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Judge tosses case over AG Hawley’s residence outside Jefferson City

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A mid-Missouri judge has decided against a plaintiff challenging the attorney general’s residence outside Jefferson City, the state’s capital.

April 2018 file photo, courtesy of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office

Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green issued a written ruling last week dismissing a case brought against Attorney General Josh Hawley by a private citizen.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports Green told Donna Mueller she lacked legal standing to file a lawsuit on where the Attorney General lives.

He said the legal procedure can be launched only by the attorney general or a county prosecutor — and Mueller, “as a private party, has no authority to initiate an action seeking to remove the attorney general from office.”

The News-Tribune reports Mueller’s attorney, Gaylin Rich Carver, is considering whether to appeal the decision which disallowed the case from being refiled in Cole County.

Mueller brought her lawsuit last November, arguing the attorney general is required to reside at the seat of government which is defined in the Missouri Constitution as Jefferson City.

Hawley has rented an apartment in Jefferson City, but he and his family continue to live in a family home in Boone County with a Columbia address.

The News-Tribune reports Judge Green concluded the court had no authority to remove Attorney General Hawley from office.  The residency requirement in Missouri law does not apply to any of the other five statewide elected offices outside of the attorney general.

Democrats had questioned the residency of Hawley, a Republican, who is the GOP front-runner against Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in her bid for a third term in November’s election.

Republicans filed a proposal in the state Legislature this year to remove the residency requirement, but the measure failed to pass.

The bill from GOP House member Lindell Shumake of Hannibal would have eliminated what he called “the obsolete requirement” that the Attorney General “reside” in Jefferson City.

The measure did not modify the requirement for the Office of the Attorney General to be located at the Supreme Court which is in Jefferson City.

Shumake contended the residency requirement was out of date, saying it was “enacted prior to both the advent of modern telecommunication and automobile travel”.

Missouri experts weigh in on this week’s Supreme Court punt on gerrymandering

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The Supreme Court this week passed on two opportunities this term to determine when and whether states violate the Constitution by drawing electoral maps that sharply favor one political party.

The high bench declined to establish when partisan gerrymandering goes too far in cases brought by Democrats in Wisconsin and Republicans in Maryland.  Both decisions were unanimous.  The justices sent both cases back to lower federal courts on procedural grounds.

In the Maryland case, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a district court judge’s decision not to toss the state’s congressional map while litigation over its future is ongoing.  The justices decided to let that case play out.

With the Wisconsin lawsuit, they determine that the plaintiffs hadn’t proven they’d been harmed and therefore had no standing to bring the case.

There is a consensus among some experts that the Supreme Court will again be asked to decide the limits of partisan gerrymandering.  Greg Magarian, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, contends there’s nothing in the Wisconsin ruling that would discourage the plaintiffs from reformulating their case.

“There’s nothing about the court’s decision in the Wisconsin case that suggests, ‘You guys need to make a showing that nobody’s capable of making, or that even you’re not capable of making,” said Magarian.  “It’s just. ‘You blew it this time’.”

The court’s four Democratic appointees joined together in an opinion written by Justice Elena Kagan arguing that the door was still open to claims based on the statewide impact of a heavily gerrymandered map.  Magarian called the statement remarkable.

“Kagan’s opinion is basically like a manual for the plaintiffs,” Magarian said.  “If there’s any evidence that they can muster to get this right and to show standing, which there probably is, Kagan’s opinion is telling them, ‘Here’s how you do it.”

Kagan laid out a 1st Amendment “freedom of association” claim she directed toward plaintiffs in the Wisconsin case.

Jay Dow Is a political science professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia who studies voting and elections.  He differs with Magarian on the Supreme Court’s likelihood of determining gerrymandering limits.

Dow thinks the high court’s 9-0 decision to send both cases back to lower courts reflects its unwillingness to consider such litigation.

