Following is a statement from Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Jared Craighead on the lawsuit filed today by Jay Nixon against Ameren:

“Jay Nixon has literally played politics with the Taum Sauk dam collapse from day one. From the $19,000 in backdoor political contributions he received from Ameren to his tasteless attack yesterday on the Department of Natural Resources’ employees and their proposed settlement with Ameren, Jay Nixon has consistently put his own political ambitions ahead of the people of Missouri. This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to insulate him from criticism for extorting campaign cash from the ‘target’ of an investigation. Jay Nixon will not be able to effectively represent the state in court in the Ameren case given his abysmal litigation record on almost every issue and his conflict of interest in this case.”