The husband of Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly appointed top adviser is embroiled in a bribery and corruption scandal that could bankrupt Sin City.
Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, 47, was an attorney for an environmental group when he allegedly struck an “illegal and corrupt deal” with Nevada’s Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2018, killing a developer’s plans for a high-density housing development covering 2,400 acres near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Developer Jim Rhodes, under his company Gypsum Resources and backed by his creditors, is now suing the district and its board of directors for damages he claims totals more than $1 billion.
If successful, the settlement could wipe out Nevada County’s $1.5 billion budget, which is home to Las Vegas and its world-famous Strip.
Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones (left) is the husband of Megan Jones, Vice President Kamala Harris’ top adviser. Justin Jones is embroiled in a corruption scandal, can reveal
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak entered into an illegal and corrupt deal with Jones, court filings say
The deal scuttled real estate developer Jim Rhodes’ plans for a 2,400-acre community near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. (Rhodes is pictured with wife Glenda)
Jones’ wife, Megan Jones, was named special assistant to the president and director of public engagement in the office of the vice president last month, according to her LinkedIn page. She had worked closely with former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for more than 20 years before his death in December last year.
Allegations against Jones include deleting emails – including many to his wife – when he tried to cover his tracks.
Rhodes, a well-known Vegas developer, claims he was a crime victim and that Justin Jones and Sisolak’s “shocking and grotesque violations of the law and Gypsum’s rights” rendered his country worthless and bankrupted him.
In court filings obtained by , Jones is accused of trading in his strong public support for Sisolak, then-commission chair and Democratic nominee for governor, and promising to dismiss an “inconvenient lawsuit” brought by “Save Red Rock ‘ was submitted to a conservation group of which he was legal counsel.
In exchange, Jones demanded Sisolak’s commitment to vote ‘no’ to Gypsum’s plans and to postpone a key vote until Jones himself was in office.
At the time, Jones was running for a seat on the commission, expecting a win. The environmental advocate had campaigned by promising to thwart Rhodes’ plans in his first 100 days in office.
According to the lawsuit now filed by Rhodes, Jones and Sisolak’s deal amounted to legal consideration – trading something of value (Jones’ campaign support and dismissal of the lawsuit) in exchange for an official lawsuit (Sisolak resisted the land- use vote and kicking the vote down the road.)
Once installed as commissioner, the lawsuit continues, Jones failed to resist and misled the ethics committee about the extent of his interest in derailing Rhodes’ plans so that he could vote against the developer’s motion.
Rhodes is now suing Clark County and the Board of Commissions for damages he claims totals more than $1 billion
The lawsuit states: “In addition to openly expressing personal animus against his nemesis Jim the Sprawl Developer, Jones had an even greater personal interest in seeing Gypsum’s major project application come to an end.
‘Jones acted as counsel for Save Red Rock in litigation over the very same motions that Commissioner Jones ultimately voted to reject. In fact, Jones misled the Ethics Committee so that he could vote against Gypsum’s waivers and motions.’
Rhodes’ attorneys point out that Jones was so personally invested in his opposition to Rhodes that on October 31, 2018, he posted a photo of himself in his Halloween costume of “The Red Rock Guy” on his Facebook page .
In fact, according to Rhodes’ attorneys, Jones was so personally invested in his opposition to Rhodes that on Oct. 31, 2018, he posted a photo of himself in his Halloween costume of “The Red Rock Guy” to his Facebook page.
The image included as an exhibit in their complaint is accompanied by the caption: “I dressed up as alternate superhero The Red Rock Guy for Halloween!
“My superpower makes a compelling case for preserving and repelling my nemesis, Jim the Sprawl developer!”
In his taped testimony, Jones repeatedly denied under oath that he ever used the word “nemesis” in reference to Rhodes.
Now Rhodes’ lawyers have accused Jones of destroying evidence to cover up his “crime”.
They have asked the court to impose “significant financial penalties” on Jones and the district, has learned, for alleging that the commissioner destroyed incriminating texts and emails.
Their move comes after a federal judge took the extraordinary step of ordering Jones to turn over his iPhone for forensic imaging after the commissioner failed to produce all the relevant materials he had been asked to provide, including any relevant communications he might have had with his wife. Megan Jones.
Megan worked for Harris in Nevada during her 2020 presidential campaign.
Megan, who is from Las Vegas, has been married to Jones since 1996 and they have two children together.
But any texts the 26-year-old couple may have exchanged about Jones’ maneuvers have long since been deleted.
Megan worked for Harris in Nevada during her 2020 presidential campaign. The vice president recently tapped Megan to bring her into her office as a special government employee ahead of the November midterm elections
Jones is accused of trading in his strong public support for Sisolak, then-commission chair and gubernatorial candidate, and promising to dismiss an “uncomfortable lawsuit” filed by Save Red Rock, the conservation group he was legal counsel for
If Rhodes is successful, the settlement could wipe out Nevada County’s $1.5 billion budget, which is home to Vegas and its world-famous Strip
Forensic examination of his phone revealed that Jones deleted all of his texts “en masse” on the day the commission voted on Gypsum’s motion.
According to the application, which was reviewed by , “Jones and the District have multiplied these procedures to try to hide the knowing destruction of evidence in this case.”
It added, “After months of delays, misrepresentations, filing processes and hearings, the bankruptcy court finally ordered imaging of Jones’ cellphone and iCloud accounts, which has uncovered another series of shameful and fraudulent acts.”
The forensic image revealed that “Jones destroyed all text messages shortly after the public vote on Gypsum’s land use proposals.”
Jones, according to the application, is obliged to preserve evidence. It said: “It cannot be disputed that Jones had relevant text messages that were not retained as required.
“But Jones went above and beyond, actively deleting untold information to hide his unlawful scheme.”
Jones’ lack of transparency was exposed primarily because not all parties had done the same thing.
He had blind-copied emails making his illicit offer to Sisolak to Andy Maggi, chairman of the Nevada Conservation League.
Megan, who is from Las Vegas, has been married to Jones since 1996 and they have two children together
The emails, obtained by Rhodes’ lawyers, say: “The offer was as simple as it was outrageous: Jones would trade environmental groups’ campaign support and sacking [of an ‘uncomfortable’ lawsuit] for Sisolak’s immediate commitment to vote ‘no’ to gypsum.’
In another note to Maggi, Jones wrote: “Well I’m doing my part. If Sisolak doesn’t want to play, it will blow up in his face.’
According to the lawsuit, “With that pressure … the deal was finalized, and Sisolak released a statement pledging to vote against Gypsum’s motions.”
According to Rhodes’ attorney Todd Bice, “They didn’t dispute it because of water. They didn’t deny it because of the traffic. They denied it because of a backroom deal and then eliminated the evidence to try to cover up that backroom deal.
Sisolak, the district and Jones have denied the allegations against them and continue to allege that Rhodes failed to meet various procedural requirements in his grand plan application.
That, they claim, and not some “backroom deals” killed its development.
The motion for evidence destruction sanctions will be heard Oct. 20 in federal court in Nevada.