A standing argument between State Auditor Nicole Galloway and former Missouri attorney general and current U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley resurfaced Wednesday - with Galloway also accusing the Missouri State Board of Accountancy of collaborating with political allies of her gubernatorial campaign opponent.
Hawley tweeted Wednesday morning a copy of a letter purportedly sent to his attorney, Brian W. Barnes, from Samantha Anne Green - who in the letter identifies herself as the attorney for the Missouri State Board of Accountancy.
The letter - dated Sept. 16, 2020 - informs Barnes the board had received a complaint against Galloway, dated Feb. 6, 2020, submitted on Hawley's behalf.
"The Board asked that I notify you of the opening of the Board's investigation. Once the Board's investigation is complete, I will advise you of the Board's action at that time," the letter states.
When asked about the letter by the News Tribune, Green deferred comment to the spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, which is where the State Board of Accountancy resides.
That spokesperson, Lori Croy, would not confirm if the board had opened an investigation into Galloway, citing state law about closed records.
Galloway, however, said in a virtual news conference Wednesday by her gubernatorial campaign that "I only know about that complaint because (Hawley) sent a press release about it when he filed it - but I never heard from the Board of Accountancy until this very morning."
Galloway accused Gov. Mike Parson's political allies - the Uniting Missouri political action committee - of airing false and misleading attacks against her on television stations throughout the state.
In addition to rebutting the ads' claims, Galloway cited an ad that began running Wednesday and used the investigation by the accountancy board. The ad, she said, was placed by the PAC supporting Parson - her Republican opponent in the governor's race.
"The timing suggests a clear coordination in the shadows to make this an issue for an election season ad. This ad claiming that a serious investigation by the board is underway was released this morning, and within hours, the Board of Accountancy sent a letter saying that they would look into this complaint, after being silent about it for months," Galloway said.
She also said "members of the board have donated thousands to the governor's campaign" and accused the board of "political retaliation for an audit that was conducted with professionalism and by the book."
Galloway's reference to an audit and the source of Hawley's complaint against Galloway stem from an audit her office did looking into whether he used state resources for political purposes in his Senate campaign to defeat former U.S. senator for Missouri Claire McCaskill.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft asked Galloway in December 2018 to add to the standard closeout audit of Hawley's tenure in office an investigation into whether Hawley had used public funds to support his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, following a complaint.
Galloway's office ultimately determined there was no clear evidence of Hawley having broken any laws, but there was the appearance that public resources had been used for political purposes.
For weeks ahead of the release of those findings, Hawley had criticized Galloway and her office for perceived bias in the audit preparation.
He took to social media to accuse Galloway's office of changing and manipulating the audit to make it more critical of him, and he alleged conflicts of interest involving Galloway's Democratic campaign for governor and interactions and relationships between office staff and McCaskill's Senate re-election campaign.
Hawley's accusations led to state Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, sending a letter of concern about the integrity of Galloway's office to Gov. Mike Parson.
The allegations also led to a Missouri House hearing in January, where Galloway's staff testified there was no evidence of bias in the audit - though action had been taken to address the appearance of impropriety by removing the director of the audit and replacing him with the office's director of quality control, after Hawley noted the audit director had donated $50 to the McCaskill campaign in August 2018.
Hawley's campaign then announced the formal complaint with the State Board of Accountancy had been filed, regarding alleged misconduct with the audit.
Galloway is a licensed certified public accountant, and a search through the State Board of Accountancy showed there was no current disciplinary action against her license.