Mark Pedroli

The state of Missouri is defending itself with an argument that could deliver "fatal blows" to the Sunshine Law: As long as officials don’t bother to keep records in the first place, they can’t be held responsible for refusing to turn them over to the public.

At least 27 staffers for then-Gov. Eric Greitens used the app Confide, which shielded their communications from public view.

St. Louis attorneys Elad Gross and Mark Pedroli got a surprise in a set of documents they recently unearthed via Sunshine requests: proof that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office exchanged emails with the Rule of Law Defense Fund leading up to the November 2020 election — and continued to receive numerous communications from the fund afterward.

A lawsuit filed Friday aims to open closed-door meetings and obtain documents held by a city working group considering leasing St. Louis Lambert…