Jason Hancock

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher denies accusations uncovered in public records that he threatened staff when pressing for the legislature to award a lucrative contract to a private company.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded a lower court’s wide-ranging order barring the federal government from communicating with social media companies was “vague and broader than necessary.”

The litigation asks a Cole County judge to reject the proposed constitutional amendments or rewrite the summary and fiscal note.

The lawsuit from Republican lawmakers uses an argument from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey that legalizing abortion will cost the state billions of dollars. State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick concluded that reasoning has no merit, and the state supreme court rejected Bailey's attempt to interfere with the cost estimate.

The unanimous verdict was scathing in its assessment of Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who refused to sign off on the work of Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. The court concluded that nothing in state law “gives the attorney general authority to question the auditor’s assessment of the fiscal impact of a proposed petition.”

State Rep. Crystal Quade is the first major Democratic candidate to enter the field to replace Gov. Mike Parson next year. In an video announcing her campaign, she discussed being raised by a single mom and relying on food stamps before touting her record in the legislature.

A Cole County judge in November concluded Josh Hawley’s staff illegally refused to turn over public records out of concern it could have hurt his 2018 Senate campaign

Missourians seeking public records from the office of Attorney General Andrew Bailey face delays that can stretch up to a year. The situation is especially problematic for the office in charge of enforcing Missouri’s Sunshine Law, which ensures the public has access to government records and meetings.

Proponents of an initiative petition seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution have been unable to begin collecting signatures because of a showdown between the attorney general and state auditor. In a lawsuit, Missouri ACLU claims that Attorney General Andrew Bailey has made an illegal effort to falsely increase the cost of the amendment.

Emails show Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s office completed its work on the cost estimate for an abortion rights ballot issue, but Attorney General Andrew Bailey refused to give what has traditionally been considered perfunctory approval — and demanded the auditor falsely inflate the numbers.