In what may qualify as the least-surprising development in Missouri politics lately, disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens stands accused of unlawful shenanigans with campaign money — specifically, of diverting state-level campaign funds to his U.S. Senate campaign, which isn’t allowed. Greitens is innocent until proven guilty, but his past campaign practices suggest fire is at the source of this smoke.
It’s a useful reminder that Greitens was forced out of office not just for alleged sexual abuse of his hairdresser but also for his demonstrated contempt for clean-money campaign rules. This is not someone who should get another chance to represent Missourians.
As the Post-Dispatch’s Kurt Erickson reports, the Washington-based reform group Campaign Legal Center filed a Federal Election Commission complaint Thursday alleging Greitens used more than $100,000 from his state campaign fund to lay groundwork for his Senate campaign before announcing his candidacy in March. Federal election law prohibits use of state campaign money in federal elections because it isn’t raised under federal limits and restrictions.
