(1) A Dig on Sen. Claire McCaskill and husband Joseph Shepard

Basics:

Sen. Claire Conner McCaskill, 65 years old, born July 24, 1953 in Rolla, Missouri

McCaskill's father, William Young McCaskill (1925-1993), served as a state Insurance Commissioner during the administration of Gov. Warren E. Hearnes

Her mother, Betty Anne Ward (1928-2012), was first woman elected to City Council of Columbia, MO. Betty Anne McCaskill lost a race for a seat in the state House of Representatives to Leroy Blunt, the father of Sen. Roy Blunt and grandfather of former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt

High school cheerleader, homecoming queen, Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at Univ. of Missouri

J.D. 1978 Univ. of Missouri law

Spent only 3 years in private practice with rest of career in public service

Missouri House of Representatives from 1983 to 1989

Jackson County Prosecutor from 1993 to 1998

State Auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007

Elected Gov. of Missouri in 2004, beating Democratic incumbent Bob Holden in primary, lost to Repub Matt Blunt in a close general election

Defeated Repub incumbent Jim Talent in 2006 Senatorial election

First woman in Missouri elected Senator in her own right

Won reelection against Rep. opponent Todd Akin in 2012

When Missouri Sen. Kit Bond retired in 2013, she became MO’s senior senator

Committee assignments:

:: Armed services

:: Commerce, Science & Transportation

:: Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs

:: Special Committee on Aging

:: Chair, Homeland Security Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight

(Source: https://www.getnetworth.com/claire-mccaskill-net-worth/)

Wait, wait, her first husband (divorced in 1995) was MURDERED?

“McCaskill was married to David Exposito, with whom she had three children. The couple divorced in 1995, after 11 years of marriage, while McCaskill was Jackson County Prosecutor. David Exposito was found murdered in Kansas City, Kansas on December 12, 2005.[96] Exposito's murder has never been solved.[97]”

(Oh man, must read: https://web.archive.org/web/20110719003413/https://www.kmbc.com/news/5525535/detail.html)

His 1995 divorce filing in St. Louis County, MO states that he and his first wife paid no taxes in 1995.

Joseph Shepard first showed up on the radar profile back in 2006. There’s a definite pattern of repeated shady financial management attached to him and his real estate doings, and Claire’s been right there in it.

“For 30 years, Shepard has used that flair for finance to amass a housing empire that, at one point, included nearly 10,000 apartments in 23 states. Now, those far-flung holdings have given the Missouri Republican Party ammunition against McCaskill in the Nov. 7 election. Party officials have accused her of hiding family assets, taking advantage of government subsidies and conducting audits where she has conflicts of interest. The GOP has filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee, alleging that Shepard's web of 264 interlocking companies is deliberately confusing. Questions revolve around how 175 of his partnerships can be valued at less than$1,000. McCaskill, the state auditor, said she has complied fully withdisclosure laws. According to the statement she filed with the Senate, thecouple's net worth totals between $13 million and possibly more than $30 million.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 27, 2006)

Yes, we’re both thinking “slumlord” of the guy at this point. Full St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, with full history of Joseph Shepard, family background, digs into his past labyrinthine business dealings: https://www.scribd.com/document/105546798/Family-matters-JOSEPH-A-SHEPARD-husband-of-Claire-McCaskill-has-seen-his-financial-dealings-become-the-target-of-political-attacks-Now-he-talks-ab

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Undeterred by a little unwanted attention, they were still at it in 2012:

https://nlpc.org/2012/10/25/exclusive-sen-mccaskills-husbands-businesses-benefitted-20-million-stimulus-funds/

Oops, Claire takes some flak in 2013 for buying a private plane (not her first, mind you). Geez, when the local public radio station is taking potshots at a Democrat, what next?

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/mccaskills-family-has-purchased-another-private-plane#stream/0

Uh oh, Joe’s health took a turn for the worse in 2014, with an “unspecified infection”:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mccaskill-s-husband-remains-hospitalized/article_9912022b-c7ff-5f33-93a5-3f51c2b2664b.html

Claire shells out big bucks for Washington cronies to go to Joe’s fancy 70th birthday party in Cancun. Ooh, Schumer was there! Woo!

“The cost covered airfare, hotel expenses and meals for the senators, whom McCaskill has described as her “besties” on Twitter. (Somebody, get into Claire’s Twitter, stat)

McCaskill is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, with a net worth of more than $19 million. That made her the 21st richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill in 2015, the last time the newspaper Roll Call published such rankings.

Financial disclosure records show much of that wealth comes from investments and assets belonging to her husband, Joseph Shepard, a major Democratic donor and developer from St. Louis whose assets and investments include federally subsidized affordable housing projects.”

https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article153829879.html

Claire and Joe have been chasing the dollar and the Democratic agenda hard since the beginning, per this McClatchyDC article sourced from this 2018 Kansas City Star expose:

“Businesses tied to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s husband have been awarded more than $131 million in federal subsidies since the Missouri Democrat took office in 2007, an analysis by The Kansas City Star found.

Joseph Shepard’s personal income from his investments in those businesses has grown exponentially during his wife’s two terms in the Senate.

The federal payments don’t go directly into Shepard’s pocket. Most of the money goes toward operating costs for government-subsidized housing projects Shepard is invested in. Those companies then distribute the profits to Shepard and other investors.

In 2006, the year before McCaskill entered the Senate, her husband’s personal income from those investments was between $1,608 and $16,731, according to the senator’s financial disclosure forms.

In 2017, five years into McCaskill’s second term, Shepard personally earned between $365,374 and $1,118,158 from investments in housing projects that received federal subsidies, the disclosure forms show.”

https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article215234680.html

Tsk, tsk, Claire, getting careless with this faux pas back in June, sponsoring legislation that targets offshore tax havens, then having to yank your name off the bill when those same tax havens are good for you & hubby’s money. Oopsie! So messy that even the Daily Mail jumped on it.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/32086/mccaskill-sponsored-act-targeting-tax-havens-her-hank-berrien

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5866245/McCaskills-husband-invested-1M-offshore-hedge-fund.html

These two are getting dirtier the longer I look at ‘em. Joe’s business partner Rick DeStefane, a big Democratic donor, was hit with fraud, negligence and wrongful death charges stemming from the nursing homes he owns. Joe and Rick seem to be very good buddies—they co-own vacation properties, boats & whatnot in the Ozarks. Okay, big freaking deal, donors donate to politicians. But there’s this:

“It gets a little more muddled when you consider that McCaskill is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is charged with approving public funding for the country’s nursing homes through Medicare and Medicaid disbursements.

It becomes even more muddled when you consider that DeStefane happens to be business partners with McCaskill’s husband, Joseph Shepard. In 1997, Shepard incorporated Black Hawk Partners and bought a vacation home on Lake of the Ozarks. DeStefane and Shepard also jointly own two jet skis and a 2011 Nissan Armada, according to tax and loan filings obtained by the Star.”

https://splinternews.com/claire-mccaskills-vacation-home-is-the-problem-with-ame-1818509355

and this top-notch extensive dig: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article173702521.html (really exceptional, have a look)

POTUS was right. These two are dirtier than a pig pen, and that Senate seat is snaggable.

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