability to obfuscate their true employment histories when applying for and receiving their current university positions.

All three of them have worked and flourished under an Alabama A&M board of trustees that is anchored by Trustee Kevin Ball, whose own unwanted sexual advances toward a female employee have been documented by a federal judge in Birmingham.

Under Dr. Wims' failed leadership, Alabama A&M has transformed itself from a center for academic excellence into a hotspot for sexual predators at HBCUs in America. This sad state of being has been tolerated, condoned, and rewarded by a weak and compromised board of trustees.

Coming up -- Dr. Wims’ well-known “close personal relationship” with one of his trustees. It’s been an open secret in Huntsville, Alabama for years.

Stay tuned!

Law.com's review indicates Balch & Bingham never has been serious about diversity and inclusion, matching the firm's dubious history on matters of race

Cyrus  Chin, formerly of Balch & Bingham, now is at Bradley law firm.

 

Birmingham's Balch & Bingham, a law firm with a history of dubious actions on matters of race (see here and here), apparently does not take issues of diversity and inclusion seriously, according to a report at Law.com.

K.B. Forbes, publisher of banbalch.com and CEO of the blog's parent organization -- the CDLU public charity and advocacy group -- has broken dozens of stories about scandals that have been swirling around Balch & Bingham for roughly 10 years. Forbes reports today on Law.com's findings under the headline "Bogus Balch! Scurrilous Southern Company! Racial Inclusion is a Grand Illusion." Forbes writes:

A report from Law.com appears to confirm what critics of the embattled law firm Balch & Bingham have repeatedly declared: The diversity and inclusion efforts at Balch look like nothing more than phony fluff and bogus spin.

Law.com reports:

Some southeastern law firms were first-time participants this year among the group of firms that were certified or recertified under the Mansfield Rule leadership diversity initiative.

Now in its sixth year, this year’s Mansfield certification asked law firms to consider lawyers from historically underrepresented groups for leadership roles, equity partner promotions, client pitch opportunities and more at a rate of at least 30% compared with the total number of candidates.

Some large Southeast-founded firms not participating in the program include …Balch & Bingham….

Minority lawyers who start climbing the career ladder at Balch & Bingham often exit the firm in relatively short order, writes Forbes:

Is anyone surprised? WIth only 2 percent of their partners being people of color, Balch has engaged in alleged tokenism.

Minorities are hired only to flee the alleged racist law firm months later.

Even one of Balch’s top minority partners, Cyrus Chin, who was heavily promoted as the poster child of Balch’s equality epiphany, dumped the firm this past summer. Chin now works at another Birmingham-based firm, Bradley (formerly Bradley Arant).

Even Balch’s sister-wife, Southern Company, is engaging in alleged tokenism,  appointing its first African American CEO this year, Chris Womack.

Yet, Southern Company hypocritically has paid and allegedly continues to pay millions to the Oompa Loompa of Alabama politics, Joe Perkins, and his affiliated entities, that were given the green light by Southern Company to allegedly target and harass minorities and others in a campaign of fear and intimidation.

Southern Company's harsh treatment of minorities hits close to home for Forbes and prominent Birmingham-area lawyer Burt Newsome, proprietor of Newsome Law LLC. Balch is Southern Company's primary law firm, and Newsome has engaged in court battles with Balch and related entities on several occasions in recent years. From today's report at banbalch.com:

The Hispanic family of our Chief Executive Officer K.B. Forbes was forced to flee their home in the summer of 2020 because of Southern Company.

Burt Newsome's wife, an immigrant, was under surveillance, saw her car windows smashed, and was sent a threatening package in an alleged orchestrated effort by Southern Company operatives.

Southern Company, and its paid goons, allegedly have spent years scurrilously smearing and defaming Burt Newsome, the CDLU, and K.B. Forbes and infringing on their individual and civil rights.

Both Balch and Southern Company regurgitate the stock-in-trade lines about equality and diversity.

But as we have learned, vicious, criminal actions speak louder than feeble, fluffy words.

Alabama A&M Provost John D. Jones has a sketchy employment history, joining other alleged sexual predators who have found a haven in Huntsville

Provost John D. Jones (left) speaks at Alabama A&M extension event.

A high-ranking administrator at Alabama A&M University was forced out of similar positions at three other universities before landing at A&M's campus in Huntsville, AL, according to a report today at donaldwatkins.com. This comes on the heels of reports that A&M President Daniel K. Wims also was fired or forced out at three universities before being hired in Huntsville -- and that Trustee Kevin Ball, like Wims, has faced allegations of sexual harassment. Ball has become one of Wims' strongest allies on the board of trustees.

