JEFFERSON CITY - In a desperate attempt to avoid explaining why he used his taxpayer-financed state vehicle to attend political fundraisers, Jay Nixon dropped a bombshell on Missourians today by claiming that he is using tax dollars for a secret police force that most in the public including the Legislature had never heard of before.

Nixon’s lawyer Ted Ardini told The Kansas City Star today that his boss employs “security personnel” from within the attorney general’s office because of unidentified threats, yet Ardini “declined to elaborate” on important questions such as: Were these threats reported to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and if not, why not? From what division within Nixon’s office did he get his secret police force? Who are they? What are their qualifications? What part of Nixon’s budget is paying for the secret police force? What safety upgrades have been made to his state car that make it safer than any other car? Did the Legislature appropriate money for this purpose?

It also is disturbingly convenient that Missourians were only made aware of the existence of this secret police force after Nixon was caught on tape using his state car to attend political fundraisers in Ladue and Kirksville in violation of a state law that states: "State agencies shall be responsible for ensuring that state vehicles are used only for state business and not for private purposes." Nixon has produced no records showing that he reimbursed the state for the political use of the state’s vehicle.

“The fact of the matter is that Jay Nixon illegally used his taxpayer-financed state vehicle for political purposes then tried to create a smokescreen by manufacturing ridiculous X-Files-type conspiracy theories that include a taxpayer-financed secret police force that few if any people knew about until he got caught doing something wrong,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “Nixon’s desperate attempt to explain his illegal activity has raised very serious questions about the secrecy under which his office is operating and spending taxpayer dollars.”

Nixon’s Democrat Party, meanwhile, tried to help their boss out of his legal mess by trying to contradict a state law which states: "The director of the governor’s security division shall provide transportation, security, and protection for the governor and the governor’s immediate family." And as Maj. Bret Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol told The Star: "It doesn’t matter to us if he’s (the governor) attending a political event."