From: Stephanie Palmertree

To: Mac May

Cc: Thomas Wirt; Richard Aultman; Michael Torres
Subject: Audit Issue re: AG Fitch
Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 3:12:34 PM
Attachments: DPS Letter re AG Fitch.pdf

Mr. May,
 
Please see the attached letter in regards to your correspondence with Thomas Wirt.  We will be
submitting a hard copy to you as well.
 
Thank you,
 
Stephanie Palmertree, CPA, CGMA
 
Director, Financial and Compliance Division
Mississippi Office of the State Auditor
501 North West Street, Suite 801
Jackson, MS 39201
Phone:  601.576.2606
Fax:  601.576.2687
Website:  www.osa.ms.gov
 
 

 
 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
OFFICE OF THE STATE AUDITOR
SHAD WHITE
STATE AUDITOR

July 22, 2020

Mac May, Chief Counsel

Department of Public Safety
1900 East Woodrow Wilson Avenue
Jackson, MS 39216

Dear Mr. May:

Richard Aultman provided me a copy of your correspondence dated July 16, 2020, re: Executive
Protection Detail for AG Lynn Fitch. I want to clarify the Office of the State Auditor’s (OSA) request for
documentation.

Based on conversations with AG Fitch and from personal observation by OSA staff assigned to the
Compliance Review of the Attorney General’s office, it is OSA’s understanding that two officers have
been assigned as ongoing Executive Protection for AG Fitch during all business hours and during any
events after business hours. When OSA staff inquired of AG Fitch the source and reason for the
assignment, she informed staff that Governor Tate Reeves had authorized the protection from the
Department of Public Safety (DPS). In order to complete the audit, our staff needed some type of
documentation authorizing this ongoing protection, as Mississippi State Code, Annotated 1972 § 45-3-39
states “No state officer of other person shall utilize at any time any uniform, car, material or equipment of
the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol for his personal use or for private purposes…Nothing in this
section, however, shall be construed to apply to the Governor or Lieutenant Governor of the State of
Mississippi.” OSA recognizes that DPS may choose to provide security and protection to any citizen at
any time due to a factual determination of need, as your statutory authority allows. Therefore, OSA is
formally requesting from DPS what information was used to make such a factual determination in this
case, and to provide that reasoning and determination in writing.

Additionally, OSA has received varying accounts to the extent of the personal protection that has been
afforded to AG Fitch. Email correspondence from staff at DPS indicate that two officers were assigned
for only one “Governor Watch Party” event; however, as stated earlier, AG Fitch indicated the detail was
more expansive. Please also provide OSA a description of how many officers have been provided and the
extent of this personal protection, including when protection began. Please also include in your response
the anticipated timeline for this protection and when this protection began.
Lastly, you stated that Auditor White advised Lt. Col. Lee Morrison that “there was no clear prohibition
against providing protection to the Attorney General,” according to your letter. This is correct in that
there is, of course, no prohibition on DPS providing protection for any Mississippian. But in the
conversation you referenced between Auditor White and Lt. Col. Morrison, Auditor White informed
Morrison that “personal use” of the Highway Patrol is only reserved for the Governor and Lt. Governor.
As to this situation, OSA cannot provide assurances as to the legality of the protection provided to AG
Fitch because neither Auditor White nor the staff of OSA have been provided details about the extent of
protection provided to AG Fitch or the facts that led DPS to the conclusion that that protection was
necessary.

This matter is the last outstanding issue in the Compliance Review of the Attorney General’s Office, and
as such, I would appreciate a prompt reply with the requested information.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me anytime.

Sincerely,

Stephanie C. Palmertree, CPA, CGMA

Director of Financial Audit