All of this seems oddly appropriate, considering that the most recent example of a top A&M executive having a sketchy employment history involves John D. Jones, the university's provost and vice president of academic affairs. Jones, like Wims was forced out at three universities before finding his ways to the safe environs of Huntsville. Like Wims and Ball, Jones' issues on the job include allegations of sexual misconduct.

Donald Watkins, a longtime Alabama attorney who has become a leading voice in online investigative journalism, reports under the headline "Dr. John D. Jones: Alabama A&M’s Newest Provost Forced Out of Three University Executive Jobs":

On July 13, 2022, Alabama A&M University proudly announced the appointment of Dr. John D. Jones to the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs. After a review of dozens of qualified applicants, the university selected Dr. John Jones for the position. Dr. Jones was serving as Alabama A&M’s interim associate vice president and dean of graduate studies at the time.

Like President Daniel K. Wims, Dr. Jones has a history of improper sexual conduct on campus. Like Wims, Jones had been forced out of top-level administrative positions at three universities.

Dr. Wims was fired or otherwise removed from his position as executive vice president at Fort Valley State University. Wims also was asked to leave his position as director of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and associate professor at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. Finally, Dr. Wims was forced out of his position as director of the Small Farm Research and Resource Development Center at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

As for Jones, his trail of impropriety essentially matches the one Wims has blazed at various stops on the higher-ed circuit. Writes Watkins:

Dr. Jones was forced out as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fisk University (May 2021 to April 2022) and Lincoln University (Missouri). Dr. Jones does not even list the Lincoln University job on his LinkedIn page.

Dr. Jones also was reportedly forced out as Dean of Education at South Carolina State University, a position he does not list on his online biography at Alabama A&M.

Dr. Jones, who is married, reportedly was named as a respondent in at least one sexual-harassment complaint at Alabama A&M and South Carolina State. According to the complaints, Dr. Jones pressured female faculty members for sex in exchange for tenure and/or promotions. Dr. Jones reportedly denied the allegations.

The John Jones-Daniel Wims connection predates their time at A&M. And that raises this question: Did Wims know about Jones' troubled employment history when A&M hired him? Watkins addresses that question:

Dr. Wims, who also worked at South Carolina State, reportedly knew of Dr. Jones’ propensity to solicit sex from female colleagues at the time Jones was hired for both positions at Alabama A&M. Yet, Wims did not disclose this information to his board of trustees prior to Jones' selection for either administrative position at Alabama A&M.

Wims and Jones join Alabama A&M trustee Kevin Ball in the growing cabal of male administrators and trustees who have documented histories of inappropriate advances toward women and who have nested within the university’s governance hierarchy under the protection of Daniel K. Wims.

Dr. Wims’ complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct encompass three women and at least one male.

What does this say about Alabama A&M? Are students at the Huntsville campus getting a fair deal in exchange for their tuition dollars? Are Alabama residents getting a fair deal in exchange for their tax dollars? Are faculty members and executives at A&M too engaged in sexual shenanigans to actually teach or administer programs? Is Alabama A&M being run by a bunch of rogues who lack the character to work in higher education on the public dime? Should these rogues even be around young people who are trying to earn an education?

It sounds like A&M's culture of sleaze is about to get worse before it gets better. Writes Watkins:

It appears that Alabama A&M has become the hot spot for sexual predators at HBCUs in America, thanks to a notoriously weak and compromised board of trustees.

Coming up -- Dr. Wims’ well-known “close personal relationship” with one of his trustees. It’s been an open secret in Huntsville for years.

Stay tuned!

Alabama A&M trustee Kevin Ball, like President Daniel K. Wims, has a history with allegations of sexual misconduct -- and Ball is a staunch Wims' supporter

The Alabama A&M Board of Trustees meet in Birmingham

 

A member of Alabama A&M's board of trustees has faced sexual-harassment allegations similar to those against the university's president, Daniel K. Wims. Does that help explain Trustee Kevin Ball's steady support for Wims, even as a string of scandals swirl around the embattled president? The answer appears to be yes, according to a report today at donaldwatkins.com. A longtime Alabama attorney who has become a leading voice in online investigative journalism, Watkins writes under the headline "Federal Judge: Alabama A&M Trustee Kevin Ball's Comments to Female Employee Were "Not Appropriate":

On May 18, 2010, a federal judge in Birmingham found that Alabama A&M University Trustee Kevin Ball made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to a female employee of Ball Healthcare Jefferson, Inc., d/b/a Cherry Hill Heathcare Center. [A copy of the judge's Order may be viewed here.]

