Missouri GOP Operative: State Auditor Allegedly Using Office for ‘Political Purposes’

Top Missouri GOP operative Gregg Keller told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview Thursday that Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has allegedly been using her office for “political purposes.”

Keller spoke to Breitbart News following the revelation that Missouri State Auditor Galloway’s audit cleared Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) of wrongdoing when he was the state’s attorney general. Sen. Hawley released a letter Tuesday from his personal lawyer Brian Barnes also claiming there was “deeply troubling” Democrat bias during the investigation of the Missouri senator.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, Missouri’s last statewide Democrat and a candidate for governor, said she will investigate claims of alleged wrongdoing even though Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft cleared the Missouri senator.

Galloway’s lead auditor assigned to investigate Hawley’s case, Pamela Allison, reportedly discussed “altering” the audit’s conclusions to make the audit seem more critical of the Missouri senator and his office.

Galloway also hired former Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) campaign manager, David Kirby, who personally promoted the attacks against Hawley in what Barnes charged was supposed to be an “independent” review.

“Additionally, it calls into question whether state resources were used for political gain,” Barnes said.

Galloway’s office has yet to respond to a request for comment from Breitbart News regarding Sen. Hawley’s contention that her office discussed altering the findings of the audit to make it appear more damaging for the senator.

Keller told Breitbart News that the reports of political bias in the audit of Sen. Hawley shred Galloway’s brand as a fighter of government corruption. He also said that he expects the Missouri legislature to investigate the Galloway’s audit of the Missouri senator.

“I think that this news has gone off like a bombshell in Missouri Republican circles. I would guess that you would see some action and or call for action out of the legislature, maybe from the House, maybe from the Senate, maybe from both,” Keller said.

Keller said this latest instance “gives every appearance that this is an ongoing and troubling pattern of behavior of an elected official using her official office for political purposes.”

Further, Hawley notes Bobby Showers, a member of the audit team, wrote recently any senator that opposes removing President Donald Trump from office “will go down in history as not fulfilling their oath to their country.”

Further, Showers donated $50 to Sen. McCaskill’s reelection campaign in August 2018.

The Missouri GOP operative said Galloway’s reported bias tarnishes her reputation as an auditor if true.

Keller said, “And I think that as someone who is trying to run as a different kind of politician I think erodes her credibility very quickly, and I’m going to be very interested to see what we see out of the Missouri legislature about these reports.”