The Missouri Attorney General's Office is pushing back against allegations that Josh Hawley misused public resources to boost his successful U.S. Senate campaign.
First Assistant and Solicitor General John Sauer in a Monday letter called the complaint against Hawley "a frivolous act of political harassment."
At issue are allegations by American Democracy Legal Fund. The liberal group complained that it was a misuse of taxpayer-funded resources for political consultants to direct attorney general staff to do work that could help Hawley's Senate bid.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is investigating.
Sauer says Hawley's Senate campaign wasn't formed until after the consultants' work. He called it "absurd" to argue that good work by public employees is illegal because it might indirectly benefit a future electoral campaign.
