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n a Missouri commissions lawsuit, Judge Stephen Bough has rebuffed efforts by multiple defendants to have him recuse himself over allegations of a conflict of interest. The judge's decision comes after defense attorneys claimed he failed to disclose his wife's receipt of political campaign donations from plaintiff attorneys.

    Bough denied the motion led by Hanna Holdings, which argued that the judge should step down due to perceived impropriety. The defendants pointed out that several plaintiff attorneys had made contributions to Bough's wife, Andrea, a Kansas City councilwoman, totaling around $2,500. However, the judge countered that these donations were made years before the case was filed and did not meet the burden of proof for recusal.

    The judge also disputed Hanna Holdings' claim that plaintiff attorneys failed to disclose the donations until January. Bough noted that the disclosure had actually been made in a settlement hearing last May, while Hanna's attorneys were present. Furthermore, he pointed out that Hanna's own attorneys had donated to his wife's campaign without mentioning it in their motion.

    Bough expressed surprise at the defendants' attempt to mislead the court about the source of one donation, which came from a firefighter organization's political action committee. The judge wrote that no reasonable questions of impartiality were present and that the defendants failed to cite any relevant ethics rules or precedents to support their position.