Bipartisan coalition files ethics complaint against Koster

A bipartisan coalition has filed an ethics complaint against attorney general candidate Chris Koster. The following news release was issued moments ago:

State Senators Scott Rupp (R-2) and Maida Coleman (D-8) joined today with former Assistant Attorney General Marion Eisen, a Democratic lawyer from St. Louis in filing an ethics complaint against Chris Koster's campaign for Attorney General. In an unprecedented move, the bipartisan complaint alleges that Chris Koster illegally coordinated the funneling of contributions in excess of campaign finance limits into his own campaign fund.

"Creating the Economic Growth Council, whose sole purpose was to redirect contributions in excess of the legal limits. First to legislative party committees and ultimately into his campaign violates the law" said Senator Scott Rupp.

"Candidates for Attorney General should be held to highest legal and ethical standard and the questions raised in last week's Associated Press report suggest that Mr. Koster violated the people's trust" said Senator Coleman.

"A thorough and timely investigation is warranted here so the people of Missouri know whether a candidate for the States top law enforcement position violated the law and cheated Missourians out of a fair primary election," added Marion Eisen.

The fundraising activities of Chris Koster's campaign have been the subject of recent media reports that detailed how a campaign staffer was involved in carrying out a scheme to make sure that returned "over the limit" contributions would find their way back into the Koster Attorney General campaign. According to those media reports, first reported by the Associated Press and David Lieb, Susan McNay, a senior staffer on the Koster campaign was directed to various locations across the state delivering checks from the newly created Economic Growth Council to legislative party committees, which in turn handed over checks to the Koster campaign.

"Koster claims he received guidance and the OK from the Missouri Ethics Commission every step of the way," said the coalition. "If that is true then there is no reason to deny a prompt response to our complaint, and thereby restore public confidence in this tainted election process," the coalition added.

In the complaint the coalition also calls on the Missouri Ethics Commission to freeze the use of the funds received by the Koster for Missouri campaign from the Economic Growth Council.