LaTanya Tanniehill was the female employee who caught Kevin Ball's unwanted sexual attention. Tanniehill worked at Cherry Hill Healthcare Center as a certified nursing assistant when she said Ball made inappropriate sexual comments to her from about November or December 2006 to August 2007.

Cherry Hill was a residential nursing home, operated by Ball Healthcare, that provided professional nursing and rehabilitation services for the elderly. Kevin Ball’s father, Clarence Ball, was responsible for the corporate management of Ball Healthcare Services and its subsidiaries, including defendant, Ball Healthcare-Jefferson, Inc.

Kevin Ball, who is married, was the administrator of Cherry Hill Healthcare Center during the period of time in question. Ball has been an Alabama A&M trustee since 2014.

Tanniehill filed a federal lawsuit that presents an ugly picture of Ball's actions related to the workplace. Writes Watkins:

LaTanya Tanniehill’s federal-court lawsuit alleged that in September 2006, Kevin Ball started sexually harassing her and offered her increased compensation and privileges in exchange for sex. Tanniehill said she rejected Kevin Ball’s advances and reported him to Ball Healthcare Services' corporate office.

On September 21, 2007, Tanniehill was fired, and she contended that her termination was without cause but was based on her complaints about Kevin Ball. Tanniehill asserted legal claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for sexual harassment, maintenance of a sexually hostile environment, and retaliation.

How did a federal judge view the allegations against Ball? Not favorably, reports Watkins, quoting extensively from the court's findings:

The Court made the following findings regarding Kevin Ball's inappropriate sexual comments to LaTanya Tanniehill:

According to Tanniehill, around November or December 2006, she was walking to a local night club (The Platinum Club) after work one evening when Kevin Ball pulled up beside her in his car and asked if she was supposed to be at work. When she responded “no,” he asked if she had his cell phone number. When she again responded “no,” he allegedly stated that she “should have it.”

On another occasion in 2006, Tanniehill was talking by cell phone with a male friend, who handed Ball the telephone. Ball then asked Tanniehill “if [s]he had any friends that he could talk to” and, when Tanniehill said “no,” he stated that “[t]here were a lot of people he was considering talking to at the nursing home, but he had too much to lose.” . . . .

After Tanniehill clocked out after her shift on August 28, 2007, she visited Kevin Ball’s office. She was still upset with [Director of Nursing Judy] Mason over her work schedule. At the end of the meeting, Tanniehill asserts that Ball stated, “As pretty as you are, I know you are not going to worry about the number of hours you will get, because you can get paid off your looks.” She also claims that he asked her if she would meet him at the local night club and “see what it leads to.”

Later in the evening of August 28, 2007, Tanniehill telephoned [Director of Human Resource] Sharon Prince-Moore to complain about Kevin Ball’s “sexual harassment” under Cherry Hill’s EEO Policy. She reported that, when she visited Administrator Ball to discuss her work schedule, he “blew her off” and commented on her good looks and her hair style. Moore then called President Clarence Ball to report Tanniehill’s complaint. . . .

Moore conducted an examination and completed a report for Clarence Ball. Moore advised Clarence Ball that she could not confirm that Kevin Ball engaged in sexual harassment but that some of his comments were not appropriate. She recommended that [Kevin Ball] be provided with in-service counseling and training on the EEO Policy, particularly on sexual harassment. . . .

Moore met with Kevin Ball on September 14, 2007, and provided the instructions regarding Tanniehill’s supervision and conducted the in-service training on the EEO Policy.

Also, on September 14, 2007, Moore met with Tanniehill and informed her of the results of the investigation. Moore assured Tanniehill that she would not be subjected to any further unwelcome comments by Kevin Ball. . . .

As for Ball's role at Alabama A&M, he voted to hire Daniel Wims as president and has remained a steady presence in Wims' corner. Meanwhile, LaTanya Tanniehill experienced a peculiar outcome in federal court, Watkins reports:

Kevin Ball is one of the seven Alabama A&M University trustees who voted to hire Dr. Daniel K. Wims as the university’s president in October 2021. The allegations that Dr. Wims engaged in sexual misconduct involving three women and one man did not faze Ball when he cast his vote for Wims. After all, Ball had faced his own sexual-misconduct allegations in the LaTanya Tanniehill case.

Ms. Tanniehill lost her Title VII case on a summary-judgment motion filed by Ball Healthcare on August 5, 2009. For reasons that are unexplained in the record, Tanniehill's lawyers failed to timely file a response in opposition to the motion. When her lawyers tried to correct this legal faux pas nine months later, the judge declined to give them permission to file a nine-months late response to the motion. As such, Ball Healthcare’s motion for a judgment without a trial was deemed to be "unopposed."

