One of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s most prized possessions is set to be auctioned against the governor’s wishes later this month, and a Republican Senate candidate says the situation reeks of blatant politics.
In 2009, the Democrat-turned-Republican bought the Greenbrier, a luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, from CSX and saved it from bankruptcy.
Justice said this week that big banks would not have acted now against the Greenbrier property if they weren’t poised to flip seats in the narrowly divided U.S. Senate.
Justice’s campaign and the governor’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment, but the governor Parkersburg News Sentinel This situation is another “big burden” that could disrupt the political flow.
Sen. Manchin’s election heats up as judicial intervention ‘I’m worried for this country’
President Donald Trump shakes hands with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, who announced he was switching parties from Democrat to Republican, during the “Make America Great Again” rally at Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, West Virginia, on August 3, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“I truly believe that if I had never run for the United States Senate, you would never have heard of this in a million years, and we would have continued to do exactly what we did with JPMorgan, and everybody in the neighborhood would have been happy,” Justice said.
With longtime Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (Ind.-West Virginia) retiring, Justice is likely to retake his seat in a race against Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott. If the remaining Senate seats remain the same and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, becomes vice president, Republicans will have control of the Senate.
Justice is described in his official biography as the “largest farmer” east of the Mississippi River, and his family is involved in more than 100 businesses in the agriculture, coal, real estate and hospitality industries. The resort, halfway between Beckley, West Virginia, and Roanoke, Virginia, is known for its luxury and formal dress code.
In a statement, Justice Companies He said the governor and JPMorgan have had a cordial relationship for decades and that their $142 million lien on Greenbrier is now worth $9.4 million.
The statement said Justice was informed in July that JPMorgan had sold the loan to Baltimore-based Beltway Capital McCormick 101 “despite the existence of a mutual agreement to settle the outstanding debt,” which was ultimately declared in default.
“This deceptive move by JPMorgan is simply the latest political ploy by Democrats to undermine West Virginia’s next Republican senator,” the statement added.
Senate Justice: West Virginia Governor Interested in Challenge to Manchin
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice delivers his State of the State address in Charleston, West Virginia on January 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)
Beltway Capital and JPMorgan Chase did not respond to requests for comment.
At a press conference Tuesday, Justice said the foreclosure auctions “have to be motivated by something.”
“I truly believe this is a political stunt, and everyone I’ve spoken to has said the same thing,” he said. “We have not been notified. Carter Bank has never been asked about their position. And to be honest with you… if they wanted to sell the $9.4 million in debt, why didn’t they ask Carter Bank?”
A spokesman for Carter Bank in Martinsville, Virginia said: The Department of Justice A representative for the bank, which acquired the second mortgage to strengthen its business relationship with JPMorgan, said the bank was aware of the notice of the foreclosure sale but was not the lender that initiated the process.
“Carter Bank is monitoring this matter closely and will act in a manner that best protects the bank and its shareholders,” the spokesman said.
Justice also criticized JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, noting his longstanding ties to the Democratic Party.
Dimon was a regular Democratic donor in the 1990s and 2000s, but more recently he has raised eyebrows among elites by criticizing “Biden economics” and praising Trump at Davos.
Democrats, meanwhile, have denied Justice’s claims that it’s a political ploy during the election, and the state party chairman appeared to laugh off the idea that the left is plotting against him.
“Calling Jamie Dimon a ‘friend of the Democrats’ is like calling J.D. Vance an Appalachian,” said state Rep. Mike Pushkin, who represents Kanawha County.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The Greenbriar Building at Christmastime. (West Virginia Tourism Office)
“The Democratic Party has nothing to do with it. [Justice’s] “They failed to pay their creditors,” he added.
Department of Justice attorney Bob Wolford issued a statement on the matter, including raising the possibility of future damage lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase.
“Let me be clear that The Greenbrier is not for sale. The Justice family will take all necessary steps to ensure that there is no adverse impact to its ownership of The Greenbrier, The Greenbrier’s operations, or interference with The Greenbrier’s ability to continue to provide world-class service to its guests,” Wolford said.
According to a public notice published in the city’s local newspaper, barring further intervention, The Greenbrier is scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder on the steps of the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg at 2 p.m. on Aug. 27.
