Judge delays order forcing Greitens’ political nonprofit to hand over records

A Cole County judge on Friday delayed an order forcing Gov. Eric Greitens' dark-money nonprofit to turn over documents to the House committee that's been investigating the governor for three months.

Circuit Judge Jon Beetem said that because of "the extraordinary events of this week," he was delaying the order until after a hearing sought by the nonprofit, A New Missouri Inc. That hearing could come as early as Monday.

Beetem on Tuesday had ordered A New Missouri to abide by a subpoena issued by the Missouri House and turn over documents that lawmakers believe might demonstrate efforts to illegally circumvent the state's campaign disclosure laws.

Hours later, Greitens announced he was resigning effective 5 p.m. Friday.

The House insists that despite the governor's resignation, A New Missouri still must comply with the judge's order.

In an email to The Star Friday morning, A New Missouri's attorney, Catherine Hanaway, said she had filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider the order and a motion to delay turning over any documents until the judge can hear arguments.

"We are asking the judge to reconsider his previous order because Gov. Greitens will no longer be governor at 5:01 p.m. today and the House Special Committee on Investigative Oversight’s authority was limited to 'investigations against Governor Eric R. Greitens,' ” Hanaway said.

A spokesman for the Missouri House declined to comment.

House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, questioned earlier this week whether A New Missouri would be forced to comply with the subpoena once the governor is no longer in office. But numerous Republican lawmakers, including House Budget Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick, have demanded that the investigation into Greitens' dark money nonprofit continue.

A New Missouri Inc. was created by Greitens' campaign treasurer and his campaign attorney, and run by Austin Chambers, the governor’s senior political adviser. It shares headquarters and some staff with Greitens' campaign committee, Greitens for Missouri.

The building it's housed in was purchased shortly before A New Missouri was created by one of Greitens' biggest donors.

Because it's a nonprofit, A New Missouri is not required to disclose its donors or abide by the state's campaign contribution limits.

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Judge delays order forcing Greitens’ political nonprofit to hand over records."