JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, announced Monday that he has started the impeachment process against Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Chris Koster. Moon sought, but failed, to impeach Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in 2015.
Moon has drafted two resolutions to begin House investigations into Koster to determine whether he neglected the duties of his office and whether campaign contributions influenced Koster’s decisions.
“The bottom line is that our attorney general has failed to perform his duty to defend the Missouri Constitution, and then ignored efforts by those wanting him to defend the constitution,” Moon said in a statement. “I believe the House should act promptly to thoroughly investigate his offenses.”
Moon has asked for two separate investigations. The first would investigate Koster not to appealing a decision by Circuit Judge Dale J. Youngs that held that Missouri must recognize same-sex marriages occurring in all other states.
“Koster has explicitly indicated to the media that his reason for not appealing this circuit court decision was based on his own views and not considerations of his lawful duty to defend the Constitution of Missouri by stating that ‘Missouri’s future will be one of inclusion, not exclusion,’” Moon’s resolution says.
Moon said he has written Koster multiple times about the issue without receiving a response. Moon called on Koster in 2014 demanding Planned Parenthood in St. Louis be closed.
“Police officers swear an oath to enforce the law, and if an officer decides not to enforce a certain law just because he disagrees with it, that is a failure to perform his duties (willful neglect). In the same sense, the attorney general deciding not to defend the constitution because he disagrees with it is unacceptable,” he said.
Moon’s second resolution calls for an investigation into how campaign contributions may have affected Koster’s decision making as attorney general. His resolution cites three specific cases of concerns. It says Koster ordered his staff to drop an investigation into the company 5-Hour Energy after being notified of the investigation by a company attorney whose law firm had donated to his campaign.
The resolution also looks at settlement negotiations conducted under Koster with Pfizer, represented by a firm whose attorneys donated to his campaign, and Republic Services. Moon says The Simmons Firm, another Koster donor, received a settlement from Republic Services.
Koster’s office responded to the resolutions Monday afternoon, saying they were “discretionary decisions” backed up by either court decisions or House committees.
“The resolutions purportedly criticize two discretionary decisions – first, a decision not to appeal a ruling recognizing same-sex marriages legally performed in other states, and second, a decision against filing a consumer action this office deemed too frivolous to merit state resources,” said Nancy Gonder, Koster’s press secretary, in a statement. “Our office’s decision regarding the marriage case was supported by opinions of the United States Supreme Court, and our decision regarding the consumer matter was subsequently validated by the House committee that reviewed the issue 18 months ago. At that time, it was reported that State Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City), chairman of the House committee, concluded that AG Koster had acted ‘correctly,’ and that Rep. Barnes ‘agreed with the decisions’ made by our office.”
Koster’s campaign for governor also responded to Moon’s resolutions. They pointed to his past attempt to impeach Nixon, his 2015 call on the state’s congressional delegation to maintain “manly firmness” and his current personhood amendment, which was passed out of committee this afternoon, to portray Moon as an extremist.
“Cheap political stunts like these have come to define Mike Moon’s career in the legislature,” said Andrew Whalen, the campaign’s spokesperson, in a statement. “His childish and partisan antics are exactly the types of activities that cause Missourians to lose faith in their state’s legislature. Members of both parties should be focusing their energy on growing Missouri’s economy, creating jobs, rebuilding our roads, and fully funding public education rather than wasting time on these frivolous proceedings.”
