Supreme Court of Mo. asks attorney general’s office to delete photo with judges ‘used for political purposes’

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) - The Supreme Court of Missouri is renouncing the use of a photo they say was used by Eric Schmitt’s campaign for political purposes.

According to the statement from the court, late on Thursday evening, June 16 they learned a campaign mailer used a photo of Attorney General Eric Schmitt and three of the court’s judges.

They said the mailer is for Schmitt’s candidacy for the United States Senate.

You can click here to read the full statement.

According to the court, the photo was taken by a member of the attorney general’s staff during a public event the judges were invited to during the state’s bicentennial celebration last August.

They said the judges attended the event in their official capacities to “mark a moment of the branches of state government working together.”

The court said neither it, nor the judges, knew the photo would be distributed or used in a political context.

They said they asked the attorney general’s office to delete the photo and any others like it from the office’s public or social media accounts.

A spokesperson with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office issued this statement on Friday regarding the court’s request: “As is common practice amongst elected officials, the Attorney General’s Office has publicly posted thousands of pictures of the Attorney General at public events, including the Bicentennial event, across multiple social media channels.”