It is amazing to us how Jay Nixon’s arrogance and blatant abuse of power, is being overshadowed by the old media’s obsession with deleted emails. With gas prices approaching three dollars a gallon, the public can much better understand the moxie of an elected official cruising around on the taxpayer’s dime to campaign events. Missourians for Blunt released this press release today criticizing the Nixon campaign for not itemizing expenses over $100.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Contact: John Hancock
636-519-8900

JEFFERSON CITY-The state’s self-named “chief law enforcer” has been nailed again violating the law, this time by trying to shield his campaign expenses from public view. Nixon’s use of credit card spending to conceal his campaign’s expenditures is clearly offensive to the law and disclosure requirements of the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC).

Missourians for Matt Blunt has obtained a copy of a complaint filed Wednesday with the MEC against Attorney General Jay Nixon and his campaign committee, Nixon for Governor. The MEC has chosen to protect the identity of the complainant, a private citizen. The complaint challenges Nixon’s ongoing practice of hiding his campaign expenditures from the public by using lump-sum credit card billings. This violation has continued for more than two years, since the formation of the Nixon for Governor candidate committee. A copy of the complaint may be viewed here.

The disclosure statute clearly states that each expenditure above $100 must be itemized.

Section 130 .041.1(4)(d) RSMo states:

The full name and mailing address of each person to whom an expenditure of money or any other thing of value in the amount of more than one hundred dollars has been made, contracted for or incurred, together with the date, amount and purpose of each expenditure. Expenditures of one hundred dollars or less may be grouped and listed by categories of expenditure showing the total dollar amount of expenditures in each category.

Expenditures certainly include purchases by credit card (ask any family). Yet for more than two years, Nixon failed to disclose even one purchase by credit card, instead reporting only payments to the credit card company. Ask any Missouri family, Jay: When you buy groceries with a credit card, you are spending money at the grocery store for groceries.

This violation continues Nixon’s pattern of scofflaw conduct. Just last month he was caught in open violation of one of the most basic clean government laws, the ban on using state cars for politics. When caught, Nixon confessed and repaid nearly $50,000 – but he refuses to permit any outside authority to verify that he is paying what he owes. In a separate matter, Nixon has been named in a complaint with the MEC for failing to properly disclose payments to campaign staff.

“Jay Nixon believes he is above the law. His motto is ‘It’s only wrong if I get caught,'” said John Hancock, spokesman for Missourians for Matt Blunt. “Money is the common thread in Nixon’s pattern of chicanery: Filching a state car for politics, to the admitted tune of nearly $50,000. Hiding spending in lump bills. Mishandling of staff payments. Taking money from those he is supposed to be ‘investigating.’ Lesson One: Don’t believe a thing Jay Nixon says. Lesson Two: Never leave Nixon alone with somebody else’s money.”

Related:

Missourinet audio: Blunt and Nixon Campaigns Spar Over Credit Card Expense Reports Blunt and Nixon Campaigns Spar Over Credit Card Expense Reports

KWMU: Blunt official threatens Nixon with subpoena over reimbursement of state car use

Video: Nixon’s Illegal Joy Ride
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/UUBvmQGS7C0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

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