“The Court hates to get into partisan gerrymandering cases,” said Dow.  “Traditionally these cases have been considered non-judiciable.  The court has ruled in principle that they can be brought to the court, but they have never established a standard for an unconstitutional gerrymander.”

Dow contends that it’s been a longstanding principle of the court to avoid partisan political fights.  He also says the court has determined there’s no clear test for gerrymanders because of variables such as the concentration of population, quality of candidates and whether the candidates are incumbents that cloud the process of judging the legitimacy of voting districts.

The Wisconsin plaintiffs based their argument on the 2012 election in which Democrats prevailed in the popular vote but won a third fewer Assembly seats.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion noted that none of the individual Wisconsin plaintiffs claimed to be in a district that was impacted by gerrymandering tactics.

Such tactics include “packing” districts with a disproportionate number of Republicans or Democrats or “cracking” the districts by draining them of such voters.

Magarian also thinks technology has allowed for districts to be redrawn more durably to represent one party.

He would like to see discrimination laws that already cover voting districts expanded to include “partisanship” as well as race.  Magarian contends most voters would agree that electoral districts should be drawn in an impartial manner.

“I think if you put that question in a non-partisan way, the vast majority of people would say, ‘They should be drawn in an objective way (and) shouldn’t be a tool that the parties can use to aggrandize their own power in different places.”

Dow doesn’t think the Supreme Court’s can properly set limits on gerrymandering because the bench itself is subject to political whims.

“Sometimes those justices are going to be liberals, sometimes they’re going to be conservative,” Dow said.  “Once you go down that path of the court intervening in partisan gerrymanders, the process of resolving these may look more political than you want it to look.”

If laws don’t change, majority parties in states will have a chance to further the gerrymandering of districts in a couple of years.

Voting districts are redrawn every 10 years sometime after a change in decades.  In most states, the state legislature controls the process for state and congressional districts.

District lines are approved just like legislation (Legislative committees are used in Missouri) and are subject to a governor’s veto.

 

Missouri’s Ashcroft and Schoeller to testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday about election infrastructure (AUDIO)

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The county clerk in Missouri’s fourth-largest county will testify before a U.S. Senate committee on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, regarding steps he’s taking to secure election infrastructure.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller is a former Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem (2011 file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, says he’ll also testify about the growing duties of county clerks.

“Local election officials don’t necessarily have a background, I don’t have that background myself to completely understand how best to protect our network,” Schoeller says.

Schoeller, a former Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem, says county clerks are also responsible for payroll, licensing and notary issues.

Schoeller and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) will testify before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.

Wednesday morning’s hearing is titled “Election Security Preparations: a State and Local Perspective.”

President Donald Trump signed legislation in March, which provides $380 million in grants to states to improve their election infrastructure.

Missouri officials have requested $7.2 million under the bill, which is called the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.

Schoeller, who served in the Missouri House from 2007-2012, favors a paper ballot.

“When you have something that’s tangible like paper, if there’s ever a question regarding the outcome, if somehow for example the equipment was compromised in terms of how the votes were tabulated electronically, you can always go back to that paper ballot,” says Schoeller.

Schoeller tells Missourinet he’ll testify Wednesday about the importance of paper ballots and the increasing duties of clerks.

Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and ranking Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have called the hearing.

Some of the $7.2 million Missouri is requesting in grant money would be used for cybersecurity training for state and local election officials.

Funding would also be used to upgrade election-related computer systems to address “cyber vulnerabilities” identified through the Department of Homeland Security.

Ashcroft has been a vocal supporter of Missouri’s voter ID requirements. He has said that if you’re registered to vote, you can vote.

Ashcroft’s office has a Missouri Elections Integrity Unit.

Schoeller’s Greene County has about 189,000 registered voters.

