Attorney General Andrew Bailey Recaps First Year in Office

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey recapped his first year in office.  He was sworn in as Missouri’s 44th Attorney General on January 3, 2023.

“I’m incredibly proud of what our office accomplished for Missourians in 2023.  From ousting the incompetent Circuit Attorney in St. Louis to leading the most significant First Amendment case in this nation’s history, we’ve delivered some impactful victories,” said Attorney General Bailey. “My team has worked to protect children, obtain restitution for ripped-off consumers, and fight for justice for victims alongside local law enforcement. We’re going to continue that important work in the days ahead.”

Attorney General Bailey and his team landed several wins in court this year, including:

• Three wins against the Biden Administration in his free speech case, Missouri v. Biden. General Bailey obtained a court order blocking the White House, Surgeon General, FBI, DHS, and CDC from continuing to violate the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans. The case will be heard at the United States Supreme Court early in 2024
• United States Supreme Court ruling in favor of his office in its challenge to Biden’s unlawful wealth transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt
• Ousted Kim Gardner from office mere days after a court ruled his petition for a writ of quo warranto could move forward
• Halted Biden’s unconstitutional Waters of the United States rule
• Defended Senate Bill 49, becoming the first state in the nation to successfully defend at the trial court level a law banning child mutilation
• Successfully defended Missouri’s pro-life law against multiple attacks
• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that his lawsuit forcing Biden to use the congressionally-appropriated dollars to finish President Trump’s border wall would move forward
• Halted Biden’s burdensome ozone restrictions
• Forced Biden’s EPA to withdraw its unconstitutional cybersecurity interpretative rule memo
• Successfully defended SB 391, which prevents stringent standards from being imposed on concentrated animal feeding operations, at the Missouri Supreme Court
• Obtained consent judgment against unlawful dog breeders
• Shut down Texas-based robocaller operation

He also filed several lawsuits to fight for the people of Missouri, including:

• Against Biden’s DHS for its failure to secure the southern border
• Against Biden’s FDA for unconstitutionally approving the shipment of dangerous abortion pills in the mail
• Against Biden’s EPA for allowing California to illegally ban existing tractor-trailers and heavy-duty vehicles
• Against Biden’s ATF for unconstitutional attempt to outlaw pistol braces
• Against Biden’s Department of Labor for allowing 401(k) managers to direct clients’ money to ESG
• Against Wentzville School District for unlawfully concealing transgender bathroom policy in closed meetings
• Against Jackson County for its failure to follow the law in assessing and levying taxes
• Against Dollar General for deceptive pricing
• Against Meta for harming youth with addictive technology on its platforms
• Against Southampton Community Healthcare for using deception to provide puberty blockers to minors without mental health assessment
• Against H&R Block, Taxslayer LLC, and TaxAct, Inc. for illegally sharing the sensitive data of Missouri taxpayers
• Against the Iron County Sheriff to remove him from office
• Against Avid Telecom for national robocaller violations

He opened notable investigations, including:

• Into Media Matters’ allegedly fraudulent solicitation of donations from Missourians amidst its efforts to target X, formerly known as Twitter
• Into the St. Louis pediatric transgender center’s practices after receiving whistleblower reports of children being subjected to experimental drugs without parental consent
• Into Liberty Safe’s policies regarding the release of customer safe codes to third parties

He assisted local law enforcement in obtaining justice for victims, including:

• Life without parole sentence for murder of Clinton police officer
• Life without parole sentence for Warren County murder
• 295 year sentence for Franklin County statutory rape and sodomy convictions
• Maximum sentence in Madison County statutory rape case
• Conviction in long-unsolved Franklin County 1987 murder
• First degree murder conviction in Reynolds County
• Murder conviction in Boone County
• Charged suspect in shooting of Hermann police officers

He released reports, including:

• Kim Gardner Report, which details his successful petition in quo warranto that ousted Kimberly Gardner from office in May after she failed to prosecute violent crime in the City of St. Louis for several years
• 2023 SAFE Kit Inventory report, which details the 93% reduction in the SAFE Kit backlog, 450+ CODIS Hits

He obtained notable settlements, including:

• $700 million agreement with Google over anticompetitive conduct concerning the Google Play Store
• $102.5 million settlement with Indivior Inc., the maker of opioid use disorder treatment drug Suboxone
• $49.5 million settlement with Blackbaud for data breach
• $35 million settlement with leasing company, Tempoe

Other notable work:

• Testified before Congress, imploring them to take action against government censorship
• Promulgated an emergency regulation instituting guardrails on gender transition interventions
• Opposed Biden’s proposed rule that would require foster care agencies across the country to place foster children with families who promise to promote transgender identity
• Filed a brief opposing the unconstitutional gag order on President Trump
• Filed a brief to protect President Trump’s ability to remain on the ballot
• Filed briefs supporting other states’ laws banning child mutilation
• Put St. Louis Mayor Jones on notice after her announcement to target gun rights
• Directed a letter to dozens of universities and municipalities across the state warning them to immediately end race-based affirmative action policies to ensure compliance with the Constitution and federal law
• Forced S&P Global to halt use of ESG
• Opposed Biden’s attack on gas-powered vehicles
• Filed briefs opposing other states’ unconstitutional gun laws
• Filed briefs and presented argument to the Missouri Supreme Court to defend the constitutionality of the Police Officer’s Bill of Rights

A further breakdown by section of the office can be found below:

Consumer Protection

• Obtained $32,177,058.47 in judgments/settlements for the State of Missouri
• Recovered $12,653,836.14 in restitution for Missouri citizens
• Handled 59,822 consumer complaints and inquiries

Public Safety  

• Received guilty verdicts from a jury in 19 cases
• Obtained guilty pleas in 35 cases
• Entered in 85 assist cases across the state
• Closed 19 post-conviction relief cases
• Received 209 habeas referrals
• Closed 365 habeas cases
• Obtained 6 sexually violent predator commitments

Medicaid Fraud

• Handled 10 civil settlements that totaled $8,551,398.02
• Obtained 54 indictments (48 fraud indictments and 6 abuse and neglect indictments)
• Obtained 20 convictions (17 fraud convictions and 3 abuse and neglect conviction) that totaled restitution of $2,538,932.

Criminal Appeals 

• Filed 447 appellate briefs
• Opened 507 new cases
• Closed 406 cases
• Argued 14 cases before the Missouri Supreme Court
• Argued 120 cases before the District Court of Appeals

Governmental Affairs 

• Provided 56 Sunshine Law public training sessions (the most conducted in recorded AGO history)
• Closed or resolved 568 total Sunshine Law complaints (the most amount in recorded AGO history), including issuing dozens of warning letters that may include mandatory training sessions or compliance plans to reduce future compliance concerns
• Obtained 50 successful situations of helping individuals obtain access to records from local entities
• Prevailed in over 20 cases on appeal in the Missouri Court of Appeals or the Missouri Supreme Court
• Ensured that foster children who were abused and neglected are placed with loving, stable families
• Obtained several dozen guardianships over individuals found permanently incompetent to stand fit for trial, to ensure they will receive proper mental healthcare and oversight and ensuring the safety of the community
• Opened 1,266 new matters
• Closed 1,086 matters

Litigation

• Opened 167 new cases
• Closed 240 cases

Labor

• Closed 2,907 Second Injury Fund claims and 534 Central Accident Reporting Office claims. The total closed files represent an approximate total of $6,849,949 in savings for the Second Injury Fund and an approximate total of $2,066,590 in savings for CARO.
• Collected $67,259.01 in criminal penalties and restitution
• Closed out 17 fraud or noncompliance cases with either a guilty plea or completed Deferred Prosecution Agreement

Financial Services

• Obtained 388 judgments modifying existing child support orders, ensuring Missouri children get the correct amount as stipulated by Missouri Supreme Court guidelines
• Processed over $12.9 million in payments
• Closed 2,949 matters

Constituent Services

• Satisfied 15,673 concerns from Missourians
• Top opinions received in order of magnitude:

1. Support for Efforts in Missouri v. Biden
2. Support for Action Against Circuit Attorney Gardner
3. Support for Efforts Against Radical Transgender Ideology

• Engaged in recurring outreach correspondence to 9,033 individuals who requested updates on actions taken by the office

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to fight and deliver wins for Missourians in 2023,” said Attorney General Bailey. “I’m excited to do it all over again with my team in 2024.”

Original source can be found here.