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Missouri taxpayers to pay $242,000 to Democrats for records violations under Josh Hawley

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Missouri taxpayers to pay 2,000 to Democrats for records violations under Josh Hawley


JEFFERSON CITY — A Cole County judge on Wednesday ordered the Missouri attorney general’s office to pay $242,000 in legal fees in connection to Sunshine Law violations under current U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley.

The decision by Circuit Judge Jon Beetem follows his November 2022 ruling that Hawley’s attorney general’s office withheld documents from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2018 in violation of the state’s open records laws.

Beetem, in his decision last year, fined the attorney general’s office $12,000 and ordered the state to pay attorneys’ fees and costs.

“A big win for transparency, election fairness, and the rule of law,” Mark Pedroli, who represented the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in a lawsuit originally filed in 2019, said on Twitter.

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Pedroli said Missouri taxpayers shouldn’t be stuck with the “record verdict,” and that instead Hawley should apologize and donate proceeds from his recent book, “Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs,” to cover the bill.

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Kyle Plotkin, spokesman for Hawley, said Democrats kept the lawsuit alive unnecessarily after documents were produced and that “they should return whatever money they get to the people of Missouri and apologize.”

The DSCC sued over how attorney general’s office handled requests filed in September 2017 and March 2018.

Voters elected Hawley to the U.S. Senate in November 2018, and the Democrats filed their lawsuit in March 2019, after Hawley was sworn in.

In September 2017, the DSCC asked for records of correspondence with the OnMessage Inc. political consulting firm.

At the time, the then-records custodian, Daniel Hartman, “had correspondence on his personal email account between AGO employees and individuals from OnMessage Inc. concerning public business,” according to Beetem’s ruling.

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Beetem said Hartman possessed the records and knew “his responsibilities” as custodian of record, but responded to the Democrats in October 2017 that the office “retained no” responsive documents.

Beetem also said the office retained documents responsive to the Democrats’ second request in March 2018. Hartman asked a state worker to locate responsive records, and the staff member found 42 records, the majority of which “were responsive” to the DSCC request.

Beetem said the Kansas City Star obtained records between the attorney general’s office and OnMessage Inc.; the outlet reported in October 2018 that political consultants helped to lead Hawley’s office.

“By failing to produce the requested records, Mr. Hartman and the AGO prevented an opposing party committee from accessing documents potentially damaging to then-Attorney General Hawley’s political campaign,” Beetem wrote.

After the Star report, the left-leaning American Democracy Legal Fund said in a complaint to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft that Hawley evidence strongly suggested Hawley “used public funds as Attorney General to support his candidacy for U.S. Senate.”

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Ashcroft, a Republican, opened an investigation after the complaint was filed, and announced in February 2019 that his office would not move forward with the complaint.

Records were produced during Ashcroft’s investigation and during the DSCC litigation.

“It’s a shame that Democrat Party bosses kept a lawsuit going even after the witch hunt was dismissed by investigators and after all documents were voluntarily made public,” said Plotkin, spokesman for Hawley’s campaign.

“The only purpose seems to have been to bilk Missouri taxpayers out of thousands and thousands of dollars,” Plotkin said after being asked if the Hawley campaign would pay the $242,000 legal bill.

Money to pay the fees typically comes from the state’s Legal Expense Fund, which is financed by the state’s general tax dollars. 

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Hawley’s campaign team at the time of the requests included senior strategist Timmy Teepell, a partner in OnMessage Inc.

Teepell is serving in the same role for Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is running for a full, four-year term in 2024.

A Bailey spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

In addition to Ashcroft’s review, State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat who was state auditor at the time Hawley left the attorney general’s office, released scathing audits of Hawley’s short tenure as attorney general before he became senator.

Galloway, who left office in January, issued audits showing Hawley may have misused state resources to benefit his successful 2018 campaign against incumbent Claire McCaskill.

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Hawley is up for reelection next year.

Missouri taxpayers might have to pay $300,000 for open records violation under Hawley

‘You better know who’s behind the curtain’: The man who guided Josh Hawley’s rise

New Missouri attorney general won't say if he is investigating Hawley for Sunshine Law violations

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Secretary of State Ashcroft asks Democratic Auditor Galloway for help with Hawley probe



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Missouri

Missouri officials vow to help with Trump immigration agenda on first day of presidency

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Missouri officials vow to help with Trump immigration agenda on first day of presidency


COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri officials stand ready to use state resources to help President Donald Trump enforce immigration law as he takes office.

