WASTEBUSTERS: State’s legal expenses top $6 million in May

Missouri's legal expenses totaled $6,064,739 in May, according to the Attorney General report on the Legal Expense Fund.

That amount represents the highest monthly total that the fund has expended in at least 18 months.

"We represent the people, but we also represent all the different agencies in the state of Missouri," said Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. "No matter what the issue is, we're the lawyers. We do everything we can to represent the state's interest the best we can, whether that's by way of settlement or taking the case ultimately to trial."

Nearly $5 million of that May sum was paid to Patricia Daniels, a former Kansas City teacher who was awarded the money in a discrimination lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Social Services. 

Schmitt told ABC 17 News Wednesday that his office takes transparency very seriously and that Missouri leads the nation in that effort.

"Our main focus is really to be as transparent as we can," said Schmitt. "We want to have a culture of professionalism and uphold the rule of law in this office."

In 2017, the total expenditures from the Legal Expense Fund was  $22,938,187, in 2018, the total was $27,788,512 and in the first five months of 2019, $15,211,620 has been spent in the state's legal costs.