Schoeller’s Missouri House district included parts of Springfield. He also chaired the House disaster recovery committee after the deadly Joplin tornado in 2011.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, which was recorded on June 19, 2018:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Republican State Senators lining up to fill leadership position in GOP dominated chamber

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The race to become the President Pro Tem of the Missouri State Senate is beginning to take shape.  The current seat holder, Republican Ron Richard of Joplin is term-limited and will be retiring at the end of the year.

Missouri Senate Dias

Fellow GOP member Mike Cunningham of Rogersville made a formal announcement for the post in the form of a press release Friday.

The President Pro Tem is the day-to-day leader of the chamber although the state’s Lieutenant Governor is officially the President of the Senate.

Republican Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor Monday by new Governor Mike Parson, who vacated the seat to be head of state when fellow GOP member Eric Greitens resigned June 1.

The position of Senate President Pro Tem will almost assuredly go to a Republican as the party holds a supermajority in the chamber and isn’t likely to lose that status in November’s general election.

Senator Cunningham is in the middle of his second four-year term and is term-limited to exit the body in 2020.  Lawmakers can serve a total of eight years in both the House and Senate for a total of 16 years.

Cunningham is unusual in that he’s been in the legislature for 16 years already, having taken two years off from holding office to serve as Republican Senator Jay Wasson’s Chief of Staff.

He told Missourinet he chose to work for Wasson instead of choosing to run against him and now serves in the Senate seat adjacent to Wasson’s, the 33 District which includes portions of south and southwest Missouri.

Cunningham said his accomplishments in his business career are just as important as his legislative service in qualifying him to lead the upper chamber.

“I’ve worked for big corporations – Coca-Cola USA – and owned a private business,” said Cunningham.  “I started out with $50 and seven employees and when I sold it I had 135 employees.  That’s what I would consider successful.”

The 71-year-old ran his own grocery store, Cunningham’s Fresh Foods in Marshfield before retiring in 2001 while he was employed with Coca-Cola USA in Atlanta during the late 1970’s.  Cunningham attributes part of his success to being able to surround himself with good people in business.

As a leader in the Senate, he says he’ll let his fellow Republican majority determine what issues are tackled.  “I don’t intend for leadership to run the Senate,” Cunningham said.  “I expect the caucus to run the Senate.  And I would follow the direction of the caucus.”

He said it’s likely that the Senate GOP next year would look at putting further restrictions on consumer lawsuits as a means to boost business and support measures to promote education and jobs.

Cunningham thinks improving employment opportunities will go a long way in tackling other hurdles the state faces.  “If we can get jobs, bring people to Missouri, keep what we have plus grow jobs, then that provides tax money for education.  (It) just takes away a lot of problems that we have with unemployment and education.”

Republican Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis is also making a high profile bid to be the next Senate President Pro Tem.  The first term chamber member is already a member of leadership as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader.

St. Charles Republican Tom Dempsey retired as President Pro Tem in 2015 to further pursue a career in the private sector.  Senator Kehoe then moved up to Majority Floor Leader, opening up the assistant position to which Onder was elected.

Onder contends his experience in leadership qualifies him to lead the upper chamber but notes his track record as a leading fundraiser is beneficial to fellow Senate Republicans.

“That’s only a small part of the job but a very important one, because in the tough political times that we’re going through right now, having the resources so that our candidates can get their message out, I think is critical,” said Onder.  “I think I’ve shown that I’ve been able to do that.”

He said he hasn’t chosen to issue a news release announcing his run for President Pro Tem because the process will be an internal election, but contends he’s spoken to Republicans and Democrats alike about his intention.

“My colleagues have all known for some months now,” Onder said.  “I’ve visited, I believe, with everyone on both sides of the aisle.  I think everyone knows that I am running, and we’ve talked about my vision for the future of the Missouri Senate.”

Onder served one term in the Missouri House in 2007 and 2008, before leaving to run for Congress.  He finished second in a five-candidate primary that year which led to Blaine Luetkemeyer’s initial victory to claim a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The board-certified Allergy, Immunology and Internal Medicine doctor considers himself a leading proponent of Republican legislative priorities.

