Missouri state Rep. Gina Mitten returns to the Politically Speaking podcast to talk about serving on the committee that investigated former Gov. Eric Greitens.
The Richmond Heights Democrat represents Missouri’s 83rd District, which includes portions of St. Louis and eastern St. Louis County. She is running unopposed in 2018 for what will be her last term in the Missouri House.
Mitten was one of three Democrats who were members of a committee that looked into Greitens conduct. The committee ended up releasing a bombshell report in April where Greitens was accused of sexual and physical abuse, which he denied. But the personal and campaign finance allegations against Greitens prompted lawmakers to convene a special session to consider possible impeachment.
Ultimately, Greitens resigned in early June — which effectively brought the committee’s work to a close. That short-circuited efforts to find out who contributed to a politically-active nonprofit known as A New Missouri that assisted Greitens — or who supplied a newspaper publisher with cash to the lawyer of the man who exposed the scandal.
Here’s what Mitten talked about during the show:
- She went into detail about state Rep. Jay Barnes’ ethics complaint, which among other things contends that Greitens purposely evaded campaign donation limits by steering money to a politically-active nonprofit known as A New Missouri.
- She was disappointed that the committee disbanded before it could discover the funding for A New Missouri. “Missourians deserve to know how we got to where we are,” she said.
- Mitten said the Greitens saga should provide the legislature with incentive to require politically-active nonprofits to disclose their donors.
- She also believes that nonprofits that donate to causes, such as a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage, should be up front about where their money is coming from.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Jo Mannies on Twitter: @jmannies
Follow Gina Mitten on Twitter: @gcmitts
Music: “Closing Time” by Semisonic
