From Carl Bearden:
Former Speaker Pro Tem Re-Files Ethics Complaint
St. Louis – Former Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem and United for Missouri Executive Director Carl Bearden reaffirmed his previous allegation today that Eric Greitens’s gubernatorial campaign committee, Greitens for Missouri, accepted an illegal campaign contribution of $1.975 million from a Washington D.C. political action committee.
“Missouri law could not be any more clear,” Bearden said. “Greitens accepted almost $2 million from a committee located outside of Missouri that had not previously filed a report with the Missouri Ethics Commission. The contribution also took place less than 30 days prior to the election. Section 130.049 of the Missouri Code clearly prohibited Greitens from accepting this contribution for both of these reasons.”
Bearden previously filed a complaint over this illegal contribution shortly before the August 2 primary election, which Greitens won. The Missouri Ethics Commission declined to investigate it, citing a statute that prohibits it from investigating new complaints in the lead-up to elections. In the intervening time, neither the Greitens campaign nor SEALs for Truth have made any efforts to address the illegality of the contribution.
Accepting an illegal campaign contribution is punishable under Missouri law with civil penalties in an amount equal to the contribution. Additionally, purposeful violation of Missouri’s campaign finance laws is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by additional fines and a term of imprisonment of up to one year.
