Ethics panel rejects reprimand for Missouri House speaker

By St. Louis Post-Dispatch via My Courier-Tribune

JEFFERSON CITY — A bipartisan committee of Missouri lawmakers rejected a report Monday recommending House Speaker Dean Plocher be reprimanded for a series of alleged ethical breaches last year.

While that may bode well for the Des Peres Republican who has his eye on the secretary of state’s office, House Ethics Committee Chairwoman Hannah Kelly, a Mountain Grove Republican, made public for the first time the details of Plocher’s alleged obstruction in the probe and called for changes in how future investigations are conducted.

“We have come to the end of this process,” Kelly said after forcing the public release of the evidence. “I have done all I can do.”

The 10-member committee, split equally between Republicans and Democrats, has been meeting behind closed doors since October after a complaint was filed against Plocher. As part of House rules, members do not discuss their deliberations, leaving observers guessing about what might transpire.

Kelly, under heavy pressure to bring the six-month probe to an end, said leaks to news media indicated there was someone on the panel who was improperly passing along confidential information.

Had Kelly not asked for a vote in a public meeting, the report containing evidence collected in connection with the investigation could have been kept under wraps at a time when Plocher is seeking statewide office.

“We have come to the point where I don’t know what else I can do,” Kelly said. “The House rules are not structured to investigate the speaker.”

Plocher told the Post-Dispatch that he was disappointed in how long the committee worked but did not have a comment about the recommendation that he be censured.

“I don’t know what the report says. I’d love to read the report,” Plocher said. “I think this should have been done in November. I think it’s absurd it’s gone on this long.”

Among those voting against accepting the report was Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville.

“There was more in the report I wanted to discuss,” Francis said.

Rep. John Black, R-Marshfield, also voted “no” after being rebuffed in an attempt to close the meeting to further discuss the report.

“It’s out of order at this time,” Kelly said.

The vote to adopt the report failed on a 2-6 vote, with Kelly and Vice Chairman Robert Sauls the lone “yes” votes.

According to the report, a lawyer hired to collect evidence said the speaker’s office put up roadblocks as she investigated for the committee.

“I have not encountered more unwilling witnesses in any investigation in my career,” the attorney wrote.

Another potential witness was “highly encouraged” not to testify by Rep. Dale Wright, R-Farmington, the report noted.

And Plocher failed to respond to at least three interview requests before he eventually appeared with his attorney, the report said.

The committee launched its work in October after a complaint was filed against Plocher after he acknowledged he had falsely billed taxpayers for travel to conferences in Hawaii and elsewhere.

The committee also heard testimony related to Plocher’s efforts to purchase an $800,000 software program for the House without going through normal bidding channels.

His push to purchase the software was jettisoned by a House committee after members suggested Plocher was trying to use political connections to help a company win a state contract.

In addition to calling the proposed contract an unnecessary duplication of what lawmakers already are being offered, House Chief Clerk Dana Miller also expressed concern that a feature of the program would allow lawmakers to export data obtained within their official capacity as a state representative to the campaign side of their jobs.

The report says Miller testified that the environment in the speaker’s office was “toxic.”

As the scandal unfolded, Plocher fired two aides, while another one resigned, leading to a major shake-up of the speaker’s office as the legislative session was beginning.

The report notes that Plocher’s political consultant, David Barklage, urged the speaker to fire his chief of staff. Barklage was among a list of longtime Capitol insiders testifying in front of the panel.

Plocher’s plight triggered calls for him to step down as speaker, but a majority of House Republicans who selected the attorney and former municipal judge as their leader have remained supportive of him.

Plocher had thought the committee, which had met 10 previous times, would issue a report last week. He was poised to hold a news conference about the decision Thursday but quickly canceled it when the panel adjourned without taking action.

Other committee members voting against the reprimand were Democratic Reps. David Tyson Smith of Columbia, Marlene Terry of St. Louis County, Jerome Barnes of Raytown and Paula Brown of Hazelwood.

Rep. Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway, R-Festus, voted “present.”

Rep. Mike McGirl, R-Potosi, was absent.