We have another alleged case of hacking of a lawmaker.

Last Monday, Del. Charles Sheedy, R-Marshall, posted on the Marshall County WV Republican Club Facebook page that he sent a letter to Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the state congressional delegation regarding the lack of a federal disaster declaration for Ohio and Marion counties.

The following is taken directly from that letter as he (allegedly) wrote it:

“Constituents in District 7 are asking why President Trump has not issued a FEMA Disaster Declaration for Ohio and Marion Counties? My constituents are also yours and they deserve an answer since approximately 78% of all West Virginians that voted did so for President Trump,” Sheedy wrote (maybe, but I’m getting to that).

“It is very apparent that the President does not need West Virginia now that he is in office for one term,” Sheedy continued. “Our very elections in 2026 and beyond depend on the timely issuance of this declaration and Republican seats could be lost. This will cost our D3elegate districts, Senate Districts, your Federal Districts needed representation to accomplish our work to secure the region, state, and nation. Please use your influence to expedite this matter and get the help the residents so dearly need in their time of suffering and loss.”

Again, the above letter is typed verbatim, including typos and formatting errors. And his Democratic colleagues in the House of Delegates jumped all over the letter, not only for its grammatical issues, but also for it asking for federal assistance based on partisan politics.

“WV Delegate explicitly cares about winning elections (and) politics, not helping communities rebuild. This is FOUL,” said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, on X.

However, Sheedy now claims outside actors were behind the social media posts.

“Apparently my page has been hacked,” Sheedy said. “I have changed my password and am assured it will never happen again by (Facebook).”

Now, I have checked in with the Governor’s Office and they did indeed receive this letter from Sheedy’s wvhouse.gov email address. But here is the thing: There are clear differences between the sample letterhead Sheedy posted and the letterhead used for the above letter. The formatting of the alleged letter is off. It doesn’t include a current list of his committees. Even the email address for Sheedy is wrong.

West Virginia Watch reported last Wednesday that a House of Delegates spokesperson said there were no reported issues with Sheedy’s House email and no signs of hacking there. But either someone is up to something, or lawmakers are simply trying to avoid embarrassment by claiming “it wasn’t me.”

Del. Ian Masters, R-Berkeley, had also originally claimed that his Instagram account had been hacked when an antisemitic comment on an old post was linked to his profile. According to media reports and radio interviews, that has since turned into some homeless person in Hancock County with mental and health issues that Masters gave an old phone to without account information being scrubbed.

As I am not a forensic investigator, I am not capable of looking further, but I also can’t take their word for these claims. Evidence needs to be presented, or House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, needs to take his fellow House members to the woodshed.

As the old Russian proverb goes (and used by the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan): Trust, but verify.

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I’m not sure federal disaster declarations should be issued based on which state is the most pro-Trump, but I do find it interesting that despite West Virginia being one of the most dedicated pro-Trump states that we appear to not rate his attention.

No doubt, West Virginia’s electoral votes haven’t really mattered since 2000. Had West Virginia not gone for then-Texas governor George W. Bush, Democratic Vice President Al Gore would have been president. But we’ve lost a congressional district since Trump’s first term. He certainly didn’t campaign here, though he never really had to.

Despite West Virginia’s Trump love, we still have to wait for a disaster declaration. In Trump’s defense, most of the disaster declarations for other states over the last six months have taken between 30-40 days to be issued. But Texas did get theirs very quickly.

Trump is even weighing in on Gov. Morrisey’s Backyard Brawl, announcing $70 billion in energy and data center investments in Pennsylvania last week. A lot of that will be situated in Southwest Pennsylvania, so West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle may benefit. But we have a pro-Trump governor and a pro-Trump congressional delegation with one member — U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va. — being close friends with the Trump family. And we’re supposed to be an all-of-the-above energy state. Where are our investments, Mr. President?

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According to Politico, former West Virginia 2nd District Rep. Mooney has found himself a new job as a lobbyist, working for the D.C. firm Capitol South. The story was first reported by Judd Legum on his Substack “Popular Information.” By law, Mooney can’t lobby Congress for one year, but he can provide advice for his lobbying firm.

I’m just glad he has a job now.