FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2018
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: New York Liberal Chuck Schumer Spends Millions in False Ads Attacking Josh Hawley
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Liberal New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s Senate Majority PAC has launched another false ad against Attorney General Josh Hawley.
“Chuck Schumer is so desperate to save Claire McCaskill that he’s flooded Missouri airwaves with liberal, Hollywood money to spread lies about Josh Hawley. Claire McCaskill needs to tell her vacation buddy, Chuck Schumer, to stop running false ads about Josh Hawley,” said Kelli Ford, spokesperson for the Hawley campaign. “This is the perfect example of why Missouri voters want to give McCaskill the boot. It’s no wonder that Claire McCaskill is the most unpopular U.S. Senate up for re-election.”
FALSE CLAIM VS. FACT:
Schumer’s False Claim: “When Humphreys was accused of a pay-to-play scheme with legislators, [Hawley] refused to investigate.”
Fact: The Attorney General’s Office “has limited power to take action such allegations of corruption.
- Associated Press: “Hawley has limited power to take action such allegations of corruption. In Missouri, attorneys general have little initial authority to press criminal charges; local prosecutors generally must request help from the attorney general in order for the office to step in. (Summer Ballentine, “Democratic ad slams Hawley over allegations against donor,”The Associated Press, 6/19/18, Link)
Fact: The Attorney General’s Office “does not have criminal jurisdiction over pay-to-play allegations.”
- Associated Press: Hawley in 2017 told the Kansas City radio station KCUR in response to questions about the donation that the attorney general’s office “does not have criminal jurisdiction over pay-to-play allegations,” which his spokeswoman, Mary Compton, confirmed in a Friday statement. (Summer Ballentine, “Democratic ad slams Hawley over allegations against donor,” The Associated Press, 6/19/18, Link)
Fact: The pay-to-play allegations were already investigated and dismissed by the Missouri Ethics Commission.
- Kansas City Star: “A complaint accusing one of the state’s most prolific campaign donors of knowingly employing an unregistered lobbyist was dismissed last week by the Missouri Ethics Commission.” (Jason Hancock, “Ethics complaint against big Missouri campaign donor is dismissed,” The Kansas City Star, 1/2/18, Link)
Schumer’s False Claim: “He even admitted he never looked at the evidence.”
Fact: No formal complaints were ever made to the Attorney General’s Office “about the pay-to-play allegations.”
- Associated Press: Hawley’s deputy chief of staff, Loree Anne Paradise, on Friday said the office did not receive any formal complaints about the pay-to-play allegations. (Summer Ballentine, “Democratic ad slams Hawley over allegations against donor,” The Associated Press, 6/19/18, Link)
Fact: On not investigating pay-to-play investigations, KOMU “found this claim to be incomplete.”
- KOMU: “Claim: Hawley has taken no action. He said he saw nothing wrong, and admits he hadn’t looked at evidence in the case. This in reference to the “pay to play” scandal. We found this claim to be incomplete. (“TARGET 8 Fact Check: Senate Majority PAC attacks Josh Hawley in TV ad,” KOMU, 6/19/18, Link)
