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Judge hears arguments over whether Missouri AG Andrew Bailey should be questioned under oath • Missouri Independent

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Judge hears arguments over whether Missouri AG Andrew Bailey should be questioned under oath • Missouri Independent


Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office urged a judge on Thursday not to require him to sit for a deposition in his lawsuit against Jackson County, arguing county attorneys want information that “has nothing to do with the case.”

Jason Lewis, general counsel for the Attorney General’s Office, urged Clay County Circuit Judge Karen Krauser to reconsider her decision to allow Bailey to be questioned under oath about his conversation with a Jackson County official. 

Bailey is suing the county over its property assessment process.

Given the Attorney General’s Office’s caseload, Lewis said, requiring Bailey to sit for a deposition could set a troubling precedent.

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“The Attorney General’s Office has profound institutional interest that a sitting statewide official cannot be deposed in every case,” Lewis said. 

Judge orders Missouri AG Andrew Bailey to sit for deposition over possible ethics breach

Krauser’s order, issued two weeks ago, came in response to a motion for sanctions Jackson County attorneys filed because of Bailey and a deputy’s conversations with Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith, which appear to have violated the rules of professional conduct set out by the Missouri Supreme Court. 

Under those rules, lawyers are not allowed to communicate with an opposing party in a lawsuit without the consent of that person’s lawyer. While Bailey doesn’t dispute the meetings occurred, he argues they were inconsequential and that the county has to exhaust other options for seeking information about the meetings before questioning a sitting attorney general. 

An outside attorney hired by Smith, also asking Krauser to overturn the order, likened Jackson County attorneys’ efforts to question Bailey over the meeting to an “atomic bomb” compared with less drastic ways to handle the issue. 

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“This whole thing really appears to be a distraction from the merits of the case,” said the attorney, Brandon Boulware.

But Ryan Taylor, an attorney for Jackson County, argued the state had not been forthcoming on the issue. He quoted President Harry Truman, who “once said, ‘The buck stops here.’”

“What he meant by that was that anything that happens with his administration, he’s responsible for it,” Taylor said. 

He asked Krauser to stand by her order and allow the deposition to take place.

“If it was an innocent statement, then why can’t (he) just sit down and tell us about it?” Taylor said. 

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The dispute stems from Bailey’s lawsuit against Jackson County over its property assessment process. Bailey claims the county’s process was flawed, resulting in an average 30% increase in value across hundreds of thousands of properties. 

Attorneys have argued Bailey waited too long to file the case since tax bills have already been paid and money distributed. 

Bailey’s office has maintained the attorney general did nothing wrong in meeting with Smith and described it as a “brief, casual meeting between two elected officials and their campaign staffs unrelated to the lawsuit.” A filing from Bailey’s office says “at most, a passing remark was made about the lawsuit.”

Lewis, echoing arguments in the state’s court filings, said the county should question other individuals present for the meeting before being granted access to Bailey because of a rule against depositions of top-level agency staff.

But time is short with the trial expected to wrap up in early August. 

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“This is about the actions of the attorney general himself, people he was in a room with, people he talked to and what he heard,” Krauser said during Thursday’s hearing. 

Attorneys also argued over whether Jackson County’s counsel represents Smith as an individual or only the Jackson County Legislature as a body. Krauser said she believed Smith to be represented by the county’s attorneys.

Forcing a sitting attorney general to answer questions under oath is highly unusual, but Krauser said in her order that “the Missouri Attorney General’s Office is not exempt from the requirements of the state ethical rules.”

Krauser did not say during the hearing how she would rule on the request to overturn the order granting the deposition. She said she would issue a written decision Friday.

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What we learned from Mississippi State baseball’s series sweep vs Missouri State

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What we learned from Mississippi State baseball’s series sweep vs Missouri State


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  • Mississippi State is still trying to figure out who its starting second baseman will be.
  • Freshman Lukas Buckner has impressed with his composure and hitting ability.

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball swept Missouri State this weekend, but it didn’t mean there was no sweat in the final inning. 

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The No. 19 Bulldogs (6-1) entered Sunday’s ninth inning leading 6-1 in a combined no-hitter. That was until William Zareh blasted a three-run homer. The Bears (2-4) brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but Virginia transfer Chase Hungate came to the rescue with two game-ending outs for the 6-4 win. 

“I know we had a no-hitter into the ninth, but that’s a really good offensive lineup,” MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. “There’s pros inside that lineup. You are going to look up at the end of the year and you’ll probably see Missouri State in a regional like we had last year with Evansville heading to a Super Regional.”

The win meant MSU has swept both of its weekend series to begin the season. Its only loss so far was at Southern Miss on Tuesday, and the 6-1 record is the program’s best since 2019.

Here are three things we learned about Mississippi State from the series.

