The campaign donation practices are being questioned of both major party candidates for Missouri governor. The Missouri Ethics Commission took depositions Thursday in its investigation of Republican Eric Greitens. The state Democratic Party filed the complaint against Greitens.
Eric Greitens (R)
Kristin Sosanie with the Missouri Democratic Party tells Missourinet that Greitens used a donor list from his nonprofit organization to ask for campaign donations. Federal law prohibits that activity.
“We’ve seen time and time again that Eric Greitens relies on dark money and uses shady tactics that basically in any other profession would be called money laundering,” says Sosanie. “He has no leg to stand in talking about ethics and it’s right that the Missouri Ethics Commission is investigating Eric Greitens.”
Greitens founded the Missouri Continues in 2007. The organization aims to help veterans facing challenges when adjusting to life after serving. He stepped down as CEO in 2014.
“For all the talk about ethics in this campaign, there’s only one candidate for governor who’s actually currently under investigation by the Missouri Ethics Commission and that’s Eric Greitens,” says Sosanie. “You hear Mr. Greitens talk quite a bit about cleaning up Jefferson City but I think everything we’ve seen in this campaign is he needs to start with himself and his own campaign.”
Chris Koster (D)
Meanwhile, state GOP Party chairman John Hancock says Democrat Chris Koster took money as attorney general from payday lenders, after vowing during his campaign for attorney general to prosecute the industry.
“In the time since he gave those statements in 2008, he’s taken by our count and we’ve probably missed some, but he’s taken $217,303 from companies that are in the payday loan industry,” says Hancock. “Of those payday loan businesses that have given to Chris Koster, precisely zero of them have ever been charged or have had any action taken against them by the Attorney General’s office. In fact, there have been two payday loan businesses in the last eight years that Chris Koster has gone after, neither of which have donated to his campaign.”
Some Republican candidates have reportedly taken donations from payday lending companies, but Hancock says Koster’s situation is different because he could take legal action against payday lenders.
Polling shows Koster and Greitens in a virtual tie heading into Tuesday’s general election.
