Liberty Alliance USA Files Ethics Complaint Against State Representative Ian Mackey For Illegally Fundraising on State Property in Violation of “Clean Missouri”
Liberty Alliance USA, a grassroots organization that works to hold those in power accountable, announced today it has filed a complaint against Missouri State Representative Ian Mackey (D-St. Louis) with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Liberty Alliance has requested the MEC investigate Representative Mackey for felony violation of the Missouri Constitution and state law due to his solicitation of political contributions from his State Capitol office during the House session on April 8, 2020.
In November 2018, Missouri voters passed the “Clean Missouri” amendment to the Missouri Constitution and agreed that those who fundraise on state property should be punished by up to a year in prison or fined up to $1,000, plus an amount three times the illegal contributions. Rep. Mackey, who publicly supported “Clean Missouri,” violated the Constitution on April 8, 2020 when he posted a fundraising solicitation for House Democrats to his campaign Facebook page from his Capitol office, while his colleagues voted on a coronavirus relief bill.
The MEC complaint, which is the first documented violation of the “Clean Missouri” statehouse fundraising ban, asks the MEC to investigate Mackey’s illegal political fundraising and require him to return all funds illegally raised, plus penalties.
“During a time when Missouri should be coming together to defeat the coronavirus attacking our country, it is disappointing that Representative Mackey chose to violate our laws and constitution in order to politicize this crisis,” said Liberty Alliance Executive Director Chris Vas. “As a member of the House and an attorney, Representative Mackey took an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of Missouri and is entrusted by his constituents to act in a way that maintains confidence in the institution of the House. I look forward to a thorough investigation by the MEC and hope that Representative Mackey is held accountable for illegally fundraising from his Capitol office. Representatives Meredith, Quade, Pierson, Jr., and the rest of Missouri House Democratic Campaign Committee leadership should return all donations associated with Mackey’s illegal actions.”
Liberty Alliance USA is also filing a copy of this Complaint with the House bipartisan ethics committee, and will request a full investigation into whether Rep. Mackey violated additional state laws.