The Missouri Ethics Commission on Friday dismissed a complaint against Attorney General Josh Hawley over his failure to disclose free legal representation from a Washington, D.C., law firm.
St. Louis attorney Jane Dueker — a Democrat who was chief of staff for former Missouri Gov. Bob Holden — filed a complaint in March alleging that Hawley had failed to disclose pro bono legal services he’d received on campaign finance forms.
Hawley should have been required to report the free legal help as an in-kind donation to his campaign or as a gift on his personal financial disclosure, Dueker argued.
Hawley was a professor at the University of Missouri’s law school before running for attorney general. The law firm Cooper & Kirk provided legal assistance when Hawley was sued under Missouri’s open records law for emails and other documents during his time at MU. The suit was dismissed in September 2016.
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In a letter Friday morning, the ethics commission ruled that Cooper & Kirk’s legal work was not directly related to Hawley’s campaign, so it didn’t count as an in-kind donation. The commission also ruled, based on an earlier case, that pro bono legal work doesn’t count as a gift, so Hawley was off the hook on both accounts.
Hawley, who is running for U.S. Senate, is the Republican front runner to challenge U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in November.
Kelli Ford, a spokesperson for Hawley's Senate campaign, said by email that the commission's decision was appreciated.
“It’s no surprise that a frivolous complaint by a Democrat operative and supported by Claire McCaskill was dismissed,” Ford said.
Dueker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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