The Missouri Gaming Commission is citing attorney-client privilege for refusing to release a report on how it conducts licensing investigations.
The report, prepared by a Kansas City law firm at a cost of almost $400,000, was received by the five-member commission during a closed session Jan. 27. When The Independent filed a Sunshine Law request for the report on Jan. 29, the commission’s general counsel, Ed Grewach, responded that it will not be released.
“The entirety of the documents you requested are closed records under (the Sunshine law), as privileged attorney-client communication and legal work product,” Grewach wrote.
Graves Garrett, a Kansas City law firm run by some of the state’s most well-connected Republicans, was hired to conduct the inquiry during an April 17, 2020, closed meeting of the commission.