Jay Nixon sends vehicle-use details to the state

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A top official for Gov. Matt Blunt threatened Wednesday to subpoena Attorney General Jay Nixon's office or campaign to get information about the political use of his state vehicle and staff.

Later on Wednesday, Nixon's campaign sent most of those details to the state. Spokesman Oren Shur said Nixon had always intended to do so.

Nixon's Democratic gubernatorial campaign gave the state a $47,022 check last month as reimbursement for taking his state car and staff to political events during the past three years. Nixon is running against Blunt in the 2008 election.

But Blunt's Office of Administration has refused to cash the check. Instead, it asked Nixon's campaign to first provide documentation justifying the amount of the check. Specifically, it has asked for dates and mileage amounts for vehicle use, and the names, dates, hours and pay rates for employees who accompanied Nixon on political trips.

Administration commissioner Michael Keathley sent Nixon a letter Wednesday setting a Dec. 7 deadline to respond -- either with the information or with an estimated date by which it will be provided.

If that doesn't happen, Keathley wrote, "I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to me by statute to ensure that the proper accounting required by law is made available to the state."

Asked what he meant, Keathley pointed to a state law giving the administration commissioner power to examine witnesses under oath and issue subpoenas to compel evidence in order to settle a financial account.

Just after the close of the state business day Wednesday, Nixon's campaign provided The Associated Press with a copy of a letter to Keathley accompanied by a more-detailed accounting of the reimbursement check. Shur said the information had just been sent to the state.

The reply was not prompted by the possibility of a subpoena, but rather by Keathley's late-October request and had simply taken a while to compile, Shur said.

It shows, for example, that Nixon used his state vehicle for nearly 4,490 miles of nonofficial travel in September, which at a rate of 25 cents a mile came to a $1,122.48 reimbursement for that month. Attorney general's office staff accompanied him on nonofficial business on 20 days in September, for which the campaign calculated a $2,115.80 reimbursement.

Although Missouri law prohibits state vehicles from being used for private purposes, Nixon had justified the practice by claiming he is always on duty as attorney general -- even when campaigning for governor. He claimed the state vehicle and staff were necessary for security purposes.

When Nixon sent the state a reimbursement check Oct. 26, he also said that he had begun using a campaign vehicle for political events.

Told that Nixon's campaign was sending additional details Wednesday, Keathley replied: "That would certainly be forward progress."