Additionally, the judge also cited the fact that Tanniehill’s lawyers failed to name Kevin Ball as a defendant in the case and failed to assert any companion state-law claims against Ball in his personal capacity.

This combination of lawyer failings and miscues allowed Kevin Ball to escape liability for his sexual comments in Tanniehill's case.

Ball went on to develop an interest in sports promotion, an area where Dr. Wims has experience in Alabama's ring-wing political environment. Writes Watkins:

Meanwhile, in 2021, Kevin Ball requested and received an advisory opinion from the Alabama Ethics Commission on how he could own an equity interest in, and benefit from, a sports-promotion company that promotes an annual Classic football game in Mobile, Alabama, that features Alabama A&M as one of the participating universities.

On August 4, 2021, the Ethics Commission provided guidance and restrictions to Ball on this question, nearly two months prior to his vote in favor of Wims for president.

We will have much more to report on Kevin Ball's sports-promotion business in an upcoming article.

Kevin Ball and Daniel Wims now enjoy a symbiotic relationship on: (a) successfully escaping sexual-misconduct allegations; and (b) their mutual desire to “grift” from the Alabama A&M University platform. Ball is a staunch supporter of Wims, and all that this entails.

Daniel Wims, president of Alabama A&M, is a MAGA GOPer with a sketchy job history, making him a higher-ed combo of George Santos, Clarence Thomas

Daniel Wims installed as Alabama A&M president

 

Daniel K. Wims, president of Alabama A&M University (AAMU) was fired or forced out of positions at three universities before landing at A&M, which is in Huntsville, AL. A&M has been embroiled in several controversies on Wims' watch. (See here, here, and here.) Evidence available so far indicates members of A&M's board of trustees and its presidential search committee might not have been aware of Wims' workplace history before they hired him, according to a report today at donaldwatkins.com.

Watkins, a longtime Alabama attorney who has become a leading voice in online investigative journalism, writes under the headline "Daniel K. Wims Was Fired From Three Administrative Jobs Prior to Becoming Alabama A&M's President":

At first blush, Alabama A&M University President Daniel K. Wims looks good -- on paper. His resume appears to be impressive.

However, Dr. Wims’ online biography has been crafted and spun in a way that intentionally obscures the fact that he was fired from, or otherwise forced out of,  three high-level university administrative positions listed on his resume.

Gov. Kay Ivey knows this important fact about Dr. Wims and uses it to her advantage in controlling his actions as the university president on matters of concern to Alabama's MAGA Republicans. I learned about this fact while preparing my investigative articles on the $527 million the state of Alabama owes to Alabama A&M, which the university refuses to acknowledge or collect.

Somehow, this critically important employment information about Dr. Wims escaped the attention of the presidential search committee that recommended Wims for president in October 2021. It is unknown whether the seven members of the board of trustees who voted Wims in as president over the four "no" votes knew this information.

In the world of higher education, this kind of intentional obfuscation of an applicant's employment history might be viewed as resume fraud. University presidents have been fired because of it. Alabama A&M's weak board of trustees might try to excuse it.

What about details of Wims' employment history? Watkins provides them:

We have confirmed that Dr. Wims was fired or otherwise removed from his position as Executive Vice President at Fort Valley State University. He was allowed to remain at Fort Valley as Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Executive Vice President acted on a wide range of executive decision-making matters for Fort Valley's president.

Dr. Wims was also asked to leave his position as Director of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Associate Professor at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida.

Additionally, Dr. Wims was forced out of his position as Director of the Small Farm Research and Resource Development Center at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Dr. Wims attached himself to President Andrew Hugine at South Carolina State University and followed Hugine from that university to Alabama A&M, where he served as Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Research, and Professor of Agricultural Sciences at the University prior to assuming the presidency.

Dr. Wims applied for several presidential positions and was passed over for these jobs. Dr. Hugine delivered the Alabama A&M presidency to Wims, via a passionate September 30, 2021, "character witness" letter that asked university trustees to completely disregard allegations of sexual misconduct against Wims involving three women and a man.

Alabama Political Reporter (APR) has reported at least twice on the sexual misconduct allegations against Wims. (See here and here.) 

For all practical purposes, Dr. Daniel K. Wims appears to be Alabama A&M University's presidential version of Congressman George Santos (R-New York), mixed with a healthy dose of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' MAGA Republicanism.

State of Alabama owes Alabama A&M more than $527 million, but that "little item" appears nowhere on the agenda for this week's meeting of the board of trustees

Bands perform at the Magic City Classic

 

The board of trustees of Alabama A&M University (AAMU) will meet at 8 a.m. Friday (10/27/23) at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. That is on the weekend of the highly popular, and profitable, Magic City Classic football game, which will be played at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (10/28/23) at what is expected to be a packed Legion Field.

