The rise and fall of Missouri lawmaker Rod Jetton

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Rod Jetton, seen here in a booking photo from Cole County, Mo., after he turned himself in on felony assault charges.


JEFFERSON CITY — Rod Jetton shouted his way onto the Missouri political scene.

In January 2004, Gov. Bob Holden (D) was lecturing the Republican-led House of Representatives over shortcomings the Democrat saw in the GOP legislative agenda. Jetton didn't take kindly to his tone.

He rose from his back-row seat and bellowed: "Release the money, governor!" — a reference to a dispute over education funds.

It was a brash move, cocky even. But it worked.

Jetton became the next speaker of the House, one of the most powerful jobs in state government. He was a key figure in passing a host of Republican legislation in 2005, including controversial cuts in Medicaid and caps on medical malpractice lawsuits. And he raised thousands of dollars for himself and other Republicans.

Now, five years later, Jetton is far from the pinnacle of power.

His political career vanished overnight after Jetton was accused of assaulting a Sikeston woman last year. And an FBI investigation into his actions as speaker has caused even some of his staunchest supporters to run for the hills.

That federal inquiry has lawmakers and lobbyists in the Capitol talking daily about the thin line between political deal-making and breaking the law.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/politics/story/9A17B7A1C2C64D0F862576C40006B03D?OpenDocument

[sharesunited]

1. That front shot looks like Trigg Palin all grown up.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. greasy hair

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. 'Assault'? He's a rapist!

The beating, Lowe testified, began after Jetton arrived at her home and they shared a bottle of wine. After she finished a glass, everything became "very fuzzy," she testified, and he tried to pull her pants off. When she told him no, Lowe said, Jetton repeatedly hit her across the left side of her head.

"I remember just being in a struggle and trying to get my hands free," Lowe said. "I remember coming to again and he was choking me. I couldn't scream ... I couldn't reach him to get off of me."

Brown, a Mississippi County judge, was assigned to Jetton's case in early January after Wilson filed for a change of judge at Jetton's initial arraignment.

Lowe told the court that after going in and out of consciousness, she woke up a third time and Jetton had taken her into her bedroom and was having sexual intercourse with her. She also said at one point her hands were bound together with a belt. The photographs entered into evidence don't show bruising around her wrists; instead they revealed bruising on the left side of her face, her neck, left thigh and right ankle.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1613362.html

[TlalocW]

4. I don't believe in phrenology

But looking at that boy's face and head tells me there's something wrong with him.

TlalocW