Latest news with #MissouriAttorneyGeneral'sOffice
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Watchdog group calls for St. Louis Sheriff's removal over alleged misconduct
ST. LOUIS – The Holy Joe Society, a nonprofit organization focused on government transparency, has sent a letter to St. Louis and Missouri officials calling for the removal of City of St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery. The Holy Joe Society sent the letter Friday to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore and St. Louis City Counselor Michael Garvin. The letter outlines four specific allegations against Sheriff Montgomery, asserting he has willfully neglected his duties 'with respect to the criminal laws of the state.' The allegations cited in the letter include…The letter alleges Montgomery used government vehicles and employees of his office during work hours to transport his children to and from letter alleges Montgomery 'personally purported' to arrest the city's Acting Corrections Commissioner, despite lacking the legal authority to do letter accuses Montgomery of forcing a deputy to roll dice to determine whether that deputy would be letter alleges Montgomery has failed and refused to assign sufficient deputies for courthouse security and for transporting detainees in need of medical care. The letter cites Missouri State Statute 106.220 behind the request, which allows for removal of elected officials who fail to devote time to their duties, willfully neglect their official duties or misuse their office. FOX 2 has reached out to a communications spokesperson for Sheriff Alfred Montgomery's Office for comment on the letter. The spokesperson said 'I don't have anything for you right now,' and was unable to speak to the specific letter as of Friday afternoon, but said he would contact FOX 2 if that changes. It remains to be determined what comes next after the letter was sent to Missouri and St. Louis state officials. Just two years ago, former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned after a legal challenge to remove her from office, a quo warranto from the Missouri Attorney General's Office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mississippi sues China for $200bn for costs associated with the Covid-19 pandemic
The state of Mississippi has declared victory in its $200 billion Covid lawsuit against the People's Republic of China - now it just has to work out how to get paid. Officials in Mississippi must wait for a federal judge to determine if China can be forced to pay it the massive sum after it failed to show up in court in March and a default judgment was entered against it. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch sued China and other parties back in 2020, claiming the country deliberately hid information about the Covid-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the AG's office dismissed the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, reported The Clarion-Ledger. The suit alleges that China failed to fully share the dangers of the deadly virus as it tried to 'corner the market' on PPE equipment such as masks as it spread across the globe. 'The Defendants engaged in a cover-up and a misleading public relations campaign, which included censoring scientists and ordering the destruction and suppression of valuable research,' the AG's office said in a statement. 'Further, the foreign Defendants bought up the supply of PPE, committed hostile takeovers of U.S. factories in China to prevent them from shipping PPE to the U.S., and then turned around and sold substandard PPE to Mississippi at inflated prices - all while hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, including in Mississippi, began to get sick and die.' Fitch claims China earned $6.2 trillion on PPE sales in 2020, while more than 13,000 victims died of the virus in Mississippi. The AG claims she can sue under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the state's antitrust laws. In March, the Missouri Attorney General's Office said it was looking at seizing $24.5 billion in Chinese assets in the state to recoup damages in a similar COVID-19 lawsuit. However, it's unclear how Mississippi would collect any money from China, which has never recognized the lawsuit as being valid or the federal court as having jurisdiction. Last month, the White House launched a website stating that the coronavirus came from a lab leak in China. In response, China made the case that the virus may have originated in the U.S.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More education is needed on Missouri's Sunshine Law
Sunshine Law is the foundation of government transparency in Missouri. The more we know, the better we can hold power accountable (Getty Images). Missouri journalists know the Sunshine Law because we use it every day. We push to keep government records and meetings open and accessible because it is necessary for our reporting. But what about the general public? Most Missourians don't realize they rely on the Sunshine Law just as much as journalists do. Whether checking school board minutes, reading a local crime report or watching a city council meeting, Sunshine Law ensures government transparency. Yet, many people — public officials and citizens alike — don't fully understand how it works, and that's why the Missouri Sunshine Coalition is committed to educating communities. In January, we co-hosted two free Missouri Sunshine Law training sessions in northeast Missouri — one in Edina (Knox County) and another in Palmyra (Marion County). These sessions were open to the public and drew a strong turnout, especially from local government officials who wanted and needed to learn more about the laws governing public records. The biggest takeaway? Basic Sunshine Law knowledge is not common, even among those required to follow it. Increasing Sunshine Law education statewide is a key part of the coalition's mission. Why? Because knowledge is power. The more local officials and citizens know about their rights and responsibilities surrounding public information, the better our society will be. And demand for this information is high. In Edina, the trainer, a former director of Sunshine Law compliance at the Missouri Attorney General's Office, noted it was the largest training session he had conducted in his two years in the role. In Palmyra, he said the turnout was among the biggest in the state. During our training sessions, we saw firsthand how public bodies struggle to fully understand Sunshine Law requirements. Officials expressed confusion over: When and how to legally close a meeting. What topics can and cannot be discussed in closed session. How to handle the public portions of closed meeting records. The good news? The training sessions made a big difference, with many officials left feeling more confident about fulfilling public information requests, and exit surveys showed strong support for making Sunshine Law training an annual event. For those outside of northeast Missouri, both training sessions — Edina and Palmyra — are available on YouTube (@TheEdinaSentinel). The videos run 70 to 90 minutes and are packed with useful, real-world information for journalists, government officials, and engaged citizens alike. Sunshine Law is the foundation of government transparency in Missouri. The more we know, the better we can hold power accountable.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Missouri Sunshine Law allows government agencies to be held accountable
