Kehoe appoints Hanaway as next attorney general
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) — With Attorney General Andrew Bailey set to head to Washington, D.C., this September to work for the FBI after being tapped by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, Gov. Mike Kehoe has appointed a new attorney general.
Kehoe said Tuesday that Catherine Hanaway will take over Sept. 8. She will be the first female attorney general.
Hanaway was a Republican House Speaker from 2003-2005, the first and only woman to hold the post.
Bailey, a Republican, previously challenged COVID-19 masking in schools as well as gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers. Bailey also created the anti-human trafficking task force and was a strong supporter of pro-law enforcement legislation.
Bailey also has a record as a state official loyal to President Donald Trump, supporting administration policies with dozens of legal filings since he took office in January 2023. Former Gov. Mike Parson appointed Bailey in 2022, and he was elected to AG in 2024.
Democratic House Minority Leader Rep. Ashley Aune said in a statement Monday that the House Minority Caucus hopes Kehoe will appoint a competent attorney general."
"Bailey's departure gives the governor an opportunity to appoint a competent and
professional attorney general who will defend the rights of all Missourians instead of wasting
taxpayer money on frivolous culture war lawsuits that regularly get laughed out of court, Aune said.
Hanaway works for the law firm Husch Blackwell, representing white collar clients in areas such as lobbying law, fraud and money laundering. One of her clients is the Grain Belt Express, a renewable energy project that Bailey staunchly opposed.
Kehoe, in making the announcement, said Hanaway was a champion for conservative Missouri values.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
9 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
9/11 victims' fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — An attorney who helped design and implement the 9/11 victims' compensation fund says New Hampshire lawmakers have eroded the fairness of a settlement program for those who were abused at the state's youth detention center. Deborah Greenspan, who served as deputy special master of the fund created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, recently submitted an affidavit in a class-action lawsuit seeking to block changes to New Hampshire's out-of-court settlement fund for abuse victims. She's among those expected to testify Wednesday at a hearing on the state's request to dismiss the case and other matters. More than 1,300 people have sued the state since 2020 alleging that they were physically or sexually abused as children while in state custody, mostly at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Most of them put their lawsuits on hold after lawmakers created a settlement fund in 2022 that was pitched as a 'victim-centered' and 'trauma-informed' alternative to litigation run by a neutral administrator appointed by the state Supreme Court. But the Republican-led Legislature changed that process through last-minute additions to the state budget Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed in June. The amended law gives the governor authority to hire and fire the fund's administrator and gives the attorney general — also a political appointee — veto power over settlement awards. That stands in stark contrast to other victim compensation funds, said Greenspan, who currently serves as a court-appointed special master for lawsuits related to lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan. She said it 'strains credulity' to believe that anyone would file a claim knowing that 'the persons ultimately deciding the claim were those responsible for the claimant's injuries.' 'Such a construct would go beyond the appearance of impropriety and create a clear conflict of interest, undermining the fairness and legitimacy of the settlement process," she wrote. Ayotte and Attorney General John Formella responded by asking a judge to bar Greenspan's testimony, saying she offered 'policy preferences masquerading as expert opinions' without explaining the principles beyond her conclusions. 'Her affidavit is instead a series of non sequiturs that move from her experience to her conclusions without any of the necessary connective tissue,' they wrote. The defendants argue that the law still requires the administrator to be 'an independent, neutral attorney' and point out that the same appointment process is used for the state's judges. They said giving the attorney general the authority to accept or reject settlements is necessary to give the public a voice and ensure that the responsibility for spending millions of dollars in public funds rests with the executive branch. As of June 30, nearly 2,000 people had filed claims with the settlement fund, which caps payouts at $2.5 million. A total of 386 had been settled, with an average award of $545,000. One of the claimants says he was awarded $1.5 million award in late July, but the state hasn't finalized it yet, leaving him worried that Formella will veto it. 'I feel like the state has tricked us,' he said in an interview this week. 'We've had the rug pulled right out from underneath us.' The Associated Press does not name those who say they were sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly. The claimant, now 39, said the two years he spent at the facility as a teenager were the hardest times of his life. 'I lost my childhood. I lost things that I can't get back,' he said. 'I was broken.' Though the settlement process was overwhelming and scary at times, the assistant administrator who heard his case was kind and understanding, he said. That meeting alone was enough to lift a huge burden, he said. 'I was treated with a lot of love,' he said. 'I felt really appreciated as a victim and like I was speaking to somebody who would listen and believe my story.' Separate from the fund, the state has settled two lawsuits by agreeing to pay victims $10 million and $4.5 million. Only one lawsuit has gone to trial, resulting in a $38 million verdict, though the state is trying to slash it to $475,000. The state has also brought criminal charges against former workers, with two convictions and two mistrials so far. The 39-year-old claimant who fears his award offer will be retracted said he doesn't know if he could face testifying at a public trial. 'It's basically allowing the same people who hurt us to hurt us all over again,' he said.
