JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 A candidate running to be Missouri鈥檚 top election official asked a judge Friday to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit filed against him two months ago.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, who is running to become Missouri Secretary of State, filed a 23-page motion arguing he cannot be held responsible for committing the actions alleged by the chief clerk in the Missouri House of Representatives.
鈥淚n attempting to bring such a claim against Plocher, plaintiff is pushing a square peg through a round hole,鈥 wrote attorney Lowell Pearson, a private practice attorney who also represented Plocher when he faced an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee this spring.
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The motion to toss the case follows a similar filing by Attorney General Andrew Bailey鈥檚 office, which is representing the House of Representatives in the case.
In late May, Dana Rademan Miller, the nonpartisan chief clerk of the House, filed a whistleblower lawsuit seeking financial damages in excess of $25,000 for the conduct of Plocher and his hand-picked chief of staff, former House Speaker Rod Jetton.
The suit accused them of mismanagement, abuse of authority, violations of policy, wasting of public resources and retaliation.
It comes as Plocher, a Des Peres Republican, is in the midst of a final week push to win the GOP nomination for secretary of state in the Aug. 6 election. He has led the fundraising race against a crowded field, reporting in July that he had more than $1.2 million in campaign funds.
Other Republicans running include state Sen. Denny Hoskins, state Rep. Adam Schwadron, state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Valentina Gomez, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, Jamie Corley and Mike Carter.
A campaign spokesman said Plocher is on the road this week meeting with voters as he heads toward Tuesday鈥檚 balloting.
Plocher鈥檚 hiring of Pearson shows he is not using Bailey鈥檚 office to represent him in the whistleblower case.
In May, a trio of Republican state senators facing a federal defamation lawsuit sought to be represented by Bailey鈥檚 office, putting taxpayers at risk of paying any damages in the case. The three 鈥 Sens. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg and Nick Schroer of Defiance 鈥 were sued over their social media posts incorrectly identifying a Kansas man as the shooter at the Chiefs鈥 Super Bowl parade.
Plocher has been in the crosshairs since last year after he allegedly attempted to steer an $800,000 software contract for the House around the standard bidding process and then hastily repaid a series of travel bills that he had charged to taxpayers after reporters began investigating his spending.
Plocher fired two longtime House aides in the dust-up, and another employee resigned from the leadership team.
Miller played a key role in raising questions about the proposed software purchase, which was being pushed by a well-connected lobbyist, John Bardgett.
Allegations in the lawsuit include possible discussions of campaign contributions related to a successful contract, as well as Miller鈥檚 attempt to privately counsel Plocher about complaints she had received about his treatment of female Republican lawmakers, whom he called 鈥渟tupid鈥 and an 鈥渋nvasive species.鈥
Plocher has claimed that an ethics probe this spring by a panel of his fellow lawmakers was a sham and that it was a product of a 鈥渄eep state鈥 bureaucracy that wanted to depose him.
The ethics committee did not find direct evidence that Plocher committed ethical violations related to the various scandals, and the only punishment it recommended was a letter of disapproval.
In arguing for the lawsuit to be dismissed, Pearson wrote that Plocher had no ability to discipline or demote Miller. And, he wrote, Miller did not suffer any type of disciplinary action by Plocher.
鈥(T)he petition as a whole evidences that the alleged whistleblowing was nothing more than political disagreements between plaintiff and Plocher with respect to inherently political issues, and thus should not constitute the basis for a whistleblowing petition,鈥 Pearson wrote.
Plocher also said the suit does not allege that he threatened disciplinary action against Miller. Rather, it relies on hearsay statements made by others in the Capitol.
鈥淭hese 鈥榯hreats鈥 are woefully insufficient to support a cognizable whistleblower claim,鈥 the petition notes. 鈥淭hat is, Plocher cannot be held responsible for alleged 鈥榯hreats鈥 made by individuals other than himself.鈥