A topic that might be expected to draw considerable discussion at the board meeting -- a debt of more than $527 million the state of Alabama owes A&M due to chronic underfunding of the land-grant institution, dating to the Civil War era. But the $527 million is nowhere to be found on the board agenda, reports online investigative journalist and longtime Alabama attorney Donald Watkins. That indicates the board has no intention of discussing the debt -- or attempting to collect it -- because . . . well, the state's mostly White, Republican power structure does not want A&M to even make an attempt at collection.

Watkins calls it "a historic 'sellout' of the university to MAGA political forces in Alabama." Under the headline "Alabama A&M Board Agenda Omits Authorization to Collect $527 Million Owed to University by State," Watkins writes:

On September 18, 2023, the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture notified Gov. Kay Ivey that the state of Alabama owes Alabama A&M University $527,280,064. According to the letter of notification:

“Unequitable funding of the 1890 institution in your state has caused a severe financial gap, in the past 30 years alone, an additional $527,280,064 would have been available for the university. These funds could have supported infrastructure and student services and would have better positioned the university to compete for research grants [ ].”

Alabama A&M is a land-grant institution that was founded to fulfill the state’s obligation to provide a "separate, but equal" educational opportunity for Black students who were excluded from admission to Auburn University's land-grant academic programs. Auburn was founded as the land-grant institution in Alabama for White students.

Governor Ivey, a Donald Trump loyalist and MAGA Republican, says the state of Alabama does not owe this money to Alabama A&M. In her mind, the university can get by with the historically inadequate funding the state provides to the school each year. However, to pacify Blacks in the state, Gov. Ivey did proclaim the month of October as "HBCU Month."

Kay Ivey is the same MAGA governor who opposed the creation of a second Black Congressional district in Alabama that was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 8, 2023, in the case of Milligan v. Allen.

Does anyone have the courage to stand up and demand that A&M be paid money it clearly is owed? We see no sign of it so far. Writes Watkins:

Alabama A&M President Daniel K. Wims is a closet MAGA Republican who surreptitiously contributes campaign money to fellow MAGA politicians in Alabama, using different variations of his name and different home addresses in Georgia. Wims privately agrees with Gov. Ivey’s position on this matter, albeit without any legal justification for this MAGA view. Reportedly, Dr. Wims has also promised Ivey that the university will take no genuine legal action to collect this $527,280,064 debt.

Wims gaslights the Alabama A&M family and state’s Black community whenever he is pressed for his views about this matter. However, Wims is firmly committed to taking no action against the state on this or any matter that will make Gov. Ivey mad at him.

The problems at A&M do not begin and end with Wims, Watkins reports:

Alabama A&M has a notoriously weak board of trustees that backs President Wims. Board members are more focused on pleasing Gov. Ivey and MAGA Republicans in the state than they are on protecting the university's interest in collecting its $527,280,064 debt from the state of Alabama.

Board Chairman Dr. Roderick D. Watts is a staunch ally of President Wims. Watts has acquiesced in Wims' conversion of Alabama A&M into a hotbed for MAGA activists, operatives, and activities.

As board chairman, Dr. Watts prepares the board meeting agenda in consultation with Wims. Dr. Watts has prepared a meeting agenda for October 27, 2023, at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center Complex – Forum G at 8 a.m. in Birmingham, Alabama. By law, the meeting is open to the public.

Chairman Watts’ meeting agenda completely omits any board resolution that authorizes the university to take strong and aggressive legal action to collect the $527,280,064 debt owed to the university by the state of Alabama. This agenda is a historic "sellout" of the university to MAGA political forces in Alabama. Gov. Ivey is very pleased with the board's agenda.

The public should not expect any "Profiles in Courage" to be on display at the meeting -- or anywhere else involving A&M, except for the courage the university's football players exhibit in taking on Alabama State for the Magic City Classic, a game that typically involves plenty of hard-hitting action. The game also features plenty of talent, with the two universities combining to send more than 30 players to the National Football League.

The Magic City Classic is as much about social activities as it is football, and Watkins says public officials likely are counting on parties, contests, concerts, and related events to distract from the sad state of affairs at Alabama A&M:

As it stands today, Alabama A&M University would rather harass former students for unpaid student debts and beg alumni for individual donations than collect its $527,280,064 debt from the state of Alabama.

