Former state lawmaker Bob Johnson testified before a grand jury this morning about a bill that's at the center of a federal probe into the way business was done in Jefferson City under Rod Jetton, the former speaker of the house.
Johnson's recollections, which he shared with reporters after testifying, paint a process that seems a long way from indictment-worthy corruption.
The events in question took place in 2005. State Sen. Matt Bartle, a Lee's Summit Republican and a social conservative, introduced a bill placing new restrictions and taxes on strip clubs and porn shops.
Johnson, who chaired the Local Government committee in the Missouri House, said that he asked Jetton to send the bill to his committee. Johnson said he felt that his committee was the appropriate place for Bartle's bill to get a hearing.
Like Bartle, Johnson is a Lee's Summit Republican. But the two men represent different wings of the party. Johnson is a live-and-let-live social moderate. Johnson said it was no secret that he felt that Bartle's bill represented an intrusion of liberty.
Vicki Schneider, an O'Fallon Republican who was the vice chair of Johnson's committee, supported the restrictions. Johnson said Schneider asked him if he worried that his daughter might strip for a living. A reporter asked Johnson if his adult daughter had pursued a career on the pole.
"Kind of," Johnson answered, not missing a beat. "She's a commercial banker."
Johnson's committee passed out a version of Bartle's bill. Johnson said it was not as restrictive as Bartle's but more regulation-minded than he we would have liked. "We did our own thing," Johnson told reporters.
The bill did not receive a full vote in the House.
Strip club owners gave $35,000 to a campaign fund with ties to Jetton four days before the former speaker assigned the bill to Johnson's committee. Johnson said he did not learn of the contribution until The Kansas City Star published a story about it a year after the fact.
The contribution anchors the corruption case the U.S. Department of Justice is trying to build against Jetton, who is expected to testify at the U.S. Courthouse in Kansas City tomorrow. Johnson said he was on the stand for 40 minutes, and the questions from the U.S. attorneys did not go in other directions.
Johnson brought copies of the legislation, as well as his subpoena, to court. "It was a little nerve-wracking," he said of the grand-jury experience. "I didn't know what to expect."
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