ON THE FRONT PAGE: Hawley Used His Out-of-State Political Consultants to Direct AG Office & “Raise His National Profile”

New bombshell reports from the Kansas City Star and the Associated Press reveal that Josh Hawley used his out-of-state political consultants to direct his official office from almost the moment he was sworn in – just like the ladder-climbing, hypocritical politician that he is.

Kansas City Star: Out-of-state political consultants helped direct Josh Hawley’s Missouri AG office

• But within weeks of Hawley’s swearing in as the state’s top law enforcement official, the high-powered political team that would go on to run his U.S. Senate campaign had stepped in to help direct the office of the Missouri attorney general — and raise his national profile.
• Hawley’s out-of-state political consultants gave direct guidance and tasks to his taxpayer-funded staff, and followed up to ensure the tasks were completed, according to emails, text messages and other records obtained by The Kansas City Star.
• As the months went on, Hawley’s political consultants flew to Missouri for official events and to meet with the attorney general’s staff during work hours in the state Supreme Court building, where the 38-year-old Republican’s official office is located.
• The campaign-led strategy sessions, which began in January 2017, raised legal and ethical concerns at the time among some of Hawley’s employees, who worried about mixing politics with public business. The situation also left them confused about the chain of command.

See the front page:

Associated Press: Campaign consultants worked with Hawley’s official staff

• Consultant Timmy Teepell led the meetings and calls with senior attorney general staff. Teepell is a partner with OnMessage Inc., a Washington-area consulting firm that worked on Hawley’s campaign for attorney general.
• Teepell is now a consultant for Hawley’s Senate campaign in the marquee race for Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill’s seat. The election is Tuesday.
• Gail Gitcho, who worked on presidential campaigns for Republicans Mitt Romney and John McCain, led a national communications strategy for Hawley and went on to work for his Senate campaign.
• Topics included in later correspondence included a lawsuit Hawley announced in June 2017 against opioid manufacturers, and a state effort to target human traffickers that Hawley announced in April 2017. McCaskill had launched Senate investigations into the opioid industry and online sex trafficking earlier that year.

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