The board meeting is set on the Friday of the Magic City Classic weekend. Alabama A&M's trustees honestly believe that the upcoming Magic City Classic football game is the perfect distraction for obscuring their complete failure to advance and protect Alabama A&M’s legal position in this debt-collection matter. They obviously think the parties and VIP receptions in Birmingham this weekend are more important than collecting this $527,280,064 debt.

Alabama A&M's firing of Professor Edward Jones features unlawful searches, doctored documents, seizure of personal property, and other irregularities

Alabama A&M President Daniel Wims (left) and former Professor Edward Jones

Part 1-- A Tangled Web of Lies and Deceit

Longtime Alabama attorney Donald Watkins has conducted an investigation into Alabama A&M University's (AAMU) firing of tenured professor Edward Jones. Watkins' initial findings indicate "Alabama A&M's allegation that Dr. Jones stole or misused university property (i.e., a University-issued laptop) is predicated on lies, fraud, and a massive, ongoing coverup by the university into what happened to Dr. Jones, and why. Further, Watkins found that a bungled police search of Jones' personal residence implicated university President Daniel K. Wims in actions that were improper, unlawful, or both. Watkins will release his full findings in an upcoming series of posts at the donaldwatkins.com Web site. 

Under the headline "Sex, Lies, and a Coverup: The Highly Questionable Firing of Alabama A&M Professor Edward L. Jones," Watkins writes in an article today:

Alabama A&M University President Daniel K. Wims is caught in a web of lies, deceit, and an ongoing coverup involving the highly questionable firing of former tenured professor Edward L. Jones. Wims was the university’s provost in 2015 when he organized, orchestrated, and oversaw the eventual termination of Dr. Jones as a university program director. Today, Wims is the university’s president.

In October 2015, Dr.Wims placed Dr. Jones on administrative leave pending the resolution of unspecified administrative compliance issues.

On October 13, 2015, A&M's Chief Information Officer, accompanied by university police officer Brian Ruble and a locksmith, entered Jones’ on-campus office to seize his computer and change the locks on his office.

Dr. Jones' on-campus office computer never became a pertinent issue in his case.

On January 14, 2016, Dr. Wims sent Dr. Jones an "Intent to Terminate" letter, which failed to provide Jones a pre-termination hearing.

On February 24, 2016, Dr. Jones sued Alabama A&M, its board of trustees, president (Dr. Andrew Hugine), provost (Dr. Daniel Wims), and dean of the College of Education (Dr. Curtis Martin) in federal court (N.D. Ala., Case No. 5:16-CV-00326) to stop the university from firing him. Jones also included two Fourth Amendment claims regarding the unlawful search and seizure of his personal property.

On March 16, 2016, Provost Wims sent Dr. Jones a termination letter that stated, "There is convincing evidence that you have engaged in sexual conduct below minimum standards of professional integrity and misused university computing/electronic assets in gross violation of well-established university policy." Based upon Officer Ruble's search of Dr. Jones' on-campus office, the university also claimed that about 10 items of school property that were assigned to Dr. Jones' program were either stolen or missing. According to Wims, Jones' alleged sexual misconduct and misuse/theft of university property constituted grounds for his termination.

How convincing was the "convincing evidence" against Jones? It was well short of convincing to Watkins, who has almost five decades of legal experience under his belt. Watkins writes:

The so-called “convincing evidence” of sexual misconduct consisted of videos that were purportedly found on an old school laptop recovered at Jones' home after Alabama A&M police officers executed a search warrant. Dr. Jones’ personal cellphone was also seized from his home.

Even though the laptop at Dr. Jones' home had an A&M logo on it, the computer was broken and never contained pornographic images of any kind, according to Dr. Jones.

In February 2017, the federal judge assigned to Jones's case dismissed his search and seizure claims, with prejudice. In a September 9, 2022, Order, the judge wrote that the Court “erred when it dismissed Dr. Jones's Fourth Amendment damages claims with prejudice, and the Court regrets the error.“ Yet, the judge did not correct this error

The judge's denial of Jones’ search and seizure claims is presently an issue on appeal in Jones’ case.

A search of Jones' personal residence seems irregular, to put it mildly. For example, a search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, requires probable cause, but it is not clear that standard was met in the Jones case. In fact, the search seems to raise more questions than it answers, Watkins reports:

Alabama A&M opposed Dr. Jones' request for injunctive relief by submitting an affidavit from Officer Brian Ruble. In his affidavit, Ruble stated that he searched the residence of Jones and found a missing university laptop. Ruble said he seized this laptop and secured it during his investigation. Ruble also stated that he personally viewed three pornographic videos that were found on this laptop.

