Missouri House committee to investigate Koster

JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones is forming an investigatory committee after a report that Chris Koster was one of several state attorneys general who may have been influenced by campaign contributions and lobbyists.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Koster is one of numerous state attorneys general who have changed policies and negotiated more favorable settlements after receiving campaign contributions and incentives from lobbyists.

Jones, a Republican from Eureka, said he's hoping to appoint committee members within a week to start requesting documents and investigating Koster, a Democrat.

He said the House has the option to impeach, depending on what the committee learns.

"I'm disturbed about the fact that the chief law enforcement officer, who has a tremendous amount of taxpayer resources at hand, is apparently utilizing those resources to shake down businesses and business owners for political reasons," Jones told the Associated Press. "It's hard to even believe this."

Koster said the report distorts how his office dealt with the companies.

"Today's article in The New York Times misrepresents the facts, distorting events to create an appearance of impropriety where none exists," Koster said in a statement Wednesday.

Documents obtained by the newspaper show Koster received campaign contributions from Pfizer while the company was under investigation by his office.