Brett Favre’s new attorney, Eric Herschmann, said Monday that state and university officials signed off on the funding for a volleyball facility Favre was lobbying them to build.
The former White House lawyer is representing Favre after the Mississippi Department of Human Services filed a civil lawsuit against him for the alleged misappropriation of $23 million in state funds, according to Axios. The state alleges that he used funds intended for the state’s poor and needy to construct a volleyball facility at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter also attended.
Herschmann, who once represented the Trump White House during the first impeachment trial, told the Daily Caller on Monday that he is representing Favre and claimed that the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC) knew about the funds and approved spending them on the volleyball facility. He also said Favre did not know the funds were intended to help the poor.
“I only agreed to represent Brett Favre after I did my independent due diligence and was convinced that he did nothing wrong,” Herschmann said. “Brett enthusiastically tried to help his alma mater, a public university, that needed and wanted his help. Attorneys for the University and the State knew that the donations came from MCEC and ok’d them. To be clear, Brett had no idea that welfare funds were being used or that others were involved in illegal conduct.”
Brett Favre has a hired a new, high-powered attorney to represent him in the Mississippi welfare fraud scandal: Eric Herschmann, who helped clear former Pres Trump in his first impeachment trial. Herschmann has “concluded Favre shouldn’t be indicted.” https://t.co/wxJlOZMSRm
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) October 3, 2022
Herschmann has spoken with Favre on several occasions and has reviewed his text messages and emails connected with the case, Axios reported.
The lawsuit claimed that the MCEC directed $1.1 million to Favre Enterprises for Favre to give speeches that he never gave. He was paid $500,000 in 2017 and then $600,000 in June, 2018, under agreement to advertise for the welfare program, the outlet reported. The money was expected to go toward the volleyball project. In 2020, state auditor Shad White said there is “no indication” that the money Favre received was intended to go toward the poor. (RELATED: NFL Legend Brett Favre Could Be In Legal Trouble)
One 2017 text message between Favre and MCEC founder Nancy New which indicated that he wanted the payments to remain undisclosed, the outlet reported. He reportedly said, “If you were to pay me is there anyway the media can find out where it came from and how much?” The text message was unearthed in September 2022.
In 2019, former Republican Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant texted with Favre about building an indoor practice facility for his alma mater’s football team, the Associated Press reported. The governor was also willing to help build the volleyball facility and was allegedly unaware that welfare money went toward the project.
Clarification: A previous version of this story misstated the intent of Herschmann’s statement. It has been clarified.