{"id":2223618,"date":"2024-04-17T18:42:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T22:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-house-speaker-accused-of-obstructing-investigation-into-his-own-alleged-misconduct\/"},"modified":"2024-04-17T18:44:38","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T22:44:38","slug":"missouri-house-speaker-accused-of-obstructing-investigation-into-his-own-alleged-misconduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-house-speaker-accused-of-obstructing-investigation-into-his-own-alleged-misconduct\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri House speaker facing allegations of hindering probe into his own alleged wrongdoing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmissouri-house-speaker-accused-of-obstructing-investigation-into-his-own-alleged-misconduct%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2223618&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Missouri \u2064House Speaker Dean\u2062 Plocher faces\u200d accusations of\u2063 obstructing the \u200cinvestigation\u200b into alleged misconduct.\u2062 Concerns were raised over witness intimidation and control of testimonies. The Ethics Committee struggled due to reported\u2062 obstruction, making evidence collection challenging. The probe\u2063 exposed internal rifts among Missouri Republicans. The investigation remains contentious amid challenges in gathering crucial\u2062 information.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/missouri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Missouri<\/a> House Speaker Dean Plocher has been accused of obstructing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>investigation<\/a> into him by bipartisan leaders of the state House Ethics Committee.<\/p>\n<p>Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/state-legislatures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>state legislators<\/a> claimed witnesses did not testify because they feared the Republican leader would retaliate and that others could not be reached because Plocher controls who testifies, according to the <em>Missouri Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Missouri Speaker of the House Dean Plocher listens as Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State address, Jan. 24, 2024, in Jefferson City, Missouri. A Missouri ethics panel is at an impasse over reported misconduct by the powerful state House speaker, who allegedly used his office to stymie an investigation into his actions. (AP Photo\/Jeff Roberson, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The committee\u2019s report described the \u201cabsolute obstruction\u201d of the investigation into Plocher\u2019s alleged misconduct, which included <a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2024\/04\/15\/speaker-dean-plocher-accused-of-absolute-obstruction-in-house-ethics-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>falsifying<\/a> years of expense reports, the circumstances regarding the firing of a former staffer, and his advocacy for a six-figure software contract.<\/p>\n<p>The report concluded that the committee lacked direct evidence for the allegations, but that the \u201cobstruction\u201d made it difficult for them to unveil critical information. A lawyer hired to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-derek-chauvin-trial-coverage-to-ninth-day\/\" title=\"The Derek Chauvin Trial \u2013 Coverage to Ninth Day\">collect evidence<\/a> said they have not \u201cencountered more unwilling witnesses in any investigation in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The launch of the investigation highlighted the divide between Republicans in the Missouri legislature. Republican state Rep. Hannah Kelly heads the committee and voted in favor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pelosi-says-she-wont-block-stock-trading-ban-trashes-supreme-court-ethics-rules\/\" title=\"Pelosi Says She Won\u2019t Block Stock Trading Ban, Trashes Supreme Court Ethics Rules\">ethics report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what the report says,\u201d Plocher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stltoday.com\/news\/local\/government-politics\/after-blistering-report-on-plocher-missouri-house-republicans-retreat-to-plan-final-weeks\/article_2babcbb4-fc1b-11ee-a605-ffc7347ea889.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the <em>St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019d love to read the report. I think this should have been done in November. I think it\u2019s absurd it\u2019s gone on this long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the committee voted down the report on a 6-2 margin, with one Republican voting \u201cpresent.\u201d Two other Republicans who voted \u201cno\u201d did so because they believed further debate was needed. The draft report became public knowledge because it was discussed in an open hearing, a setting Kelly wanted for the draft report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have come to the end of this process,\u201d Kelly told reporters after the hearing. \u201cI have done all I can do \u2026 you do all you can, and then when you\u2019ve done all you can, put everything on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the report passed, the committee would\u2019ve recommended a letter of disapproval for Plocher, that he hire an accountant to manage his expense reports, and that he refrain from retaliation against anyone who worked with the committee.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>In the most serious of the accusations, which was that Plocher falsified expense reports, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theyre-walking-away-from-him-former-trump-chief-of-staff-casts-doubt-on-biden-2024\/\" title=\"\u2018They\u2019re Walking Away From Him\u2019: Former Trump Chief Of Staff Casts Doubt On Biden 2024\">speaker didn\u2019<\/a>t act to repay illegal reimbursements until weeks after they were discovered. He previously testified to the committee that they were an \u201caccounting error\u201d and a \u201clack of oversight on my part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Ethics Committee was previously scheduled to meet Tuesday and Wednesday, but both meetings were canceled, leaving the aftermath from the report uncertain.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accusations have surfaced against Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher for impeding the Ethics Committee&#8217;s investigation. Allegations suggest witnesses refrained from testifying due to fears of retaliation from the Republican leader. Critics claim Plocher&#8217;s influence over witness selection hinders the inquiry process<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2223619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24107687717871-1024x592.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2223618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24107687717871-1024x592.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2223618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2223619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2223618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2223618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2223618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}