As Andrew Bailey entered state government, Missouri’s top lawyer wiped own record clean
By St. Louis Post-Dispatch via My Courier-Tribune
JEFFERSON CITY — Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is trying to reel in voters in his quest for a full, four-year term, received two citations for violating Missouri conservation laws more than two decades ago.
But, through Missouri’s expungement statutes, the Republican appointee essentially is off the hook for his past deeds after he was able to clear his record when he went to work for the state Department of Corrections in 2018, the Post-Dispatch has learned.
The expungements cover two incidents in which Bailey was fishing, his campaign said. In one, at age 18, he said he paid a $15 fine for staying in a park after hours following a fishing expedition. Later, while in college, he paid a $25 fine for violating another conservation law.
Neither of the citations affected his ability to enter the military, obtain a law license or receive state approval to serve as a foster parent, campaign spokesman Mike Hafner said.
The expungements, which took place in a Callaway County courtroom, surfaced as Bailey is seeking the Republican nomination for attorney general against Will Scharf, a former aide to Gov. Eric Greitens and an attorney for former President Donald Trump.
Bailey has sought to depict Scharf, a Clayton resident, as a wealthy out-of-state attorney seeking to gain a foothold in national politics.
When Greitens resigned in 2018, Scharf worked in Washington and New York before coming to St. Louis in 2020 to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in the violent crimes division.
“Like millions of Missourians Andrew Bailey loves to wet a line as often as he can and enjoy our beautiful ponds, lakes, and rivers. We invite Manhattanite Will Scharf to join him some day to learn what a fishing rod is and experience all Missouri has to offer,” Hafner said.
Scharf signaled he wasn’t taking the bait.
“I love fishing too,” Scharf told the Post-Dispatch, adding, “I’ve never violated state fishing law.”
Missouri laws allow individuals who commit certain crimes to seal those offenses under specific circumstances.
An expunged record is not publicly accessible and would require a court order to reopen the record. Individuals who have had crimes expunged do not have to disclose those crimes except in specific instances.
In all, nearly 2,000 offenses qualify for expungement. Crimes that are ineligible for expungement include felonies involving sexual crimes, death, kidnapping and domestic assault.
In order to file for an expungement, individuals must have paid their fines, completed probation or parole and have had a clean slate for three years.
In the case of misdemeanor fishing or conservation violations, a person would have to wait one year to be eligible.
A judge must determine that the petitioner is not a threat to public safety and that expungement is in the public interest.
The primary election is Aug. 6.
