The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial Saturday contending Missouri Democrat State Auditor Nicole Galloway faces questions of hypocrisy over her audit of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
State Auditor Galloway, who is running for Missouri governor, released an appraisal of Hawley’s time as the state’s attorney general who cleared of him of any wrongdoing. Hawley’s lawyer claimed there was “deeply troubling” Democrat bias during the investigation of the Missouri senator, which includes auditor officials discussing whether to alter the audit to make it appear more damaging.
The Post-Dispatch questioned whether “the same high ethical standards she [Galloway] applies to Hawley and others” would also apply to herself. The Missouri paper noted multiple instances in which Galloway may have violated ethical standards.
The paper wrote:
Weeks before Galloway announced her own campaign for governor last summer, she had her press secretary, Steph Deidrick, email an op-ed to this newspaper excoriating Gov. Mike Parson’s decision to sign a new law imposing draconian restrictions on abortion rights. It was our mistake to publish the op-ed before asking Deidrick what, exactly, do abortion rights have to do with Galloway’s official auditing duties. In fact, the topic has nothing to do with those duties but everything to do with Galloway’s effort to position herself on a key political issue just before announcing her gubernatorial campaign against Parson.
The Galloway campaign’s Twitter account posts a link to that op-ed. Why did Galloway assign a state employee to use a state office and state email account for what was clearly a personal political mission? It might not be illegal, but it certainly doesn’t pass the smell test. Nor is it consistent with the laudably high standards Galloway sets when auditing other government offices and officials.
The Post-Dispatch charged Galloway, “failed to answer serious questions raised” by Galloway’s lead auditor, Pamela Allison, wrote in an email that she mentioned beefing up one part while eliminating another part.
The Missouri paper asked rhetorically, “Was it an attempt to embellish portions to make Hawley’s infractions look even worse?”
After the release of the audit, Galloway said Allison’s email does not reveal a “lack of objectivity.”
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said on Thursday Galloway’s release of Hawley’s audit-related transcripts “likely” violated state law.
The Post-Dispatch contended the Missouri Democrat needs to apply the same ethical standards that she puts on other politicians.
“That’s not good enough. If Galloway wants to continue as the standard bearer for ethics in government, she must be willing to turn the same uncomfortable magnifying glass of scrutiny on herself and her staff.”
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