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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Bobby Showers

Galloway and Hawley blast each other over attorney general closeout audit

February 7, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s Democratic state auditor and the former GOP attorney general are blasting each other over a closeout audit that was released Thursday afternoon in Jefferson City.

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) briefs Capitol reporters about the Hawley closeout audit on February 6, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Auditor Galloway’s Twitter page)

The closeout audit of former Attorney General Josh Hawley’s (R) office found that consultants paid with Hawley state campaign funds interacted with and advised Attorney General office staff. The review said while coordination between campaign consultants and staff gave an appearance of impropriety, there are no clear violations of law.

The audit also found that former Attorney General Hawley used a state vehicle and state employee as a driver/security detail for some trips where the business purpose wasn’t documented.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) released the audit in her Statehouse office, which was packed with reporters. A stage was set up, to accommodate additional television crews that covered the briefing.

Mr. Hawley served as attorney general from January 2017 to January 2019, when he resigned after his U.S. Senate election. In a series of January tweets, Hawley accused Galloway’s office of using partisan Democratic staff. Galloway addressed the issue, with the Capitol Press Corps on Thursday.

“The unfair attacks by Senator Hawley were an attempt to deceive taxpayers about the nature of this audit,” Galloway says.

In his audit response, Hawley says Galloway audit team member Bobby Showers donated to then U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D) 2018 campaign and wrote recently that any senator who opposes removing President Trump from office “will go down in history as not fulfilling their oath to their country.”

Showers, who was overseeing the closeout audit of Hawley, was removed from that audit in January, due to what Galloway audit director Jon Halwes described as “the appearance of bias.” Halwes also testified that he had not found any indication of actual bias in the audit, when reviewing it.

Halwes testified on January 29, before the Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight, which held a hearing on the issue.

During Thursday’s press conference, Auditor Galloway reiterated what Halwes said, adding Showers simply had a different political opinion than Hawley.

During his January tweets, Hawley mentioned Showers and others. Galloway accuses Hawley of launching misinformation ahead of the audit’s release, knowing that she couldn’t respond until the audit was formally released.

“The abuse these dedicated employees and licensed CPA’s (certified public accountants) had to endure is unacceptable,” Galloway tells Capitol reporters.

Galloway says her staff members performed the audit in adherence to professional audit standards. She also says her office experienced “roadblocks and threats” from current Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s (R) office. Schmitt’s office responded by saying the auditor’s claims “are ridiculous and unfounded.”

Galloway says Schmitt’s office challenged her authority to perform the closeout audit.

Hawley accuses Galloway’s office of altering the audit, to make it more critical. He is especially critical of an e-mail from auditor Pam Allison, which used the term “beef up.”

The Missouri auditor’s employee who used the term “beef up” when referring to the closeout audit says her term meant that she would add more detail to the audit. Allison spoke at the press conference with Galloway, telling reporters she grew up on a Polk County family farm, where you send cattle to the feedlot to be finished.

“This inadvertently sent e-mail was not evidence of a lack of objectivity, rather it was evidence that we were appropriately evaluating audit evidence,” says Allison.

The email from Allison read: “I’m thinking I’ll just drop the confidentiality paragraph in the (closeout audit) report and beef up the personal email/personal calendar section.” She says the report was a work in progress at the time, and that more details needed to be added.

The closeout audit concluded that AG Hawley’s office did not always follow communication and retention policies, and that the use of personal text and email to communicate official business was a violation of Attorney General Office (AGO) policy.

Senator Hawley’s written response to the audit describes the audit changes by Allison as “deeply inappropriate, unethical and potentially a violation of state law.”

In a tweet Thursday after the audit was released, Senator Hawley also said: “You (Auditor Galloway) should also come clean to investigators about putting political operatives on state payroll and manipulating audits to help your campaign for governor.”

Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Jean Evans has also issued a statement, calling for an investigation into Galloway’s audit. Evans accuses Galloway of abusing her office for politics.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: History, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Bobby Showers, former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Jefferson City, missouri attorney general eric schmitt, Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway, Pam Allison, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley

Missouri House committee hears testimony from Galloway’s office about ongoing Hawley audit (AUDIO)

January 30, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House oversight committee learned Wednesday that a state auditor’s employee overseeing the closeout audit of former Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) has been removed from that audit.

