Eric Greitens' nonprofit could face huge fines after lawmaker's ethics complaint

A nonprofit supporting Eric Greitens could face millions of dollars in civil penalties if the Missouri Ethics Commission substantiates a complaint filed by a state lawmaker who investigated the former governor.

Rep. Jay Barnes, the Republican lawmaker who chaired the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight (SICO), filed the complaint Tuesday against A New Missouri, Inc., and against the Greitens for Missouri campaign committee.

Lawmakers investigated Greitens for several months prior to Greitens' June 1 resignation. Their findings led Barnes to make several allegations against Greitens' campaign and A New Missouri, which identifies itself as a nonprofit organization and was formed and operated by several Greitens campaign aides. Barnes has previously called the nonprofit a "criminal enterprise."

A New Missouri "failed" to comply

"From its inception, A New Missouri, Inc., operated as an appendage of Greitens for Missouri," Barnes said in the complaint, which alleges that "A New Missouri, Inc. expended funds for the primary and incidental purpose of influencing or attempting to influence voters for the further election to public office of Eric Greitens, including the production, distribution, and purchase of air time for television commercials that were effectively campaign advertisements for Eric Greitens."

Read more: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/10/eric-greitens-nonprofit-faces-huge-fines-lawmakers-ethics-complaint-new-missouri-campaign-finance/773232002/