According to Ruble's affidavit, one video depicted Dr. Jones masturbating and showing off his penis on Alabama A&M property. A second video depicted Jones receiving oral sex from a young male on Alabama A&M property. The third video depicted Jones receiving oral sex from another young male on Alabama A&M property," according to Ruble.

We have confirmed that Dr. Wims personally viewed these videos, as well. It is not clear why this video evidence was shared with Wims.

We have also confirmed that the videos referenced by Officer Ruble were never downloaded onto the laptop prior to its seizure at Dr. Jones' home. If any pornographic images were extracted from this laptop, they were downloaded onto the device after it was taken into police custody by Officer Ruble. 

The university has never permitted Jones' legal team to access this laptop for the purpose of forensic testing.

If pornographic material is found to have been placed on the laptop after it was in custody of the police, the university, its police department, and Officer Ruble might have serious problems on their hands. The actions of U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala in the Jones case also are peculiar. Writes Watkins:

The federal judge refused to stop the university from firing Dr. Jones. However, she ordered Alabama A&M to provide Jones a post-termination hearing. The university set a hearing date. Dr. Jones did not attend the hearing because the university would not provide his legal team with access to the laptop and his personal cellphone that were seized by Officer Ruble.

On March 16, Dr. Wims fired Dr. Jones.

After he was fired, Dr. Jones filed a second lawsuit in 2017 in the same federal court (Case No. 5:17-cv-01723). This lawsuit alleged that Alabama A&M discriminated against Dr. Jones based upon his sexual orientation. It also alleged that Jones was fired after years of harassment and only when Jones attempted to bring to light certain administrative issues and concerns involving Dr. Wims.

On March 10, 2021, the judge dismissed now-President Daniel Wims and the other individually named defendants from the case. She also confirmed her earlier dismissal of Jones’ retaliation claim against the board of trustees.

What really happened in the Edward Jones case and why? Watkins addresses that question and much more:

We have independently investigated Edward Jones’ legal claims and the university's defenses based upon the pertinent court filings by the parties, witness interviews, court orders, and forensic evidence.

In today's Part 1 of this series of investigative articles, we focus on whether the university’s allegation that Dr. Jones engaged in the theft or misuse of university property has any merit, or whether this allegation was a pretext for his firing.

Part 2 will focus on whether Alabama A&M has subjected Dr. Jones to disparate treatment in firing him for sexual misconduct.

Watkins' investigation indicates A&M's search for evidence against Jones was filled with lies, fraud, and signs of a coverup. That is not likely to bolster public confidence in the university's actions. Writes Watkins:

Alabama A&M's allegation that Dr. Jones stole or misused university property (i.e., a University-issued laptop) is predicated on lies, fraud, and a massive, ongoing coverup by the university into what happened to Dr. Jones, and why. What is more, Dr. Wims appears to be directly implicated in the university's ongoing coverup of Officer Ruble's bungled search and seizure of electronic devices from Jones' home.

Here are some of the university's faux pas, lies, and signs of a coverup in Dr. Jones' case.

First, Officer Brian Ruble searched Dr. Jones’ on-campus office in October 2015, without a search warrant and in apparent violation of standard operating procedure for the university's police department. (This goes to apparent lack of probable cause, as mentioned above.) Ruble was later rewarded for his work in Jones' case with a promotion to captain on the university’s police force.

Second, on February 12, 2016, Ruble led Dennis Gardner, Timothy Dawkins, and Captain Amard Martin (who was second in command at the university police department) on a search of Jones’ off-campus home, car, and off-campus office for evidence of his sexual relationships. A Huntsville police officer (Julian Johnson) joined the university police officers' search of Dr. Jones’ home. The Huntsville police officer left the premises about 15 minutes after the search began. In announcing his sudden departure, this officer said the search did not seem to be lawful. (It appears this officer was right on target.)

Third, after the search of Dr. Jones’ home, car, and off-campus office was completed, Dr. Wims called Amard Martin to his office and told him, “You need to stay out of the Jones case.” Martin took that as a threat. Shortly after Wims’ threat, Martin was terminated as a captain on the university’s police force.

Fourth, Lt. Chris Coffey, the university police officer who often unlocked Dr. Jones's office when Jones worked on weekends, was promptly terminated at the conclusion of a meeting with Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Gary Crosby, officer Brian Ruble, and two university attorneys in May 2016. These officials appeared to be miffed with Coffey when his answers to their questions did not implicate Jones in any sexual improprieties. Even under duress, Coffey refused to provide false testimony on Jones. The university’s police chief – Monica Ray – was unaware of this meeting. She, herself, was later removed from the chief's job for questioning Crosby's excess intrusion into the police department's day-to-day affairs.

