Missouri Dem Nicole Galloway Under Fire For Ethics Concerns, Potential Criminal Violations

Missouri AG: Galloway’s Actions May Have Violated State Law, Caused “Irreparable Harm” To State Auditor’s Office

KMOX Headline: “State Auditor Galloway Accused By AG Schmitt Of Committing Felony When Releasing Audit”

• Nicole Galloway May Have Broken The Law By Releasing Witness Transcripts. “Did Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway break the law in how she released an audit? That’s what Attorney General Eric Schmitt is saying. She released something in a state audit that Schmitt told her would be a felony to release, making public transcripts of interviews with witnesses in her audit of then Missouri Attorney General, now U.S. Senator, Josh Hawley.” (Kevin Kileen, “State Auditor Galloway Accused By AG Schmitt Of Committing Felony When Releasing Audit,” KMOX, 2/6/20)

Attorney General Eric Schmitt: “As the Chief Legal Officer of the state of Missouri – the AG’s Office has repeatedly expressed serious concerns about the political nature of @AuditorGalloway ’s audit of fmr AG @HawleyMO ’s Office & the unprecedented release of transcripts likely in violation of state law.” (Twitter, 2/6/20)

• “We have grave concerns about the irreparable harm this audit could have on the auditor’s office and good government in general.” (Twitter, 2/6/20)

Senator Josh Hawley: “But the partisan manipulation & potential unethical practices Galloway’s office engaged in during audit raise major questions that need to be addressed in future. People of Missouri deserve answers. Auditor is supposed to be independent & nonpartisan. This one isn’t.” (Twitter, 2/6/20)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board Criticized Galloway For Blatant Hypocrisy And Refusing To Answer “Serious Questions” About Political Bias In Her Office

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board: “That’s not good enough. If Galloway wants to continue as the standard bearer for ethics in government, she must be willing to turn the same uncomfortable magnifying glass of scrutiny on herself and her staff.” (Editorial, “Galloway Turns Up The Heat On Hawley. But Can She Take It Herself?,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/8/20)

• The Editorial Criticized Galloway For Previously Using Her Taxpayer-Funded Office For A “Personal Political Mission.” “Weeks before Galloway announced her own campaign for governor last summer, she had her press secretary, Steph Deidrick, email an op-ed to this newspaper excoriating Gov. Mike Parson’s decision to sign a new law imposing draconian restrictions on abortion rights. It was our mistake to publish the op-ed before asking Deidrick what, exactly, do abortion rights have to do with Galloway’s official auditing duties…The Galloway campaign’s Twitter account posts a link to that op-ed. Why did Galloway assign a state employee to use a state office and state email account for what was clearly a personal political mission? It might not be illegal, but it certainly doesn’t pass the smell test. (Editorial, “Galloway Turns Up The Heat On Hawley. But Can She Take It Herself?,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/8/20)

The Editorial Board Slammed Galloway’s Refusal To Comment On An Allegations That Her Staff Took Deliberate Action To “Embellish Portions” Of The Audit. “Galloway also failed to answer serious questions raised by an email that one of her staffers erroneously sent out before the release of the Hawley audit. In the email, audit manager Pamela Allison mentioned alterations of the audit to ‘beef up’ one section while dropping another part. Was it an attempt to embellish portions to make Hawley’s infractions look even worse?” (Editorial, “Galloway Turns Up The Heat On Hawley. But Can She Take It Herself?,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/8/20)