Congressman Billy Long Contradicts Himself on Billy Long Auctions News-Leader Story

Trust me, I dissolved it. You don't have to dig.

Something funny is going on with Billy Long and his promise of sacrifice to Southwest Missouri voters. Take a listen and then we will look at a further development in this matter.



So the lazy reporters at the Springfield News-Leader who know their paychecks come from advertisements from Long's business interests and friends run a story today on the status of Billy Long Auctions. Once again they take Congressman Long's word for it without any investigation as the the laws and leave out once again Long's 1/3 interest in the largest real estate company in Southwest Missouri.

The News-Leader reports today, Long sold the worthless auction company (Long's words not mine) through a long slow process now.

Q: When Billy Long was campaigning for Congress last year, he told constituents that federal law would require him to dissolve or sell his auction business. Earlier this year, Long told the News-Leader he had done so.

But several readers have pointed out that the Missouri secretary of state's website lists Billy Long Auctions, LLC and BILLY LONG, INC. as "active" and "in good standing," respectively.

They wanted to know whether Long actually had dissolved his business.

A: Here is what Long had to say, through a spokesman: "We consulted with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, also known as the Ethics Committee, on what I had to do with my business before I was sworn in. The ... property was sold off piecemeal to various individuals and on July 31st it will be administratively dissolved for not filing the yearly paperwork."

A spokeswoman for the secretary of state said that is a common and legal way to end a business license.

It should be removed from the website at that point.

According to the Congressional Ethics Committee website, Congress members are banned from owning or participating in some kinds of businesses, including law practice. That is intended to prevent lobbyists from avoiding reporting requirements by funneling gifts through a politician's personal business.

Now remember I called the Missouri Secretary of State's office on this matter before Roseann Morning and they said Long must file Notice of Winding Up and Articles of Termination papers to officially dissolve Billy Long Auctions. So there are conflicting stories coming from the Secretary of State's office now. I would tend to believe that based on Congressional ethics rules, you don't just wait for a business license to run out if their is a workflow in place that will officially dissolve the company to meet Congressional rules before taking office.

I don't want to repeat what has already been said. Because an earlier story from the Springfield News-Leader on April 26, coincidentally that story has been removed.

Randy Turner gave the gist of it on his blog:

Seventh District Congressman Billy Long said he has dissolved his auction company, in accordance with Congressional rules, according to a Springfield News-Leader article.

The first News-Leader piece made it sound like it was an instantaneous deal and one that happened immediately. Today's article says it's been a slow process that will be complete on July 31, 2011. Of course Billy Long's federal financial disclosure has the date December 31,2010 as the official date.

So what appears to be a quick response to Josh Marsh's question, has turned into a complicated and possibly shady move by Congressman Long. The News-Leader still isn't asking about Long's 1/3 share in Murney Associates or why Bob Kollmeier is running an auction business that obviously has close ties to Billy Long Auctions while serving on Billy Long's Congressional staff. The News-Leader fails to close this story today.