MO: Speaker Dean Plocher accused of 'absolute obstruction' in House ethics investigation

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher obstructed an investigation of his official acts through pressure on potential witnesses and refusing to issue subpoenas, bipartisan leaders of the House Ethics Committee alleged Monday.

Some potential witnesses allegedly refused to speak out of fear Plocher would use his power as speaker to retaliate against them. Others were out of reach because the speaker decided who the committee could compel to testify. And Plocher refused to cooperate with the attorney hired to collect evidence for the committee.

Details of the alleged obstruction were contained in a report laying out findings from the ethics committee’s months-long investigation that was released Monday night. The report concluded the committee lacked direct evidence of ethical misconduct in Plocher’s advocacy for a six-figure software contract, in his firing of a former staffer or in years of filing false expense reimbursement reports.

But Republican state Rep. Hannah Kelly of Mountain Grove, the committee’s chair, and Democratic state Rep. Robert Sauls of Independence, the vice chair, said the report demonstrates “absolute obstruction” that hindered the committee’s efforts to get to the truth.


https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/15/speaker-dean-plocher-accused-of-absolute-obstruction-in-house-ethics-investigation/