Accusations leveled at Josh Hawley by Secretary of State Ashcroft

(AP) — Missouri’s secretary of state is investigating fellow Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley over allegations that he used public funds to bolster his successful U.S. Senate bid.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s deputy general counsel confirmed the investigation in a Thursday letter. The investigation is in response to a complaint filed by a liberal organization.

The American Democracy Legal Fund says it was a misuse of taxpayer-funded resources for out-of-state political consultants to direct attorney general staff to do work that would help Hawley’s campaign.

Attorney general spokeswoman Mary Compton in a statement said the office is happy to cooperate with the investigation and “put these ridiculous allegations to bed once and for all.”

She called the allegations “totally meritless” and said no taxpayer resources were ever used for the campaign.