Favre tries to expand his defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor over welfare spending

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is trying to expand his defamation lawsuit against Mississippi Auditor Shad White to include a book White wrote about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.

White's book, “Mississippi Swindle: Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America,” was published in August. Favre's attorneys wrote in court papers Friday that the title and the contents are defamatory.

“The book itself falsely states, among other things, that Favre had been ‘taking money he knew should go to people in ‘shelters,’’ and had been ‘trying to hide that fact from the media and the public,’ and also accuses Favre of committing the felony of money laundering,” Favre's attorneys wrote.

White has said he is paying his own legal bills in the defamation case.