Jason Hancock
Politics and Policy Reporter | The Missouri IndependentJason Hancock has spent two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, with most of that time focused on the Missouri statehouse as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. A three-time National Headliner Award winner, he helped launch The Missouri Independent in October 2020.
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It’s taken Attorney General Andrew Bailey his entire first year in office to work through a backlog of requests he inherited from his predecessor. -
He was arguably the most powerful politician in Missouri until he faced allegations of corruption and sexual assault. Now it’s Rod Jetton’s job to help another speaker navigate accusations of misconduct. -
Accused of threatening legislative staff and stealing from taxpayers, Dean Plocher has denied any wrongdoing and rebuffed calls for his resignation. -
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher is facing calls for his resignation following revelations that he filed false expense reports with the legislature to be personally reimbursed for travel already paid for by his campaign.
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The top lawmaker in the Missouri House filed false expense reports numerous times since 2018 and began paying back the money he received last week. -
The parent company for Doe Run cut at $50,000 check to a PAC supporting Andrew Bailey three months after he filed a brief in support of the lead smelter in federal court. -
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher's bid for the state's Lieutenant Governor's seat comes months initially floated his candidacy and weeks after he was accused of ‘unlawful’ conduct by legislative staff. -
The attorney general’s office says it has five staffers working on the Sunshine Law backlog and a policy of not charging fees for processing requests. But the first come, first serve strategy has meant hundreds of requests wait in limbo for months — even years. -
Speaker of the House denies accusations uncovered in public records that he threatened staff when pressing for the legislature to award a lucrative contract to a private company. -
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated much of the lower court’s injunction, with the exception of a provision it narrowed concerning alleged coercion against social media companies. -
The Missouri Attorney General's slow response times have renewed scrutiny over how the office handles enforcing state transparency laws. -
The audit is not a routine, scheduled review. It was initiated by Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick and began Aug. 2 with a meeting with officials at the Department of Health and Senior Services.
