KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Attorney General’s Office, under the leadership of then-Attorney General Josh Hawley, violated the state’s open records law by withholding emails between Hawley’s taxpayer-funded staff and his political consultants during his 2018 Senate campaign, a state judge has ruled.
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem in a written judgment dated Monday sided with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in a years-long lawsuit against the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. He ruled that the office under Hawley, now a Republican U.S. senator, had “knowingly and purposefully” violated the Missouri’s sunshine law — and fined the office $12,000.
During his tenure as attorney general, Hawley’s staff used private email rather than government accounts to communicate with his out-of-state political consultants. Hawley’s campaign consultants gave direct guidance and tasks to his taxpayer-funded staff and led meetings during work hours in the state Supreme Court building, where the attorney general’s official office is located.
