Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is leading the state’s fight to prosecute a New York doctor for providing reproductive healthcare to a Louisiana resident via shipping abortion pills. Murrill, with the support of Governor Jeff Landry, are attempting to extradite the doctor from New York and prosecute her in Louisiana. “We will take any and all legal actions to enforce the criminal laws of this State [sic],” Murrill tweeted in her announcement of the extradition request. Landry said the duo are “fight[ing] to bring law and order back to our Nation.”
This is obviously a ridiculous, though horrifying, case—the doctor was plainly adhering to the laws of her state and was providing necessary healthcare to people in states with draconian restrictions.
It’s interesting that Murrill and Governor Landry are suddenly very clear eyed about the importance of enforcing the law—a marked contradiction from their years of service to Louisiana. For years and years, Landry routinely engaged in (potentially criminal) corruption, often with Liz Murrill at his side as Louisiana’s Solicitor General, over the course of their tenures as Louisiana’s Attorney General and Solicitor General, respectively, from 2016-2024.
Now that they’ve had a change of heart, we compiled a list to jumpstart Murrill’s investigations into Landry’s alleged illegal activities. Maybe she will finally use the state’s public dollars less on performative political stunts seeking to punish people for providing and accessing crucial reproductive healthcare, and more on ensuring that her mentor is finally held to account. (We won’t hold our breath.)
- As Attorney General, Landry funneled over $420,000 of campaign funds into his own staffing firm in a scheme that reportedly violated campaign expenditure reporting requirements. (Source: The Advocate)
- Landry’s companies, through labor broker Marco Pesquera, fraudulently used H-2B visas to hire over 1,000 Mexican workers. Landry’s companies repeatedly “submitted misleading or false paperwork in support of their visa applications.” (Source: Nola.com)
- Landry engaged in an alleged quid pro quo, hiring top campaign donor Shane Guidry to the Attorney General’s office as a special agent/investigator for a $12,000 salary. Landry then served on the board of Guidry’s oil company Harvey Gulf, which included a salary of $50,000 – $100,000. (Source: The Advocate)
- Landry hired Quendi Baloney, daughter of a former Democratic candidate for Attorney General who endorsed Landry after losing the primary, to the Attorney General’s fraud department. Baloney previously pleaded guilty to three counts of credit card fraud and theft. (Source: The Advocate)
- Landry allegedly failed to pay between $175,000 – $250,000 to a campaign worker hired to garner support for Landry’s 2015 Attorney General campaign in African American communities. (Source: The Advocate)
- As a Congressman, Landry allegedly abused his “franking” privileges that allow members of Congress to send mail to their constituents using their signature as postage rather than a stamp. Landry reportedly used congressional funds to buy newspaper inserts in papers primarily circulated outside of his congressional district in potential violation of federal law. (Source: The Independent)
Image Credit: “AGLizMurrillBio2” from Louisiana Attorney General’s Office