“We are a pro-life caucus,” Onder said.  “We believe in economic opportunity, and I believe part of that includes labor reform, tort reform, tax reform, regulatory reform.  I’ve really been front and center on a lot of those issues.”

Order must be reelected in November in order to compete for the leadership role, as will another Senator interested in the position, Republican Dave Schatz of Sullivan.

Schatz signaled his desire to seek the leadership role in October 2017 when he told the Missouri Times he felt it was time to make his intentions known and start building relationships.

“If the first spot is available, why settle for second?” Schatz told the publication. “I think I’m qualified to do it. First, I have to get re-elected in 2018.”

Schatz had previously served two terms in the House, where he was elected to his first two-year term in November 2010.

A forth Senator said to be interested in the President Pro Tem position is Ed Emery of Lamar.  Emery is a second term Republican who would be serving in leadership for the first time in final two years in the term-limited office.  He previously served four terms (2003-2010) in the Missouri House.

Pres. Trump, Sen. McCaskill jab over her RV versus plane story

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Missouri’s Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is facing lively criticism from Republican opponents over her use of an airplane to travel across Missouri.

McCaskill tweeted a photo of staffers in front of her campaign RV May 25th before she made a series of campaign stops across the state.

Tuesday, the conservative Washington Free Beacon published a public GPS tracking map of her plane which closely followed the path of the RV over two days from St. Louis, down to Joplin, up to Kansas City, and over to Columbia.

The Beacon noted a live blog of the three-day tour never mentioned McCaskill’s use of her private plane it described as a single-engine turboprop that her disclosures “valued at more than $1 million dollars”.

McCaskill told Politico that the Free Beacon report was “not accurate” and stated that she was not “pretending” to use an RV with her use of a plane.  “I spent two-plus days on the RV,” McCaskill told Politico, and the plane “picked me up at the end of one day, after I spent all day on the RV”.

President Donald Trump lobbed the biggest shot against her yesterday in a tweet while misrepresenting the type of aircraft she was using, saying McCaskill “flew around in a luxurious private jet during her RV tour of the state….People are really upset, so phony!”

McCaskill issued a response late yesterday afternoon, saying “Paying on my own dime to visit more Missouri veterans is not something I’m going to apologize for.”

GOP operatives have been quick to pounce on McCaskill’s use of a plane as reported by the Free Beacon.

In an email titled “More lies and excuses from Air Claire”, National Republican Senate Committee Deputy Communications Director Bob Salera said, “Claire McCaskill got caught flying around Missouri on her supposed RV tour, and now she’s starting in with the excuses for why she couldn’t be bothered to drive the highways with “normal people.”

McCaskill’s likely Republican opponent in the November election, state Attorney General Josh Hawley, also mischaracterized the type of plane McCaskill used while criticizing her tour.

McCaskill was also hit with controversy over her use of a plane in 2011 when she reimbursed the Treasury Department for more than $88,000 for use of aircraft secured by her husband.

It’s been widely reported that President Trump plans to vigorously campaign for Republicans who are challenging Democratic incumbent Senators in states such as Missouri that he easily won in 2016.

Polling shows McCaskill with a slight but steady lead over Hawley in the Missouri Senate race, with the latest survey pegging her with a 48%-to-44% advantage.

Missouri Democrats hoping Tuesday’s special election has lasting impact

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This week’s special election for a state Senate seat represented a more than 40-point swing between the two parties in just two years.

Democratic State Representative Lauren Arthur beat Republican State Representative Kevin Corlew by 19 points on the heels of Republican former Senator Ryan Silvey’s landslide 22-point reelection in 2016.

The geographic area of Senate District 17 in suburban Kansas City’s Clay County is known for its swing voting.