(Getty Images). From March 16-22, journalists, news and media organizations, civic groups, libraries, watchdogs, schools and open government advocates across Missouri will recognize Sunshine Week because, as James Madison once said, 'government works best when it's being watched.' For the most part, I think many media outlets have established a working relationship with public officials in their communities, but occasionally, those relationships go sideways and our only recourse are open records law to shine light on the situation. In Missouri, this is the Sunshine Law. Since 2022, I have been using the state's Sunshine Law (RSMo. 610) to gather information in the city of Belle. I began working as a newspaper reporter in Belle in 2016, and after six years of good relationships with the Belle Board of Aldermen, a newly appointed mayor made information harder to obtain. I learned of meetings after they took place and struggled to find out what was on the agenda because none were posted or available when requested. I noted the potential Sunshine Law violations in subsequent articles. I printed the times and dates of people I contacted for information and the questions to which I couldn't find or get answers. Every source turned into a brick wall as local officials declined to take my phone calls Eventually, the board said they only had to provide documentation — not answer questions. Instead of a fully open four-man board, plus a mayor willing to go on the record, I was sent directly to the mayor as the spokesman for the board and the city. The information was convoluted, and I was regularly accused of inaccurately quoting them, though I could prove the articles were correct. In every conversation, the mayor questioned my motivation. Why did I not care about the city? For what reason do people need to know about the information I am requesting? Would I ruin their chances to do this or that by printing the information? Eventually, the city of Belle was turned in for allegations of breaking Sunshine Law. In June 2023, the Missouri Attorney General's Office asked officials to respond to the allegations and fulfill a Sunshine Law request. When I asked the mayor if his response to the allegations would be completed by the Attorney General's deadline, he said, 'I've got (expletive deleted) people like you breathin' down my neck ready if I do somethin' wrong. It needs to be done properly, don't ya think?' The mayor was approaching his first anniversary in office and The Advocate staff had attended board meetings to express concerns about the wrong information or no information posted in meeting notices at Belle City Hall. One time the meeting notice wasn't posted at all, and another time the meeting was posted with the wrong date. Mostly a notice would be posted to call the meeting with no agenda, violating State Statute RSMo. 610.020.1 — all government bodies should give notice of the time, date and place of each meeting, and a tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably calculated to advise the public of matters to be considered. Despite requesting to be informed about meetings at the same time as the board, as state law says, I was informed that the notice was posted on the door. Sometimes notices were posted at the end of the work day for a meeting the following day. I began checking the door in the morning and afternoon, taking pictures regardless if there was a notice. I would request meeting minutes and correspondence records from the clerk, a competent woman who was struggling with the lack of information coming from the mayor. She would provide them promptly or right away. Eventually, she was not informed about the meetings or asked to leave a closed session, making minutes even harder to obtain depending on who took notes. I fought over RSMo. 610.022.2 — naming the specific reason for closing a public meeting or vote by reference to the specific section of the chapter, which should be announced publicly at an open meeting and entered into the meeting minutes. Personnel was always the reason. Mostly there was no action in closed session according to the minutes. Sometimes several actions took place other than personnel. Receiving records in the format in which I request them (RSMo. 610.023.3) is still a battle. I ask for them to be sent electronically. Due to threats to withhold the minutes for three days or not being able to complete them sooner, I've even requested to take pictures of the clerk's written minutes before leaving a meeting as they count as legal records. Should the clerk deny a media representative's request to take pictures of their notes at the end of the meeting, according to RSMo. 610.023.4, if requested, they must provide a written reason explaining why. The Missouri Attorney General's Office on Dec. 19, 2023, filed five counts of Sunshine Law violations against the city. They settled out of court in June 2024. In April 2024, an alderman was elected to the mayor seat and two former city officials won aldermen seats. The alderman-turned-mayor continues to act as the board's spokesman. The previous clerk was terminated, and her replacement doesn't have an established understanding of Sunshine Law. The Advocate is charged for time, research and copy fees for all documents, including the board's meeting packets, correspondence, and bids. It is difficult to gather information from past meeting packets. In a recent situation, the board voted via text message between meetings to trade or give away roughly $33,500 worth of equipment. The newspaper acquired copies of the text messages via a Sunshine Law request, which they willingly provided and entered into record at the following city meeting. Ideally, the first line of communication takes place between the government and the media, and the Sunshine Law allows us to double-check facts. In situations where the press is being pushed out, the Sunshine Law becomes a lifeline to holding government agencies accountable.