Fifth, officer Dennis Gardner participated in the search of Dr. Jones’ home, car, and off-campus office. Gardner is listed as the author of certain police reports that Alabama A&M produced to Jones’ legal team in his federal-court litigation. However, Gardner has testified, via an affidavit, that he did not write these police reports and they contained “false or misleading statements.” Gardner further testified that he never gave Officer Ruble permission to use his name or credentials to prepare the false police reports in Edward Jones’ case. Gardner concluded his testimony by stating, “it is my position that the subject police reports were forged [ ]." Alabama A&M fired Officer Gardner when he refused to participate in a police coverup of Ruble’s "forged" police reports in Dr. Jones’ case.

Sixth, Officer Ruble claimed that Dr. Jones stole about 10 items of university property that were assigned to his university program -- The Teacher Service Center. At the direction of President Andrew Hugine and Dean Curtis Martin, Ruble met with Talbert Cox, Alabama A&M’s property manager, as part of his investigation. Cox took Ruble to the property room to see if they could locate the “stolen” items. Every item on Ruble’s list was accounted for. None of the items was stolen or missing. Despite this exculpatory evidence in Jones' favor, Alabama A&M persisted in claiming that Dr. Jones had stolen university property.

Seventh, after denying Dr. Jones access to the two electronic devices Officer Ruble seized for more than seven years, Alabama A&M finally turned over Jones’ personal cell phone to him. This item of evidence had been tampered with after the seizure. Alabama A&M failed to follow standard forensic procedures for preserving digital evidence. Specifically, Officer Ruble did not immediately place the iPhone in airplane mode. What is more, a forensics expert hired by Dr. Jones has found evidence of significant and illegal manipulation of the data. In particular, some 419 files were modified and/or deleted from the iPhone and 36 phone calls were deleted. Further, the iPhone's internal clock had been rolled back--an effort that was both intentional and purposeful.

An independent digital-forensics consultant for donaldwatkins.com reviewed the same cellphone extraction data and reached the same conclusion -- the data on Dr. Jones' phone had been manipulated after Officer Ruble seized it.

Eighth, there is no credible evidence to support Alabama A&M's contention that pornographic images were downloaded onto the old Alabama A&M-issued laptop prior to the search of Dr. Jones' home. Furthermore, Dr. Jones had a legal right to possess this laptop until his termination on March 16, 2016 -- the date of his employment termination.

The list of university lies and acts of deceit perpetrated by Alabama A&M in Dr. Jones' case seems to be endless. What is more, the university successfully used these lies to achieve a strategic advantage in the first federal lawsuit Jones filed against the university, which the Court dismissed.

Additionally, these lies were used to induce the Madison County District Attorney's Office to further punish Dr. Jones by indicting him on a theft of property felony charge on July 28, 2017. On September 24, 2018, Dr. Jones filed an "Alford" or "Best Interests" plea to a reduced misdemeanor charge and disposed of this criminal case by paying a $1,000 fine, only. No court costs were assessed against Dr. Jones, and he made no restitution payment. The misdemeanor charge had nothing to do with the electronic devices Office Ruble seized during his searches of Dr. Jones' office, home, and car. This kind of disposition of a misdemeanor criminal case is equivalent to a nuisance value settlement of a civil lawsuit.

Dr. Wims, who thrust himself into the vortex of the Edward Jones case and threatened police Capt. Amard Martin, is one of the Alabama A&M employees who benefited from preferential treatment in the face of sexual-misconduct allegations. During the presidential search in 2021, allegations of sexual misconduct against Dr. Wims involving three women and one man surfaced publicly. Wims denied the allegations.

The presidential search committee never independently investigated the sexual misconduct allegations against Dr. Wims. Likewise, there was no university police investigation, as was the case with Dr. Jones. Instead, outgoing president Andrew Hugine simply turned himself into a spontaneous character witness for Dr. Wims and declared him "fit" for the presidency. Thereafter, Alabama A&M’s ceremonial board of trustees promoted Wims from provost to president.

Alabama A&M has been mired in controversy and scandal ever since Dr. Wims, a closet MAGA Republican who actually lives in Georgia, has been president.

In Part 2 of his series, Watkins will address this question: Was Dr. Jones subjected to disparate treatment? Writes Watkins:

Part 2 of this series of articles will examine whether Alabama A&M subjected Dr. Edward Jones to unlawful disparate treatment with respect to: (a) allegations of sexual misconduct; and (b) the unequal application of personnel policies that benefited certain high-ranking employees who faced allegations of sexual misonduct with women and men on campus, who were allowed to continue in their jobs, and who received promotions, while Dr. Jones was fired.

Stay tuned!