Commissioner Seeks Missing Information from Nixon for Investigation into His Political Use of State Car

Jefferson City - In an ongoing effort to verify taxpayers are adequately compensated for Attorney General Jay Nixon's political and personal use of his state car, Commissioner Mike Keathley is seeking information that Nixon has withheld from his office. The Kansas City Star reported that travel logs exist that detail Nixon's "round trip" use of his state car.

"The Office of Administration understands that there are travel logs that your office has not provided," Commissioner Keathley wrote in a letter to Nixon. "I have read in the Kansas City Star that these logs which you have failed to provide my office show the 'round trip' use of your state vehicle. I was shocked and extremely disappointed to learn this because on November 27, your campaign produced to me only a one-page 'estimate' of your state vehicle use and did not include the information that appeared in the Kansas City Star."

Commissioner Keathley asked Nixon to promptly produce the log referenced in the Kansas City Star and any others regarding his use of official vehicles.

On October 26, October 30, and again on November 27, the commissioner's office requested from the Attorney General and the Nixon campaign, dates, mileage and backup data regarding use of state vehicles. To date they have failed to provide the information needed to verify the state is being fully reimbursed for Nixon's personal and political use of taxpayer-funded vehicles.

"I would be interested in knowing why this information that is obviously relevant to our October 26 and November 27, requests was not provided," Keathley wrote. "Obviously, these logs would be very useful to our effort to verify the proper reimbursement amount for the non-state use of this vehicle."

On December 5, Commissioner Keathley asked Auditor Montee who in Attorney General Nixon's office had misled the auditor during a 2006 audit. State Auditor Montee told The Associated Press on October 12, that Nixon's office's "representation" during the audit was that Nixon used his car for official purposes only. Nixon admitted a year later that he was using his car for his political campaign. It is against state law (Section 29.250 RSMo) to withhold information from state auditors. Keathley said he is still waiting for a response from Montee identifying who in Nixon's office was involved in the attempted cover up.

Letter to Attorney General Jay Nixon

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