Both Arthur and Corlew ran as moderates.  They clashed on issues such as abortion and taxes but voted together in support of labor as the district is home to the Claycomo Ford plant which employs roughly 7,500 union workers.

Silvey, who was appointed to a seat on the state Public Service Commission in January, also backed labor interests.

Democratic strategist Jack Cardetti thinks Corlew tried to cloud his Republican Party affiliation in the election.  “I think he clearly tried to run as a Democratic light, a diet Democrat version, being pro-labor and being against his party on a couple of different issues like that” said Cardetti.  “Clearly voters saw right through that.”

Cardetti doesn’t think the various scandals surrounding recently resigned Republican Governor Eric Greitens had an oversized bearing on the election.

Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Sam Cooper agrees.  He thinks the result had more to do with voting trends in the district and the timing of the election when turnout is light.  “This was a June special election in a seat that is increasingly moving Democrat, and the numbers back that up,” said Cooper.

The Missouri race has garnered national attention as it joins a growing list of elections in states around the country in which seats have flipped from Republican to Democrat in districts where President Donald Trump prevailed.

The election analysis group Decision Desk issued a 2016 breakdown this week of the 17th District which reflected a five-point victory by President Trump.

It also showed that Democrats Jason Kander and Chris Koster carried the U.S. Senate and governor’s races in the district, by 11 and 5 points respectively.  Both candidates lost the election statewide.

Cooper thinks the root cause of the Republican loss in the special election can be traced to demographic trends.  “What I think it is is more younger folks moving up from the city into the Northland,” Cooper said.  “And that demographic usually tends to swing a little bit to the left.”

Looking ahead to November, Cardetti thinks Tuesday’s election should worry Republicans.  It’s the state’s second suburban voting district to switch from the GOP to Democrats in the past year.  Representative Mike Revis of Fenton carried a special election last fall in the 97th House District, which sits in Jefferson and St. Louis Counties.

Cardetti thinks the suburban counties, which have trended toward Democrats lately, will decide the outcome of November’s U.S. Senate race.  “Your Clay County, Platte County, Cass County – those are the type of places that really swing statewide elections,” Cardetti said.  “And if you don’t perform well there then you’re not going to win Missouri.”

State Republicans are taking heart in Morning Consult’s “Midterm Wave Watcher” that came out Wednesday.  According to the market research and online survey organization, Democrat Claire McCaskill has the weakest approval rating of the 10 U.S. Senators facing a competitive race this year – 38% approve vs. 52% disapprove.

Cooper points out that President Trump has the highest approval rating of any Republican among Missourians.  He says McCaskill has fought against the President on almost every position she’s taken.

“I’d be hard-pressed to find a major piece of the President’s agenda that she’s supported,” Cooper said.  “From Neil Gorsuch (Supreme Court nominee) to tax cuts, she’s been on the wrong side of every single one of those issues.”

Still, the Real Clear Politics average of polls shows McCaskill with a slight lead over her most likely Republican opponent, state Attorney General Josh Hawley.  She had a four-point lead in a Missouri Scout poll from last month.

Cardetti thinks Tuesday’s special election is a leading indicator of what’s likely to take place in November.

“Democrats will be running with the wind at their back,” said Cardetti.  “Republicans will be running politically with the wind in their face because suburban voters right now, whether it’s Clay County, Jefferson County, are abandoning Republicans right and left.”

Democrat handily wins state Senate seat in Kansas City area swing district

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A Missouri State Senate seat has turned from red to blue.

State Representative Lauren Arthur D-Kansas City (image courtesy of Arthur for Missouri)

Democratic State Rep. Lauren Arthur has pulled off a double-digit victory for the 17th Senatorial seat in a Kansas City area swing district. She defeated Republican State Rep. Kevin Corlew in a special election last night by a 60% to 40% margin.

The last time a Democrat from Clay County held the office was in 2004 by the late Ed Quick.

