RelatedPosts
The Agriculture Commissioner has a broad vary of duties, together with points associated to farming and ranching, rural well being care and even public college cafeterias.
But in 2019, the commissioner took on a further job: overseeing the licensing for the brand new business of hemp.
Two-term Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller starred in a video his division made explaining the great, the dangerous and the ugly about rising hemp. He additionally issued a warning.
“Be on the lookout for fraud. As usual with any new emerging industries, there’s a risk of fraud. And unfortunately there’s always someone out there looking to take advantage of you,” he stated.
But what Miller didn’t say was that “someone” is likely to be Miller’s personal shut pal and political marketing consultant Todd Smith.
In January 2022, Smith was indicted on felony prices of theft and industrial bribery associated to taking cash in change for state hemp licenses which are issued by Miller’s Department of Agriculture.
According to the Travis County district legal professional, Smith and others had been accused of soliciting as much as $150,000 for an “exclusive” state hemp license. Under the legislation, the license is meant to price simply $100.
Smith is now awaiting trial. And Miller is looking for re-election. When he’s requested about his very long time ally’s indictment, Miller dismissed it as politics.
“Well, that’s a total political hit job. They do it all the time. They’ve done it to me twice,” Miller stated in an interview with TPR.
Miller is referring to least two Texas Ranger investigations of him, in addition to complaints to the Texas Ethics Commission, together with improperly utilizing political funds for private journey when Miller attended a Mississippi rodeo in 2015 and one other when he traveled to Oklahoma for a controversial medical process referred to as a “Jesus Shot.”
Also in 2015, Miller employed Smith’s spouse on the Agriculture Department for reportedly $150,000 a yr.
“Nothing’s going to happen to Todd. He didn’t try to sell any hemp licenses. It’s a total set up, total hit job. The Democrats, they use whatever means they can,” Miller stated.
But it was Republicans who introduced up Miller’s ethical and legal troubles in the course of the social gathering’s major. Here’s what major challenger state Rep. James White stated chatting with WFAA-TV about Miller.
“We need a current commissioner that’s going to protect and promote this industry and we definitely don’t need one that has a culture of incompetence — and corruption — and ethical compromises as well,” White stated.
Boosted by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, Miller received the GOP nomination with 59% of the vote. But those self same questions are following Miller into the overall election, the place he’s dealing with rancher and civil rights legal professional Susan Hays, who labored to move the economic hemp legislation.
“That issue with the hemp licenses was the initial reason I wanted to run because I was working on that rollout. I watched it in real time and had people approach me saying, ‘You know, there’s this guy out there telling me I need to pay him to get one of these licenses. Is that true?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ ” Hays explained.
“We purposely wrote the bill to make it simple and easy for farmers. And still Miller and his operation were out there grifting,” she stated.
Hays additionally identified one other questionable rent Miller made on the Department of Agriculture: Carter Page.
“Carter’s one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. Of course, people may know him from the, the Trump campaign,” Miller stated.
In 2016, Page was on then-candidate Trump’s international coverage advisory workforce due to his internet of shut ties to the Kremlin — so shut that the FBI obtained an FISA warrant to watch his communications with Russia. That led Trump to make false claims in regards to the FBI and then-incumbent President Barack Obama.
“The Obama campaign spied on our campaign, and they’ve been caught. Now let’s see what happens,” Trump stated at a White House interplay with the press.
An investigation discovered that Trump was by no means the topic of the surveillance. And the Muller Report didn’t set up that Page coordinated Russia’s efforts to intervene in the 2016 presidential election.
But it did present that Page attended high-level conferences with Russians, regardless that he denied doing so. Page was not charged with any crimes. However final month a federal choose dismissed a lawsuit that Page introduced in opposition to the FBI and Justice Department for damages stemming from the surveillance.
But Miller sees Page’s case in a different way.
“They went after him. He basically represented himself and exposed the whole Russian collusion hoax. He’s, he’s the one that, that exposed that. So, you got to be pretty smart to take on the Democratic establishment and, and expose them at their own game,” he stated.
Through a Texas Open Records request, TPR discovered that Page is being paid $75,000 a yr. Documents associated to his hiring present no expertise in agriculture. His background is in oil, which isn’t the purview of the state’s agriculture division.
So why did Miller rent Page to work on the Texas Department of Agriculture to be his particular assistant? In the TPR interview, Miller defined: “We’re glad to have him on board. I’m honored that he is my personal legal assistant, and he brings a lot to the table.”
Miller stated Page helps him with coverage. “Anything and everything I need — federal policy, foreign policy, legal issues. contract documents, you name it, the list is exhausted,” Miller stated.
Miller stated Page comes into the Austin workplace day by day, and he’s now a Texas resident. A test of the voter rolls exhibits Page is now registered to vote in Texas, simply in time for November common election.
Recommend