MO Supreme Court rebukes Koch-linked group’s mailer that used photo of Schmitt with judges
The Supreme Court of Missouri on Friday condemned the use of a photograph of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt with three court judges in a campaign mailer for Schmitt’s U.S. Senate campaign.
“The judges are disappointed that this photo was used, without their knowledge or consent, for such a blatant political purpose,” said statement from the high court.
A staff member in Schmitt’s office took the photograph during Missouri’s bicentennial celebration last year, the statement said.
Twitter user April McDonald posted a photograph of the mailer in response to a tweet by former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. The mailer featured an image of Schmitt with Chief Justice Paul C. Wilson and Judges Mary R. Russell and W. Brent Powell during the bicentennial celebration.
The mailer was paid for by Americans for Prosperity Action, an influential conservative group tied to Kansas billionaire Charles Koch that advocates against taxes and government spending. The group endorsed Schmitt’s U.S. Senate campaign in November.
Jeremy Cady, AFP Action’s Missouri senior advisor, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday. A spokesperson also did not return a call and an email for comment.
Schmitt campaign spokesperson Rich Chrismer told The Star Friday that the mailer was an “independent expenditure” and was not paid for by Schmitt or his campaign.
The state Supreme Court learned of the mailer late Thursday evening. It asked the attorney general’s office to delete the photograph and any similar photographs from its public or social media accounts, the statement said.
“Neither the Court nor its judges had any knowledge that the photograph would be distributed or used in a political context,” the statement said. “Furthermore, none of the judges did – or ever would – consent to their names, titles or likenesses being used in any political context.”
The attorney general’s office posted the same photograph of Schmitt with the three judges on Twitter last year. In a statement to The Star, Schmitt’s official spokesperson defended the photograph being used on social media.
“As is common practice amongst elected officials, the Attorney General’s Office has publicly posted thousands of pictures of the Attorney General at public events, including the Bicentennial event, across multiple social media channels,” said Schmitt’s official spokesperson Chris Nuelle.
Nuelle did not respond to a follow up question about whether the office would delete the photograph from social media.
The Missouri Constitution prohibits state Supreme Court judges from engaging in any political activity. The high court said the judges depicted in the photograph were “reporting the incident.”
The statement did not clarify to which agency the judges were reporting the incident.
The two Missouri agencies that handle legal ethics cases are the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline and the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.
