Last week, the Associated Press revealed that Missouri Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster never implemented a gift ban policy from organizations under investigation by his office. That’s despite a pledge to do so months earlier.
But Koster went further this week, showing how little he cares about his conflict of interest issues. Eli Yokley’s morning email has the details:
Overnight, Democratic candidate Chris Koster hosted a huge fundraiser (400+) at the Grand Renaissance Ballroom in downtown St. Louis, hosted by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. The guest list included former Gov. Bob Holden, U.S. Senate candidate Jason Kander, executives from Ameren, Noranda, Monsanto, and AT&T, to name a few. Koster delivered his new community college-focused speech to the packed ball room, where he received a good response. …
Catch that? AT&T, who had executives at last night’s Koster fundraiser, was included in the initial New York Times piece that revealed Koster’s “pay to play” system:
AT&T was also subject to an investigation by Mr. Koster’s office, something that Mr. Nash learned at the conference held at the Loews hotel.
So not only is Koster not implementing the gift ban policy he pledged he would, he’s continuing to attend political fundraisers with executives whose companies regularly work with the attorney general’s office.
Oh, and it’s nice to see Jason Kander apparently has no problem with the way Koster conducts business.