Schmitt Senate campaign mailer photo draws ire of Missouri Supreme Court

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court said Friday that judges were "disappointed" a mailer sent in support of Attorney General Eric Schmitt's U.S. Senate campaign used a photo of Schmitt and three judges.

The mailer was not from Schmitt's campaign but from a group supporting his bid for the Republican nomination in the August primary. A Schmitt campaign spokesman said the mailer "was an independent expenditure not authorized by Attorney General Eric Schmitt or his U.S. Senate campaign."

The Supreme Court said the photo was taken by a member of the attorney general's staff during a public event in August celebrating the state's bicentennial.

The Missouri Constitution prohibits Supreme Court judges from engaging in political activity "and this photograph should not be taken as such an endorsement despite the implication created by the mailer," a news release from the court stated.

The release said the incident will be reported, but it wasn't clear to whom.

"The judges are disappointed that this photo was used, without their knowledge or consent, for such a blatant political purpose," the release stated.