Missouri AG Bailey launches investigation into Grain Belt Express

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has launched an investigation into the Grain Belt Express power line project, citing concerns over what he says are misleading claims and potential fraud. 

Bailey has issued a Civil Investigative Demand compelling the Grain Belt Express’s parent company to provide documents related to job creation promises, marketing, and landowner outreach. 

He’s also asking the Missouri Public Service Commission to reevaluate GBE’s prior approval, alleging it was based on speculative and possibly fraudulent assumptions. 

Bailey, a Republican, criticized GBE for filing nearly 50 eminent domain lawsuits against Missouri landowners while benefiting from a 4-point-9 billion federal loan guarantee issued by the Biden Administration shortly after Donald Trump was re-elected president. 

The Grain Belt Express is a proposed powerline that would funnel electricity from wind turbines in Kansas, across northern Missouri and Illinois to Indiana. 

A company spokesperson says Bailey is playing politics with U.S. power.