Missouri Attorney General On The Take

Missouri’s Attorney General has accepted thousands of dollars for his gubernatorial campaign from a utility company he is supposedly investigating over a disastrous reservoir collapse. In fact, utility company Ameren Corp cut its first check to the Attorney General, Missouri Democrat Jay Nixon, shortly after he launched the investigation into the company.

If contributing $20,000 to the campaign of an official who is criminally investigating your company doesn’t seem suspicious enough, there are two other facts that make the deal reek of conflict of interest not to mention ethics violations. First is that Ameren previously supported Nixon’s expected rival in the 2008 gubernatorial race, incumbent Republican Matt Blunt.

Then we have Nixon’s sudden change of heart after receiving the money. Earlier this year, he announced that he was on the verge of suing Ameren for that reservoir collapse at a hydroelectric plant that caused more than one billion gallons of water to sweep away a park and critically injure three children. Last week, he said he pulled back from filing the lawsuit and was in “complicated discussions” with Ameren.

Not surprisingly, Nixon maintains that money has nothing to do with any of his decisions because they are all based on what’s best for the people of Missouri. The Source has some great details on Ameren’s financial quarterly reports that clearly point to the the Attorney General’s misdeeds.