Fate of embattled Missouri House Speaker could be determined by ethics hearing and GOP caucus

Accused of threatening legislative staff and stealing from taxpayers, Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher has denied any wrongdoing and rebuffed calls for his resignation. His alleged "ethical misconduct" will be the subject of a House Ethics Committee hearing this week.
Whether Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher can survive the storm of scandals that has engulfed him over the last month could start to come into better focus after two meetings this week.

The first is on Wednesday, when Plocher will for the second time be the subject of a hearing of the Missouri House Ethics Committee — though the scope of the panel’s deliberations is expected to expand to include a newly filed complaint against the speaker alleging “ethical misconduct.”

The following day, House Republicans will gather in Jefferson City for their annual winter caucus, an event that normally focuses on formulating an agenda for the upcoming legislative session but this year could be overtaken by the speaker’s plight.

A formal investigation by the ethics committee, or an uprising within his caucus, could put Plocher’s future in peril. But so far, the embattled Republican from Des Peres has maintained his innocence and flatly rejected any suggestion that he should resign.