Sen. Claire McCaskill
Posted on 01/30/2018 3:19:44 AM PST by MarvinStinson
Court order by Obama-appointed judge turned into Democrat political attack
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) is touting a court order criticizing her Republican opponent. But the order was written by a federal judge who was personally recommended for the position by McCaskill and whose husband has contributed thousands to the Missouri Democrat.
The news of Judge Audrey Fleissig's decision to fine Missouri attorney general Josh Hawley $500 over a document discovery dispute was first reported by left-leaning St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger, who used the court order to scold Hawley, a Republican running to unseat McCaskill, to "do your job." McCaskill's campaign quickly capitalized on the order.
"[Hawley's] office has even been fined by a federal judge for failing to do the most basic work of the Attorney General's office," the campaign said in a release linking to Messenger's piece. "Hawley has been effectively told ‘do your job' after repeatedly failing to meet simple deadlines."
Unmentioned in the column are Fleissig's deep ties to McCaskill, who officially recommended Fleissig to former President Barack Obama for the federal court seat after personally interviewing her, according to an official Judiciary Committee questionnaire.
"This is a woman I have known for many years who has an outstanding career in the legal community in Missouri," McCaskill said in a floor speech ahead of Fleissig's confirmation vote. "It was an honor to recommend her to the president."
"I know that she will be impartial," she said. "I know that she will never let politics dictate a decision."
McCaskill's campaign did not respond to an inquiry into whether ties to Fleissig were considered before deciding to turn the court order into a political attack.
While Fleissig has never contributed to McCaskill—her only federal contribution was $250 to a Democratic Senate candidate in 2000—her husband, Bruce Fleissig, has contributed to each of McCaskill's three senate campaigns, including $1,250 for her current race against Hawley.
Bruce Fleissig's first contribution to McCaskill was $1,000 in 2005. He gave a total of $2,850 to her 2006 campaign and followed that up with $2,250 for her 2012 reelection fight.
Hawley immediately responded to Fleissig's order, calling for the decision to fine his office $500 to be reconsidered.
"The Attorney General's Office has filed a Motion to Reconsider the award of sanctions in this case," said Hawley's deputy chief of staff Loree Anne Paradise. "As stated in our Motion to Reconsider, we believe that the dispute arose from our attorney's good-faith misinterpretation of the discovery order at issue, not from any lack of diligence or bad faith on his part."
Fleissig is yet to rule on Hawley's motion, which offers his explanation for the delay in discovery and can be viewed here. Her office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The lawsuit in question is by a photographer who was arrested during a 2012 political protest and is suing the St. Louis police, which was at the time controlled by the state.
Hawley is viewed as the clear frontrunner in the Republican race to face McCaskill in November. He was elected attorney general in 2016.
Judges are required to recuse themselves from any decision which even MIGHT appear to the public to involve a conflict of interest.
Sen. Claire McCaskill
ee gads
A $500 fine? Well that will kill Hawley’s career before it really starts. </sarcasm>
Ma is digging in with both high-heels. She knows her days as a Senator are coming to a close.
Claire is like Hillary, with super high negatives she can only win by going scorched earth.
She's been written off before. If I've learned one thing as a lifetime resident of this state it's to never underestimate the Missouri GOP's ability to blow it.
Agree, the Todd Aiken wing is strong enough to screw it up.
Yes, don’t hand the race to the Wile E Coyote party of MO yet.
How true that is! LOL! Republican officials in Missouri can screw up a two-car funeral!
It’s not clear from this article if the AG is intentionally withholding documents that might help the defense, or if he is just incompetent. Not living there, I don’t know enough about this case. Maybe you could explain it.
Contrary to what the headline says, Hawley wasn't fined. His office was. The reason why the document wasn't delivered per deadline is almost certainly a clerical error. There is nothing unusual in the fine, in fact I understand it's pretty automatic when a deadline has been missed. This is not the first time the Missouri AG Office has been fined for not delivering evidence on time and it won't be the last. The only reason this is in the news at all is that it Hawley is running against McCaskill and the judge was from Missouri. McCaskill recommended her for the appointment but then so did Roy Blunt.
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