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Previously unreleased text messages show that leaders of a drug company at the center of the welfare scandal wanted to get Gov. Tate Reeves elected in 2019 to keep money flowing. “Who do we send campaign contributions to? … Tate Reeves is our new guy.”

Pelissero, senior scholar, government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics said, “I would think the governor would recuse himself from being directly involved in this based on a couple of things … One, the governor is alleged to have steered some of the funds, these welfare funds, to other projects,” Pelissero said. “Two, he’s got a family member who has some involvement with one of the individuals being sued, that being the former quarterback."

There are two broad ethical categories here,” Pelissero said. “One is the question of whether there is a direct violation of law or policy … But the other ethical issue that arises is when there simply appears to be the possibility something unethical is going on. That perception can be just as corrosive to trust in government as a legal or policy violation.”

John Pelissero, senior scholar in government ethics. quoted by Mississippi Today.