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway (2018 file photo)

Hawley, who’s now a U.S. Senator, has accused State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s (D) office of using blatantly biased staff, including those who came from former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D) campaign.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s audit director, Jon Halwes, testified for about 90 minutes before the House Special Committee on Government Oversight. State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, asked Halwes about employee Bobby Showers.

“He was the audit director on the (Hawley) audit until about two weeks ago, when I took over,” Halwes testified.

“Why did you take over,” Schroer asked Halwes.

“We removed him from the audit due to the appearance of bias,” Halwes said.

Representative Schroer says that Showers donated to Senator McCaskill’s campaign. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” notes Showers contributed $50 to McCaskill.

Mr. Halwes emphasizes that Showers was removed, because of the appearance that the audit might not be independent.

The closeout audit of Hawley’s office began in early 2019, according to Halwes. Hawley served as Missouri Attorney General from January 2017 to January 2019, before resigning following his November 2018 Senate victory over McCaskill.

Halwes took over the audit two weeks ago, which is about the same time Senator Hawley tweeted about his concerns with the auditor’s office. Halwes testified that he has not seen any indication of bias in Showers’ audit, as he’s reviewed it.

“In your two weeks since you’ve come into that position, has there been any indication of any actual bias in the course of this audit?,” State Rep. Peter Meredith, D-St. Louis, asked Halwes.

“I have not identified anything,” Halwes responds. “Okay, that’s good to hear,” Meredith told him.

In his mid-January tweets, Hawley revealed e-mails written by the auditor’s office in which an employee appeared to discuss changing part of the audit.

Hawley released an e-mail from auditor Pam Allison which said she would “beef up” part of the audit that involved Hawley’s use of personal email/personal calendar.

Allison was only briefly mentioned during Wednesday’s hearing, and none of the committee members asked about that e-mail.

As for Galloway, she says there has been no political bias nor impropriety during the audit process, emphasizing that audits are based on evidence and facts.

Mr. Halwes emphasized that too, during his testimony. He says audits are based on facts and evidence, not political beliefs. Halwes testified the auditor’s office has four levels of review. He says it would be impossible to release an audit that isn’t independent, because of those layers.

Halwes, who’s now overseeing the Hawley audit, is a career employee who has worked for the state auditor’s office for about 35 years. He testifies he’s voted Republican most of his life and that it doesn’t impact his independence to audit Democrats or others.

Auditor Galloway issued a statement after the hearing, reiterating what Chairman Ross told the committee and audience on Wedneday: that Missouri law prohibits the Auditor’s office from discussing the content of an ongoing audit. She says the team involved in the Hawley audit has nearly 90 years of audit experience, working for state auditors in both parties, dating to former State Auditor Margaret Kelly (R).

Galloway also says that David Kirby, who is the auditor’s legislative liaison, had no role in the audit process involving the Hawley closeout audit. Mr. Kirby was Senator McCaskill’s campaign manager.

House Special Committee on Government Oversight Chairman Robert Ross, R-Yukon, is concerned about Hawley’s allegations. He called the hearing.

“We as legislators rely on audits for a lot of oversight and watching how our government is performing,” Ross told Capitol reporters after the hearing. “We have to know that those are being performed without bias.”

Despite his concerns, Ross says Galloway has been tough on Republicans and Democrats, adding that she’s given “excellent” ratings to Republicans. Ross says there could be additional hearings in the future.

Galloway’s statement says the Hawley audit will be released “in the coming weeks.”

Click here to listen to House Special Committee on Government Oversight Committee Chairman Robert Ross’ comments to Capitol reporters, including Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth, after the January 29, 2020 hearing in Jefferson City:

https://cdn.missourinet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/robertrossrawJanuary2020.mp3

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: History, Legislature, News Tagged With: Bobby Showers, David Kirby, Former Attorney General Josh Hawley, former State Auditor Margaret Kelly, former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight, Pam Allison, State Auditor Nicole Galloway, State Rep. Nick Schroer, State Rep. Peter Meredith, State Rep. Robert Ross



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