Arthur’s win brings the Senate’s party makeup to 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

Arthur and Corlew, both considered moderates, ran for the seat vacated by Republican Ryan Silvey. Former Governor Eric Greitens appointed Silvey to the Public Service Commission.

Arthur’s victory comes a few days after Greitens, a Republican, resigned from office against a backdrop of numerous ethical and legal of accusations.

The effect on the election of the scandals surrounding Greitens is unknown.  Missouri Democrats did run an ad in recent days linking Corlew to Greitens and Arthur had stated that cleaning up corruption in Jefferson City was a major priority for her.

Both Arthur and Corlew had called for Greitens to leave office long before he resigned last week.

Arthur prioritized good schools as well as the protection of working families in her campaign.  She has a background as a teacher and is currently a Regional Director for Urban Leaders Fellowship.

The 17th District has a strong labor presence as it’s home to the Claycomo Ford assembly plant which employs roughly 7,500 union workers.

Both Arthur and Corlew have voting records supporting labor interests, as did Silvey when he was in office, but Arthur received the endorsement of the prominent unions in the district.  She also opposed measures supported by Corlew to block local minimum wage increases and curtail liability lawsuits against businesses.

Arthur and Corlew had opposing views on taxes and abortion.

Corlew, an attorney who chaired a high-profile transportation task force the state legislature put together last year, conceded the Senate race at roughly 9 p.m. last night.

Alisa Nelson and Jason Taylor wrote this story

 

Missouri Senate seat flips from red to blue

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State Rep. Kevin Corlew, R-Kansas City

Democratic State Rep. Lauren Arthur has pulled off a double-digit victory for the 17th Senatorial seat in a Kansas City area swing district. She defeated Republican State Rep. Kevin Corlew in a special election last night.

The last time a Democrat from Clay County held the office was in 2004 by the late Ed Quick.

Arthur’s win brings the Senate’s party makeup to 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

Arthur and Corlew, both considered moderates, ran for the seat vacated by Republican Ryan Silvey. Former Governor Eric Greitens appointed Silvey to the Public Service Commission.

Arthur’s victory comes a few days after Greitens, a Republican, resigned from office for a trail of accusations.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri Democratic legislator dissects Greitens’ resignation speech: “It sounds like he’s admitting he’s broken laws”

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A chapter in Missouri state government history will come to a close at 5 p.m. today when Governor Eric Greitens resigns. His 17-month tenure came crashing down on Tuesday shortly after Cole County Circuit judge Jon Beetem ordered the Republican governor to release documents with redactions from his political action and campaign committees.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens

During Greitens’ resignation speech on Tuesday, his four-minute address had some key statements.

“Let us walk off the battlefield with our heads held high. We have a good and proud story to tell our children,” Greitens said.

State Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, disagrees with the governor’s comment.

“I don’t know what story he’s telling, but it doesn’t seem to be something good or something to be proud of. He shot into the governor’s office out of nowhere, was a flaming rocket. As quickly as he showed up, he went away. I don’t know what good story he has to tell,” Razer said.

Greitens’ wild year started off with allegations from a 2015 affair and transpired into much more. He’s accused of taking and transmitting a sexual photo of his mistress without her permission and threatening to blackmail her with the image. His alleged victim reported to officials that Greitens tied her to a piece of exercise equipment, blindfolded her and pulled her pants down in the basement of his St. Louis home. She also stated feeling sexually manipulated and said she experienced Greitens using physical aggression towards her.

Greitens is accused of taking a donor list from his former charity without proper permission and using that list to finance his campaign for governor. A report by a state House committee investigating the governor notes that in a subsequent filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Greitens and his campaign admitted that the campaign used the donor list for fundraising purposes. He signed a settlement agreement and paid a $100 fine.

Former Greitens campaign advisor Michael Hafner also indicates that Greitens was using shell companies to hide donors and received foreign donations, which would break federal campaign finance laws.

