JEFFERSON CITY — Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine’s campaign is accusing Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt of helping facilitate the sale of Missouri farmland to foreign buyers in exchange for campaign contributions and several holiday hams.
Between 2008 and 2013, Schmitt accepted at least four hams from lobbyist Jewell Patek, who represents Smithfield Farms, the Virginia company whose parent firm is based in Hong Kong.
Schmitt’s campaign also received a total of $3,000 from Smithfield between 2011 and 2013, according to Missouri Ethics Commission records, while he was serving in the state Senate.
Schmitt, the Republican nominee and frontrunner in the race for U.S. Senate this year, voted twice as a state lawmaker in 2013 to allow foreign ownership of farmland in Missouri — votes that benefited Smithfield, whose parent company owned about 42,000 acres of Missouri land in 2015, the Post-Dispatch reported at the time.Â
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“Eric Schmitt helped sell 145,000 acres of Missouri farmland to Communist China for a few thousand dollars in campaign donations and some Christmas hams,†Jacob Long, spokesman for Valentine’s campaign, on Twitter on Monday. “Laughable to think he’d do anything differently as a Senator.â€
He said Valentine “won’t owe anything to anyone†in Washington. Schmitt’s campaign less than two hours earlier on Twitter an ad outlining the attorney general’s ethics plan.
Eric Schmitt helped sell 145,000 acres of Missouri farmland to Communist China for a few thousand dollars in campaign donations and some Christmas hams. Laughable to think he'd do anything differently as a Senator.
— Jacob Long (@JacobLongSTL)
In Washington, won't owe anything to anyone.
Schmitt wasn’t the only lawmaker to get a ham from Smithfield, though. In 2013, more than 40 legislators — Democrat and Republican — got one, according to a review of ethics commission records.
The hams Schmitt accepted were valued between $20 and $25.
Voters banned lobbyist gifts to Missouri lawmakers in 2020 through to the state constitution.
In 2013, ethics commission records show Smithfield doled out nearly $4,700 in gifts, including more than $2,700 spent at a Jefferson City wine and liquor store for the entire Missouri Senate.
Patek, lobbyist for Smithfield since 2007, did not respond to a request for comment earlier this month.
During the campaign, Schmitt has tried to paint himself as tough on China, touting a lawsuit he filed against the Chinese Communist Party over the COVID-19 pandemic. His opponents in the Republican primary weren’t convinced.
Responding to gibes by U.S. Rep. Billy Long, who called him “Shanghai Schmitt,†the attorney general said his record on China was being misrepresented. “I’m the attorney general that has sued China — the first one to sue China for unleashing the coronavirus on the world.â€
The Valentine campaign’s focus on the sale of Missouri farmland to Chinese interest mirrors Republican campaign talking points in other states.
In Ohio, Trump-backed Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance that it was “time to stop foreign purchases of American farmland. Our people deserve food security.â€
In Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley also criticized such purchases this month. “We should not allow foreign buyers especially those backed by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to take prime farmland away from American family farmers,†Grassley .
And, House Republicans this month requested that the Government Accountability Office probe foreign ownership of farmland, citing national security concerns due to Chinese purchases, .
Asked whether any of the hams influenced Schmitt’s votes, the attorney general’s campaign directed attention to Valentine, who has assets valued between $68 million and $215 million, according to her personal financial disclosure.
Rich Chrismer, Schmitt campaign spokesman, called her “one of the most ethically-conflicted candidates in U.S. history.â€
Schmitt’s campaign has referenced an article in the days before the Aug. 2 Democratic primary that details Valentine’s investments.
Insider reported that even though Valentine pledged to “stand up†to insurance companies, she was heavily invested in them, earning between $238,000 and $2.1 million in investment income from health insurance companies last year.
“She owns millions in Big Pharma, insurance companies and Big Tech companies,†Chrismer said. “For years, she has profited off these companies that she now wants to oversee and regulate.â€
“While The Heiress Valentine wants to talk about a 14-year-old Christmas ham, Attorney General Schmitt is focused on fighting the inflation-creating policies supported by The Heiress Valentine that today are making meat, food and groceries more expensive for Missouri families,†Chrismer said.
Said Long, Valentine’s spokesman, in response: “Trudy’s the only one in this race who can say she’ll be nobody’s senator but yours, which is why she’s released a comprehensive ethics plan and committed to placing assets in a blind trust and banning members of Congress from trading stocks in office,†he said last week. “The same can’t be said for career politician Eric Schmitt.â€
On Monday, Schmitt released an ad outlining his own ethics plan.
“We need to pass term limits, ban politicians from becoming lobbyists, and stop them from trading stocks and getting rich off insider information,†he said. “And if they won’t balance the budget, they shouldn’t get paid.â€
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to remove erroneous information on Smithfield’s ownership of Missouri farmland.