JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on an attorney general’s inquiry into The Mission Continues (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
The Missouri attorney general’s office has an open inquiry into a veterans charity founded by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Josh Hawley said Thursday that the office is looking into the charitable activities of The Mission Continues. It wasn’t clear when the inquiry began.
The announcement came after The Associated Press reported earlier Thursday that Greitens had used a Mission Continues email to send meeting invitations to political consultants as he was preparing to run for office in 2015.
Federal tax law prohibits 501(c)(3) charities such as The Mission Continues from participating in any political campaign on behalf of a candidate for public office.
In 2016, the AP reported that Greitens’ campaign gained access to a donor list of The Mission Continues. The charity denied that it had supplied the list.
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12:05 p.m.
Records obtained by The Associated Press show that Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens used an email address for a veterans charity he founded to arrange political meetings as he prepared to run for office.
Federal tax law prohibits 501(c)(3) charities such as The Mission Continues from participating in any political campaign on behalf of a candidate for public office.
Experts on rules governing nonprofits told the AP that a scenario such as Greitens’ use of the charity’s email account could cross the line of what’s allowed, but they said that line is not clearly defined.
The email invitations were sent to three political consultants for a series of meetings with state lawmakers in January 2015. Participants in the meetings told the AP the topic of discussion was Greitens’ impending candidacy.
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