Missouri ex-House speaker fined $47K for alleged campaign finance violations

FILE – Missouri House Speaker John Diehl pauses before stepping down from the dais after addressing the body for the final time, Friday, May 15, 2015, in Jefferson City, Mo. Diehl has been fined $47,000 for allegedly breaking campaign finance laws, according to records released Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A disgraced former Missouri House speaker has been fined $47,000 for allegedly breaking campaign finance laws, according to records released Tuesday.

The Missouri Ethics Commission, which handles ethics violations by politicians, said it uncovered the alleged misconduct during an audit of Republican John Diehl’s campaign last year.

Voters elected Diehl to the state House in 2008 to represent suburban St. Louis, and he briefly served as the powerful House speaker in 2015. He resigned in May 2015 after admitting to sending sexually explicit messages to a House intern.

The Ethics Commission found that Diehl opened a bank account in July 2015 where he kept unreported campaign money. The audit discovered that Diehl had roughly $52,000 more in campaign funds than

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