UPI
40 minutes ago
- UPI
Immigrant detention center "Cornhusker Clink" to open in Nebraska
1 of 3 | Governor of Nebraska James Pillen speaks during a statue unveiling ceremony for American Writer Willa Cather, known for writing about America's Great Plains and the pioneer experience, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The Trump administration unveiled plans Tuesday for the "Cornhusker Clink," its latest project to expand immigrant detention centers in partnership with state authorities. The center will be located within the Work Ethic Camp, a minimum security state prison, located in McCook, a small town in Nebraska of about 7,000 people. The Cornhusker Clink will add up to 280 beds to house immigrants captured by Immigration Customs Enforcement agents as part of the Trump administration's plans for mass deportations. The facility is the third of its kind, and is part of a partnership between Republican governors and federal authorities. Like two facilities unveiled earlier, the name of the Cornhusker Clink makes the same use of alliteration and reference to local touchstones as Florida's Alligator Alcatraz and Indiana's Speedway Slammer. "I'm grateful for President Trump to say, 'It is important that we find the criminals, the bad people and remove them," Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said at a press conference. "And so we're on the team." Pillen said that in addition to the new detention center about 20 members of the Nebraska National Guard will provide administrative support to ICE officials. He also said that the Nebraska State Patrol will also participate in a federal program that will allow them to work with ICE agents. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X that the project would "help remove the worst of the worst out of our country." Trump's immigration crackdown has been criticized for disregarding civil rights and due process, while targeting immigrants who have not committed crimes. In Nebraska, not everyone was happy about being home to the Cornhusker Clinker. State Sen. George Dungan told KETV that he was "incredibly concerned" that the governor made the move without consulting the legislature, especially when immigration is a federal issue. He pointed to Trump's role in scuttling a bipartisan immigration reform bill last year before taking office. "It's really concerning to see President Trump creating a problem and then our governor stepping up and saying, 'we are going to fix this problem that was created by the federal government,'" he said. "I don't see how this is the Nebraska taxpayer's problem." The Nebraska Democratic Party responded with a post on X, saying that Trump and Pillen have "thrown due process out the window, all to appease their base." "They have promised to go after criminals and instead have locked up hardworking moms and dads who contribute their skills to our agricultural economy," the party wrote.
an hour ago
US troops won't be sent to help defend Ukraine, Trump says
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that U.S. troops would not be sent to help defend Ukraine against Russia after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before. Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine's hopes of joining NATO and regaining the Crimean Peninsula from Russia are 'impossible.' The Republican president, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders held hours of talks at the White House on Monday aimed at bringing an end to Russia's war against Ukraine. While answering questions from journalists, Trump did not rule out sending U.S. troops to participate in a European-led effort to defend Ukraine as part of security guarantees sought by Zelenskyy. Trump said after his meeting in Alaska last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin was open to the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine. But asked Tuesday on Fox News Channel's 'Fox & Friends' what assurances he could provide going forward and beyond his term that American troops would not be part of defending Ukraine's border, Trump said, 'Well, you have my assurance, and I'm president.' Trump would have no control over the U.S. military after his term ends in January 2029. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later on Tuesday emphasized that 'U.S. boots will not be on the ground' as part of any potential peacekeeping mission. The president also said in the interview that he is optimistic that a deal can be reached to end the Russian invasion, but he underscored that Ukraine will have to set aside its hope of getting back Crimea, which was seized by Russian forces in 2014, and its long-held aspirations of joining the NATO military alliance. 'Both of those things are impossible,' Trump said. Putin, as part of any potential deal to pull his forces out of Ukraine, is looking for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as recognition of Crimea as Russian territory. Trump on Monday said that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But the Kremlin has not yet said whether Putin, who has resisted previous calls by Trump and others for direct negotiations on ending the war, is committed to a face-to-face meeting with the Ukrainian leader. Asked whether Putin has promised Trump that he'll meet directly with the Ukrainian leader, Leavitt responded affirmatively. 'He has,' Leavitt said of Putin. Trump, early on Monday during talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders, said that he was pressing for three-way talks among Zelenskyy, Putin and himself. But after speaking to Putin later in the day, Trump said that he was arranging first for a face-to-face between Zelenskyy and Putin and that three-way talks would follow if necessary. 'It was an idea that evolved in the course of the president's conversations with both President Putin, President Zelensky and the European leaders yesterday,' Leavitt explained. But when discussing a phone call held after the meeting between Trump and the Russian leader, Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov gave no indication that either a bilateral or a trilateral meeting with Ukraine had been agreed. Trump said he believed Putin's course of action would become clear in the coming weeks. 'I think Putin is tired of it,' Trump said. 'I think they're all tired of it. But you never know. We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. That I can tell you.'
