Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is under pressure to return campaign donations from two companies that are suing the state.
Bailey recently withdrew from a lawsuit against the Missouri Highway Patrol, citing an unspecified conflict of interest. The suit was filed nearly two years before Bailey took office by Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil, which have been accused of operating illegal gambling devices. Private counsel now will be hired to defend the state.
Bailey’s office declined to say if he withdrew from the case because of the campaign contributions. A spokeswoman said Bailey withdrew from the lawsuit “to avoid any appearance of impropriety.”
Potential rivals for Bailey’s job noted his campaign received thousands of dollars in donations from political action committees associated with Steve Tilley, the chief lobbyist for Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil. One critic is Adam Moran, spokesman for Bailey’s Republican challenger Will Scharf, a former assistant U.S. attorney and policy director in Governor Eric Greitens’ short-lived administration.
Moran told the Columbia Daily Tribune, “It is ridiculous that taxpayer dollars will now have to be spent on hiring private lawyers to defend the public interest in this litigation because of Bailey’s decision to accept campaign contributions from parties adverse to the state and from their lobbyists.”
Moran pointed out Bailey’s predecessor, Eric Schmitt, returned a campaign contribution to Torch Electronics’ owner due to concerns over a conflict of interest. He said Scharf would pledge not to solicit or accept any campaign contributions from registered Missouri lobbyists or their PACs. “We call on Andrew Bailey to take the same pledge and return any such contributions that he has already received,” Moran said.
Democratic attorney general candidate Elad Gross of St. Louis, a government transparency advocate, told the Tribune that Bailey accepted the donations “fully knowing that his office was involved in this litigation. He has compromised his entire office on this issue. So sure, he should return the donations, but he should consider returning his law license, too.”
Kathleen Clark, a law professor of government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, said if Bailey created a conflict by accepting campaign contributions from a company he knew was in active litigation against the state, he has an obligation to say so.
Clark told the Tribune, “The attorney general’s office needs to explain what the conflict is, and in particular, whether it’s a conflict of its own making by accepting donations. This decision is going to cost the state money to hire private counsel. So, it seems to me that taxpayers deserve to know what has caused this conflict of interest, especially if it could have been avoided simply by refusing donations from anyone associated with this lawsuit.”
On March 30, five political action committees each donated $2,825 to Bailey’s candidate committee−the largest amount a candidate can accept. The five PACs−MO Majority, Missouri Senior, Missouri AG, Missouri C and Missouri Growth—are linked to Tilley. Last year, Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil gave a combined $275,000 to the five PACs, representing half of the money the PACs raised.
The five PACs also contributed to Liberty and Justice PAC, formed in late 2022 to help Bailey’s 2024 campaign. Bailey can help that PAC raise money, but he may not have any direct control over how it operates or spends donations.
None of the other potential candidates for attorney general have received contributions from Torch Electronics or Warrenton Oil, however, Gregg Keller, Torch’s longtime spokesman, serves as a senior adviser to Scharf’s campaign.
Further complicating the situation, last month the Missouri Gaming Association filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit against the Missouri Highway Patrol, which was filed in Cole County; the case is scheduled for a trial beginning July 31. The MGA, representing the state’s 13 licensed casinos, has long demanded a crackdown on Torch Electronics’ video gambling machines which now number thousands in convenience stores, truck stops and other retailers statewide; they’re also available in Warrenton Oil’s 50-plus locations. Torch’s attorney in the case is Marc Ellinger, who also serves as treasurer for Bailey’s campaign committee.
The case dates back to 2019 when the Missouri Highway Patrol began cracking down on the gambling machines and sent more than 200 cases alleging state gambling law violations to local prosecutors, but few criminal cases have been filed. Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil have asked the judge to declare the machines are not gambling devices and that the state overstepped its authority by removing them from convenience stores.
The Missouri Gaming Commission has declared the machines are gambling devices, which are prohibited outside of licensed casinos; the Missouri Highway Patrol also considers them illegal. However, Torch officials said since the games reveal the outcome of the wager before the next move, they are not games of chance and therefore are not illegal.
Bailey was asked about the issue shortly after he took office in January. He indicated his office would not pursue unregulated gaming machines, noting, “That is an issue that’s up to local law enforcement investigators and local prosecutors.”
