The chairman of the bipartisan Missouri House committee investigating Governor Eric Greitens (R) announced on Monday in Jefferson City that the committee has issued more subpoenas.
House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight Chairman Jay Barnes, at podium,
addresses the Capitol Press Corps on February 26, 2018. Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr is next to Barnes (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)
House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight Chairman Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, notes Greitens for Missouri Legal Counsel Catherine Hanaway criticized the committee’s May 2nd report about the Mission Continues charity.
Hanaway issued a statement on May 2, which said the report issued that day by Chairman Barnes “does a tremendous disservice to the U.S. and Missouri Constitutions.” She also said Barnes never asked the campaign to testify and did not issue any subpoenas on this matter.
“Upon the release of our second report, Catherine Hanaway promised that her clients would cooperate with subpoenas for production of documents and testimony to this committee,” Barnes says. “This committee took her up on that promise.”
Barnes canceled Monday’s hearing because of a crash on I-70 in Montgomery County. He noted some committee members were stuck in traffic on I-70 because of the crash. The Missouri State Highway Patrol tells Missourinet the crash happened near Danville.
But Barnes spoke for about 90 seconds in the House hearing room. He announced that the committee and House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, have issued subpoenas to Greitens for Missouri, A New Missouri and to Greitens adviser Austin Chambers.
Barnes says while Hanaway has provided some documents, she’s objected to other “large categories of documents.”
“We are considering our options on which path to take to enforce the Legislature and this committee’s subpoena power,” says Barnes.
Hanaway has issued a statement, which reads in part: “It’s disappointing that Chairman Barnes has decided to play politics during this secret investigation. His comments are intentionally misleading.” Hanaway says they’ve provided more than 14,000 documents relating to the committee’s request.
The committee released its second report earlier this month, which concluded that Greitens used a charity’s donor list knowing that he wasn’t authorized to use it for his campaign.
Greitens is charged in St. Louis City with tampering with computer data, involving the Mission Continues charity. He has denied wrongdoing in that case.
Missouri Governor Eric Greitens speaks to reporters in downtown St. Louis on May 14, 2018, after the felony invasion of privacy charge against him was dismissed (Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner (D) announced late Monday afternoon that she’s dismissing the unrelated felony invasion of privacy case against Greitens. Gardner says she plans to refile the case. Greitens has denied wrongdoing in that case as well.
Here is the full May 14, 2018 statement from Greitens for Missouri Legal Counsel Catherine Hanaway:
It’s disappointing that Chairman Barnes has decided to play politics during this secret investigation.
His comments are intentionally misleading. Since the time my clients received requests for documents, we have cooperated with the committee counsel and put in a good faith effort to give them the information requested. In fact, we have provided more than 14,000 documents related to the committee’s request.
We continue to go through the burdensome process of gathering and organizing thousands of additional documents for review by the committee, and of course, my clients will assert the same rights any party would have to object to requests that aren’t relevant to the committee’s investigation.
Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth was at the Statehouse in Jefferson City for the May 14 House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight hearing, which was canceled. Chairman Jay Barnes spoke for about 90 seconds in the House hearing room. Click here to listen to that audio:
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