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Mississippi State has depth, but Chris Lemonis isn’t satisfied yet

The Bulldogs scored 18 runs in the series with lots of flex in the lineup. Only five players — Ace Reese, Ross Highfill, Noah Sullivan, Hunter Hines and Bryce Chance — started all three games. 

Different players came through in big moments throughout the weekend. 

Sullivan, a USC-Upstate transfer, hit a go-ahead RBI double with two outs in the eighth inning on Friday. Reese, a Houston transfer, slashed a triple that drove in three runs the next day. Four players hit home runs on Sunday, when each starter had at least one hit.

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“We’re still not maximizing our offensive opportunities, and I think that’s something we got to keep (working on),” Lemonis said. “We’re having, like, a good at-bat, a good at-bat and then a really bad one. You don’t need to have a great one. You just need to have an average one and move the inning along. We’ll get up there and have a couple big hits and then strike out, strike out, which we got to correct.” 

Mississippi State still figuring out second base

Mississippi State started three players at second base against Missouri State. 

Sawyer Reeves, a transfer from The Citadel, started the first four games of the season but has slumped to 1-for-13 start at the plate. He also committed two costly errors against Southern Miss. The redshirt senior did not start any games this weekend. 

Lukas Buckner started at second base on Friday and Saturday and Gehrig Frei in the finale.

Frei committed an error in the first inning of Sunday’s game, the only error by the Bulldogs all weekend, but redeemed himself when he launched a home run on the first pitch in the bottom of the inning.

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“I think one thing is we’re all aware that we have great depth, position player-wise,” Frei, a North Alabama transfer, said. “We got guys who can go in there and make an impact right away. It’s a good thing about our ball club.”

Lukas Buckner impressing as a freshman

Buckner didn’t start the first four games of the season but did start at shortstop on Friday and second base on Saturday.

The Knoxville, Tennessee native has been one of the most impressive freshmen on the team. 

He pinch-hit on Tuesday at Southern Miss and slapped two of MSU’s hits in the game. Buckner followed it with his first career start on Friday, adding two more hits at shortstop and the leadoff batter. He reached base twice again on Saturday.

“I think the biggest thing is just how composed he is,” Sullivan said of Buckner. “It’s like he’s been here like two, three years already. He knows how to work, he knows how to play and he’s about as good as it gets.”

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Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.



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VIDEO: John Calipari, players postgame – Arkansas 92, Missouri 85

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VIDEO: John Calipari, players postgame – Arkansas 92, Missouri  85


Watch the postgame press conference from Arkansas head coach John Calipari, Johnell Davis and Zvonimir Ivisic after the 92-85 over the No. 15 Missouri Tigers at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday evening.

Visit our homepage for complete coverage of Arkansas basketball, including everything you need to know from the Hoop Hogs’ loss.



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Iowa State wrestling closes regular season with victory at Missouri

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Iowa State wrestling closes regular season with victory at Missouri


The No. 12-ranked Iowa State wrestling team (12-5, 6-2 Big 12) closed its regular season with a 21-18 victory over No. 25 Missouri (5-10, 4-4 Big 12) Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

The Cyclones took six of 10 bouts, including the first four. Evan Bockman and Nate Schon came through with pivotal wins at 184 and 197 pounds to clinch the dual for the Cyclones.

Garrett Grice earned a crucial pin at 133 pounds after Ethan Perryman got the Cyclones on the board first with a 7-4 decision over No. 32 Gage Walker at 125 pounds.

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Grice got the nod for Iowa State at 133 pounds and came up with big bonus points when he pinned Kade Moore in 4:22.

At 141 pounds, No. 11 Jacob Frost earned a 9-8 decision over No. 16 Josh Edmond. Frost has won 12 of his last 13 matches.

No. 7 Paniro Johnson made it four in a row for the Cyclones to open the dual with a 4-1 decision over Logan Gioffre at 149 pounds.

Iowa State next competes at the Big 12 Championships on March 8-9 in Tulsa, Okla.

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125: Ethan Perryman (ISU) dec. #32 Gage Walker (MIZ), 7-4

133: Garrett Grice (ISU) WBF Kade Moore (MIZ), 4:22

141: #11 Jacob Frost (ISU) dec. #16 Josh Edmond (MIZ), 9-8

149: #7 Paniro Johnson (ISU) dec. Logan Gioffre (MIZ), 4-1

157: James Conway (MIZ) dec. #11 Cody Chittum (ISU), 9-3

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165: #15 Cam Steed (MIZ) WBF Aiden Riggins (ISU), 3:31

174: #1 Keegan O’Toole (MIZ) WBF Cade Schmidt (ISU), 6:24

184: #10 Evan Bockman (ISU) dec. #9 Colton Hawks (MIZ), 1-0

197: Nate Schon (ISU) dec. Jesse Cassatt (MIZ), 4-2

285: Seth Nitzel (MIZ) dec. #26 Daniel Herrera (ISU), 9-3

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The Iowa State sports information department contributed this report.



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