Attorney General Jay Nixon is getting more flack over donations his gubernatorial campaign received indirectly from Ameren Corporation. The Associated Press reported Nixon's coffers got a $19,000 boost from monies contributed by Democratic committees. Those committees had received donations from Ameren Corporation during the first quarter of this year.
Now from the AP comes word that the Department of Natural Resources might ask Nixon to remove himself from any legal action over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse.
DNR director Doyle Childers says he is losing faith in Nixon's
ability to represent the state in its case against Ameren, which
delayed repairs at Taum Sauk before it collapsed.
Nixon says those contributions won't affect his effort to pursue a settlement or lawsuit of some kind with Ameren. The committees that gave Nixon the money said there is nothing illegal or unethical about their donations.
This isn't the first time Nixon has faced these kinds of money for facors accusations. In 1999-2000, he was accused of sending legal work on the state's tobacco settlement to Springfield attorney Tom Strong, a Nixon campaign contributor. When Nixon recently asked Gov. Matt Blunt to veto a bill that would eliminate contribution limits, Republicans had a field day.
Only 882 days until the election.
1 comment:
I used to work in the attorney general's office in jefferson city and I can tell you this kind of thing only scratches the surface. The media hasn't really examined anything Jay has done except the no-call list because he hasn't had a serious political opponent since 1998.
There is a link between his involvement in several cases that result in settlements after the accused made a contribution to his campaign. It's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds.
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