State Rep. Greg Razer (D-Kansas City) speaks on the Missouri House floor in May 2017 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at Missouri House Communications)

“I have not broken any laws or committed any offense worthy of this treatment,” Greitens said on Tuesday.

Razer finds the governor’s comment striking.

“Well one, it sounds like he’s admitting he’s broken some laws. I think with him leaving, we’ll never quite be able to have all the evidence we need to completely refute that statement. So, it just kind of sounds like a self-serving statement,” Razer said.

He goes on to say that the governor’s speech fell short.

“I think the thing that struck me in his speech the most is he took no responsibility for the anguish that he has caused the victim in the first report, witness one. There was no apology to her. She never asked for this. She has been victimized again,” said Razer. “There was no apology, and maybe he’s done this privately and that would be fine, but I heard no apology to his family for his role in this. There was no apology to the people of Missouri for his role in this. Everything was blaming someone else. As far as I heard, took no responsibility for himself. While disappointing, maybe not unexpected coming from Eric Greitens.”

Razer, who is widely respected by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, served on the Missouri House committee investigating the governor. He says there’s an important takeaway from this chapter for the people of Missouri.

“I was not on the committee for long, but I can tell you the time I was on there, there were no Democrats and Republicans. There were House members,” he said. “Throughout this process, I think the thing that has struck me the most is not the alleged bad deeds of one man, Eric Greitens. Instead, it was when pushed against the wall, our institutions work. When you get someone with as egregious of allegations against him who is in that high of an office, partisan labels get put to the side. Democrats, Republicans, urban, rural, men and women, black and white, everyone comes together to protect the state, protect the people of Missouri and to protect the institutions.”

At 5:30 p.m. today, the page will flip to Lt. Governor Mike Parson. The Republican will be sworn into office as Missouri’s 57th governor. You can watch the ceremony on Missourinet.com

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Greitens’ top critic in Missouri Legislature says ‘dark money’ wins

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Governor Eric Greitens’ rise and fall in Missouri politics is viewed by State Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, as being all about dark money. Greitens announced his resignation on Tuesday shortly after Cole County Circuit judge Jon Beetem ordered Greitens to release documents with redactions from his political action and campaign committees.

State Senator Rob Schaaf (R)

“He kind of came in under dark money. He’s going out to protect his dark money donors. I just hope that this is the beginning of the end for dark money in Missouri,” Schaaf says.

Greitens, who came onto the political scene in 2015, ran on a platform of being a political outsider pursuing to put an end to corruption in Jefferson City.

Schaaf, a fellow Republican, has been the governor’s leading critic in the state legislature for Greitens’ refusal to reveal political action committee donor information – often referred to as dark money. He has championed legislation that would place limits on campaign contributions and shine a light on dark money in Missouri politics. The proposals have received little attention in the General Assembly.

Greitens, once considered a future presidential candidate, is accused of taking a donor list from his former charity without proper permission and using that list to bankroll his political campaign. A report by a state House committee investigating the governor notes that in a subsequent filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Greitens and his campaign admitted that the campaign used the donor list for fundraising purposes. He signed a settlement agreement and paid a $100 fine.

During the House committee’s work, former Greitens campaign advisor Michael Hafner also indicated that Greitens was using shell companies to hide donors and received foreign donations, which would break federal campaign finance laws.

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

Is Greitens’ resignation the beginning of the end for dark money in Missouri? Schaaf says it’s not going to happen in the legislature.

“First of all, they (legislators) didn’t when given the chance. Number two, they benefit from dark money now and they would not want to change the system that keeps them in power,” he says.

Schaaf, who is serving his final year in the legislature, anticipates Missourians to enact such laws soon through the petition process. Similar measures have been passed by voters but have been overturned.

Lt. Governor Mike Parson, R, will be sworn in as Missouri’s 57th governor at 5:30 p.m. on Friday by Missouri Supreme Court Judge Mary Rhodes Russell.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet