JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey recapped his first 100 days in office. He was sworn in as Missouri’s 44th Attorney General on January 3, 2023.
“When sworn in as Missouri’s 44th Attorney General, I committed to protecting the Constitution, enforcing the laws as written, defending the state, supporting the counties, and training the next generation of public service-minded attorneys,” said Attorney General Bailey. “From handling the largest First Amendment case in a generation and protecting children, to obtaining restitution for consumers and assisting local prosecutors across the state to put away violent criminals, I’m proud of what my office has accomplished in my first 100 days. We will continue to defend Missourians in the days ahead.”
As part of his commitment to protect the Constitution, General Bailey achieved significant successes in his landmark First Amendment lawsuit, Missouri v. Biden, which asserts that the federal government has colluded with and coerced major social media companies to censor free speech on social media platforms. The case continues to uncover valuable information about the close coordination between major social media companies, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the year leading up to the 2020 election. General Bailey filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration, citing 1,432 facts that showed collusive efforts between the federal government and the major social media companies to censor speech. The judge denied the Biden Administration’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and set the matter for a merits hearing this spring.
General Bailey also staunchly defended Missourians’ Second Amendment rights, as demonstrated by his lawsuit against the Biden Administration for its unconstitutional ban on pistol braces. His office also appealed a ruling declaring the Second Amendment Preservation Act unconstitutional; arguments will be heard in the coming months. Moreover, General Bailey filed multiple amicus briefs in defense of gun rights, specifically challenging an unlawful New York law that attempts to strip churchgoers of their right to protect themselves.
Additionally, General Bailey participated in oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court in his challenge to President Biden’s unconstitutional plan to saddle working Americans with student loan debt. Missouri argued that the Biden Administration lacks the constitutional and statutory authority to authorize such spending without express congressional approval. The Court will rule in the coming months.
In an effort to enforce the laws as written, General Bailey launched an investigation into a St. Louis pediatric transgender center that has been accused by a whistleblower of using experimental drugs on children, distributing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones without individualized assessments, and giving children life-altering drugs without full and informed parental consent. In conjunction with the investigation, his office opened an online form where those who have experienced harm from gender transition interventions or witnessed troubling practices at transition clinics in Missouri may submit their concerns. General Bailey also issued an emergency regulation clarifying that state law already prohibits performing experimental procedures, such as gender transition interventions, in the absence of specific guardrails. The regulation will last until February 6, 2024.
General Bailey also filed a writ of quo warranto against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to remove her from office for failing to do her job for the people of St. Louis. The suit’s allegations include that the Circuit Attorney’s Office has failed to (1) prosecute cases to resolution, (2) inform and confer with victims, and (3) review and file cases submitted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The breadth of her failures are detailed in a 121-page amended petition which contains ten individual counts of willful neglect and wrongdoing.
As part of his commitment to protect the lives of the unborn, General Bailey worked to enforce state and federal abortion laws. He put major pharmacies on notice that they would be violating both state and federal law if they moved forward in their decision to distribute abortion pills through the mail, after which Walgreens announced that they would comply with the law. The pharmacies’ threatened actions were based on a new rule put out by the FDA which abandons the longstanding ban on remote prescription and administration of chemical abortion pills. General Bailey filed an amicus brief in a Texas case calling for a preliminary injunction, which the judge granted, thereby enjoining the FDA’s approval of chemical abortion pills to be shipped in the mail. This case is now pending before the United States Supreme Court.
In order to fight back against the rise of the federal administrative state, General Bailey filed suit with 23 other attorneys general against the Biden Administration’s “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule that attempts to illegally expand federal authority over water throughout the country. The Court granted General Bailey’s motion for preliminary injunction, halting President Biden’s overreaching WOTUS rule.
Further, General Bailey joined 19 other states in filing suit against the Department of Homeland Security for allowing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to enter the United States per month without a legal screening process. He also filed suit against Biden’s Department of Labor for their rule allowing 401(k) managers to direct their clients’ money into investments based on their supposed environmental impact rather than their financial returns. These ideologically based actions by federal bureaucracies, acting without Congressional authority, threaten the stability of the American legal system.
General Bailey also authored several letters and filed many amicus briefs in order to preserve the freedom to cook with gas stoves, challenge woke “environmental, social, and governance” investment efforts, and protect women’s sports, amongst other issues.
In keeping with his statutory duty to defend the state and its consumers from fraud, General Bailey joined a coalition of seven states in shutting down a massive Texas-based robocall operation that blasted billions of illegal robocalls to people across the country. His office also obtained a consent judgment against Vacation Consulting Services, a Missouri-based company that offered timeshare exit services around the country, for failing to let consumers out of their timeshare agreements. The judgment resulted in $700,000 in restitution for consumers. Further, General Bailey’s office obtained a consent judgment against a dog breeder, resulting in a maximum sentence of $10,000 in fines and the removal of her license.
In order to support the counties, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office (AGO) assisted several local prosecutors in obtaining criminal convictions. Assisting Warren County, the AGO obtained nine felony convictions against Shawn Kavanagh in connection with multiple murders. He was sentenced to life without parole. Assisting Ripley County, the AGO obtained convictions against Danisha Price for involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence, abandonment of a corpse, five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of resisting arrest. Assisting Pemiscot County, the office secured thirteen felony convictions against Frank Parry of Steele, Missouri, for sexually abusing two minors, one for an extended period of time. Assisting Wayne County, the AGO obtained a 33-year prison sentence in the deadly shooting of a twelve year old child. Assisting Monroe County, the Attorney General Bailey’s office obtained seven felony convictions against Robert Lee Sims, Jr. of Madison, Missouri, for sexually abusing and exploiting a minor victim over many years. Assisting the Shannon County Prosecutor’s Office, the AGO secured a guilty verdict against Daymond Reeves for the 2020 murder of Allan Brewer. Reeves was sentenced to life without the possibility for parole for first degree murder and fifteen years for armed criminal action. These are only a fraction of the convictions secured by the Attorney General’s Office in the past 100 days.
As part of his commitment to train the next generation of public service-minded attorneys, General Bailey partnered with the University of Missouri School of Law to launch a law student practicum designed to help law students learn from practicing attorneys and gain real world experience while earning credit towards their law degree. He also implemented a new Trial Masters program for attorneys in his office, which partners young attorneys with experienced litigators to prepare them for trial in a mentoring relationship. This program draws upon the significant expertise of Missouri’s finest trial lawyers to increase and elevate the services provided by the AGO in defending the rights of all Missourians.
A breakdown of the first 100 days by section of the office can be found below:
Consumer Protection:
- Filed nine total actions
- Obtained $14,564,379.97 in judgments/settlements for the State of Missouri
- Recovered $3,394,767.15 in restitution for Missouri citizens
- Closed 2,685 complaints
Public Safety:
- Obtained 39 felony convictions
- Opened 18 new cases, including 63 new charges
- Obtained sentences of life without parole, life with parole, and more than 245 years in prison
Medicaid Fraud:
- Handled 7 civil settlements that totaled $10,280,993.88
- Obtained 21 indictments and 7 convictions
Criminal Appeals:
- Filed briefs in 135 cases
- Argued 6 cases before the Missouri Supreme Court
- Argued 40 cases before the District Court of Appeals
- Opened 149 new cases
- Closed 62 cases
Governmental Affairs:
- Closed a total of 310 matters
- Opened 259 new matters
- Opened almost 100 Sunshine Law Investigations to promote governmental transparency
Labor:
- Closed 1,040 matters
- Obtained 736 dismissals in Second Injury Fund cases and 31 dismissals in Central Accident Reporting Office cases. Those dismissals represent a total of $1,840,264.31 in savings for the SIF and a total of $540,431.35 in savings for the CARO
- Filed 5 new criminal cases
- Collected $11,676.67 in penalties and restitution
Financial Services:
- Obtained 135 judgments modifying existing child support orders, ensuring Missouri children get the correct amount as stipulated by Missouri Supreme Court guidelines
- Processed over $4.3 million in payments
- Closed 1,197 matters
Litigation:
- Closed a total of 69 matters
- Opened 50 new matters
“I’m passionate about defending the Constitution, upholding the rule of law, and protecting the liberties of the people of the state of Missouri,” said Attorney General Bailey. “I’m proud of the successes we’ve had in my first 100 days, and I’m excited to see all this office will achieve moving forward.”