Gov. Jim Justice said he was an open book, Friday, while deflecting questions regarding his recently released financial disclosure report for his campaign for U.S. Senate. … The Justice campaign filed their required financial disclosure Monday – 133 days past a May 15 deadline and 32 days past an Aug. 24 extension deadline.
Financial disclosure reports are required of currently serving U.S. senators, candidates for U.S. Senate, and certain officers and employees of the U.S. Senate.
[Justice] was unable to answer specific questions regarding the report … “Terry, I’m sure, has it exactly right and everything. To be perfectly honest … I didn’t go through line by line by any stretch of the imagination and look at the stuff,” Justice said. “I’m sure it was prepared and prepared very accurately.”
The Justices reported between $37.5 million and $108.1 million in liabilities between lines of credit, promissory notes, and judgments. Four of those lines of credit are from Justice-owned businesses, including the Greenbrier Hotel Corp., Tams Management, Bellwood Corp., and Black River Farms.
The four lines of credit have 0% interest and are payable on demand. In the case of the Greenbrier Hotel Corp., the amount of the line of credit is between $5 million and $25 million. However, under assets, Justice reported receiving either no or less than $201 in income from the Greenbrier Hotel Corp.
Justice also received two promissory notes from former paid senior advisor and businessman Bray Cary. These include between $2 million and $10 million in two promissory notes owed Cary.
The two promissory notes, with interest rates of 10%, are owed to Cary directly and the Cary Foundation; a 501(c)(3). Cary left the Governor’s Office in March 2021. The notes were issued Aug. 31, 2021. Justice appointed Cary to the West Virginia University Board of Governors in July 2021.
“To get into the play-by-play on those loans is not fair,” Justice said when asked about the loans by WV MetroNews Statewide Correspondent Brad McElhinny. “(Cary) is a good, good man and did a great job here. Really and truly with great pride I appointed him to the (WVU) Board of Governors and he’s doing a great job there … We had a business relationship and that’s what we did. I’m sure Bray benefited from the business relationship. I know we benefited from the business relationship, and that’s all there is to it.”
According to his most recent financial disclosure form with the West Virginia Ethics Commission – which requires far less detail than U.S. Senate report – Justice has 111 businesses. Only seven of those 111 businesses are in blind trusts, but Justice has said frequently that the day-to-day operations of his businesses are managed by son Jay and daughter Jill Justice.
Justice and his companies have run into significant financial issues over the last several years, including more than $1 billion in personal loan guarantees to financial institutions, unpaid debts to vendors, unpaid federal mine safety penalties, wage garnishments, and other issues. In previous court cases, it has been alleged that Justice uses his companies to play shell games by hiding assets.
In the latest hiccup, British Virgin Islands-based Caroleng Investments Limited is seeking a writ of execution from a Virginia federal court to seize Justice-owned property over non-payment of a court awarded $10 million sum. Despite this new setback, Justice continues to brag about not closing his companies down.
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