A newly inaugurated Trump begins his next four years with a focus on taxes, foreign policy and immigration. Gov. Mike Kehoe last week signed two executive orders — 25-04 and 25-05 — that will have state and local law enforcement assisting in immigration law enforcement.

Order 25-04 will have designated members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol be trained in enforcing federal immigration laws to help with investigating, arresting and detaining illegal immigrants in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security.

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Executive order 25-05 will add immigration status data to the state’s crime reporting system and have the MSHP continue to collect and maintain the information.

“These executive orders will equip law enforcement with much-needed resources and support to effectively address crime,” Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Mark James said in a news release last Monday, when Kehoe was sworn in.

According to a 2022 Pew Research study, unauthorized immigrants made up 3.3% of the total U.S. population and 23% of the US foreign-born population.

The American Immigration Council found that in 2022 there were 59,000 undocumented immigrants, making up 1% of Missouri’s population.

“I got an awful lot of phone calls right after the [presidential] election,” St. Louis-based immigration attorney David Cox said. “I’ve continued to get a steady stream of interested phone calls and people just saying, ‘Hey, is there a change in the law? Is there something I should be concerned about or worried about?’”

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While Cox hasn’t seen major updates yet, he and other immigration practitioners plan to stay alert for changes to immigration enforcement.

“Some of the benefits that we seek that I help people apply for are for people who are out of status but have a path to become legal,” Cox said. “They’re on that path, but they’re not yet at the finish line, so a lot of those people have called me and are worried.”

Cox said he is worried about the Laken Riley Act being considered by the Senate after being passed by the House. The bill would require the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft or burglary. Cox adds that while minor offenses may have been a cause for deportation, it wasn’t commonly enforced.

“U.S. policy was not to waste its time and effort trying to enforce, for example, a shoplifter who stole,” Cox said.

Additionally, according to a study from the National Institute of Justice of Texas arrest records, undocumented immigrants have the lowest arrest rates, adding that there has been no increase in undocumented immigrant crime.

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Cox is expecting that the increased focus on immigration enforcement will slow down the deportation process across the nation.

“It’s really a whole different question and one that might well throw a wrench into the effort because it could involve so many people that it’ll just bog down law enforcement and the courts, both the local courts who have to deal with it and the immigration courts,” Cox said.

Trump is expected to get rolling on his immigration agenda quickly. A Fox News affiliate in El Paso reported that federal agents had closed the point of entry in that border city Monday.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey shared video of the closed crossing on social media platform X saying “It’s begun.”

Gov. Mike Kehoe posted that he looks forward to working with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance “to make our state and nation stronger, safer, and more prosperous.”

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(LISTEN): Missouri Chamber of Commerce outlines plan aimed at attracting more manufacturing | 93.9 The Eagle

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(LISTEN): Missouri Chamber of Commerce outlines plan aimed at attracting more manufacturing | 93.9 The Eagle


The state’s largest business association wants to see Missouri be a top-ten state in manufacturing.

buffaloe at swift
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe speaks at the April 6, 2023 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $200-million Swift Foods plant on Route B, as Boone County Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick listens (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Kara Corches tells 939 the Eagle that the Show-Me State currently ranks 28th in manufacturing competitiveness:

“We know that Missouri has a very rich history in manufacturing in making goods that change quality of life and improve technology. And we just want to make sure that we are maximizing our history and our potential as a state,” Ms. Corches says.

President Corches says manufacturing in Missouri employs 287,000 people, contributing $50-billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product. The Missouri Chamber Foundation is making seven recommendations. They include expanding the workforce pipeline for manufacturing careers and providing incentives and technical assistance to increase capital investment.

Chamber president Corches also wants to see more emphasis on the recruitment of new manufacturers and the expansion of existing operations:

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“Our course we want to land new projects in the state. But it is very important to the Missouri Chamber that we are helping those who are already located here. Who have called Missouri home for many years. We want to make sure that we are contributing to their success and their growth,” says Corches.

President Corches also says there is plenty of room for improvement. She says that in critical competitiveness categories like workforce and infrastructure, Missouri is among the bottom 15 states.



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Missouri women fall at Auburn

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Missouri women fall at Auburn


AUBURN, Ala. — The Missouri Tigers fell into an early hole Sunday afternoon and couldn’t climb out in a 75-60 loss to the Auburn Tigers in SEC women’s basketball action.

Missouri never led in a game between two teams looking for their first conference win of the season. A 3-pointer by Grace Slaughter with around two minutes to go in the first quarter pulled Missouri to within a point at 12-11.



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