TAX DAY: Will Ed Martin Talk about The Over $2 Million Tab in Legal Fees and Payments He Cost The State?
Ousted Blunt Chief of Staff cost taxpayers at least $2 million in legal fees, settlement payments
Jefferson City, Mo -- Ed Martin loves to talk about taxes and government waste but fails to mention that when he was Chief of Staff to former Governor Matt Blunt he wasted over $2 million of Missouri taxpayers’ money by covering up illegal activity on the taxpayer's dime. (Post-Dispatch, 3/3/09; AP, 1/8/09, 5/22/09)
While Chief of Staff to former Governor Matt Blunt, Martin was caught “doing political business on the state’s dime,” misusing his state email address “to rally political allies to criticize Nixon over abortion issues and to criticize the process by which Missouri chooses its judges.” (Springfield News-Leader, 9/9/07; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/3/09) Then, Martin tried to hide what he did, violating both the state records retention laws and sunshine laws by deleting the emails in question and refusing to turn them over, and when a fellow Blunt staffer questioned the legality of deleting the emails, Martin fired him.
“Ed Martin’s crusade against taxes and government waste rings hollow considering he cost Missouri taxpayers over $2 million in legal fees and payments by doing political work on the state dime and trying to cover up illegal activity,” said Missouri Democratic Party Spokesman Ryan Hobart. “Ed Martin has already cost Missouri enough. We don’t need to see the damage he would do representing the third district.”
The legal battle over the records, the wrongful termination suit from the staffer who questioned Martin’s actions, and the resulting investigation ended up costing taxpayers more than $2.1 million. This included a $500,000 settlement in a wrongful termination suit brought against Martin and the Governor’s office by attorney Scott Eckersley. (Post-Dispatch, 3/3/09; AP, 1/8/09, 5/22/09).
Since his departure from the Governor’s office, Ed Martin still has not expressed regret for his actions, but he did admit: "It has been a silly, silly circus and it's not served the public well.” (Associated Press, Jan. 27, 2009)
