Todd P. Graves is a private practice attorney and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician, who previously served as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Western District of Missouri. A twice-elected state prosecutor who is currently in private practice with the law firm Graves Garrett LLC, his practice focuses on representing individuals and businesses nationwide before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Graves was born and raised in

Tarkio, Missouri Tarkio is a city in Tarkio Township, Atchison County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,506 at the 2020 census. It was platted in 1880 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Tarkio" is from a Native American word meaning "place where wa ...

. His brother is U.S. Representative

Sam Graves Samuel Bruce Graves Jr. (born November 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the United States representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches across most of the northern third of ...

.Graves profile
georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov, May 8, 2007; accessed April 24, 2015. On January 7, 2017, Graves was elected with unanimous support by the Missouri Republican State Committee to serve as Chairman of the

Missouri Republican Party The Missouri Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Missouri. Its chair is Nick Myers, who has served since 2021. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling the majority of Missouri's U.S. H ...

Notable lawsuits

He filed a lawsuit in May 2014 on behalf of political activist

Eric O'Keefe Eric O'Keefe (born March 11, 1961) is an American author, editor, and journalist based in Texas. His most recent book is the Palm Beach polo murder mystery ''The Perfect 10''. He authored the book '' The Cup'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the ...

(Wisconsin Club for Growth) against the Government Accountability Board (GAB) in Wisconsin, which captured national media attention, including coverage by ''The Wall Street Journal''. The lawsuit, which also names Kevin Kennedy, the board's executive director and general counsel, asserts that, under Kennedy's direction, the GAB collaborated with five county district attorneys in a secret John Doe investigation of O'Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth. According to the suit, this is in violation of state statutes that restrict GAB to investigations relating to civil violations of campaign laws. Graves was the first lawyer to file a suit on behalf of a group of Tea Party organizations against the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

, alleging the IRS engaged in inappropriate "targeting of conservative political groups for extra scrutiny as they sought tax-exempt status", as reported in ''The Kansas City Star''. The lawsuit, pending in the Southern District of Ohio, where most Tea Party applications were initially processed, raises claims of viewpoint-based discrimination and retaliation under the First Amendment.

Business and community involvements

Graves also operates a cattle ranching business near

Smithville, Missouri Smithville is a city in Clay and Platte counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, along the Little Platte River. The population was 10,406 at the 2020 United States Census. Geography Smithville is ...

, which has been featured by the ''Kansas City Business Journal''. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Herzog Contracting Corp, a St. Joseph-based railroad and road construction company. On March 18, 2021, Governor

Mike Parson Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of Missouri since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Parson served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011 and in the ...

nominated Graves to serve on the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Board of Curators from the 6th congressional district. On April 7, 2021, Graves was confirmed to the Board. His term will end on January 1, 2027.

U.S. Attorney

Graves took his oath of office on September 17, 2001, as an interim United States attorney appointed by the U.S. District Court. His appointment was approved by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 11, 2001. He initially appeared on a list of 12 U.S. attorneys slated to be dismissed. Seven on that list were dismissed on December 7, 2006. In April 2007, a Justice Department spokesperson declined to discuss redacted names on the list. He said the Justice Department withheld the names of prosecutors who had been considered for possible dismissal to protect their reputations and "their ability to function effectively as U.S. attorneys or professionals in other roles." On May 9, 2007, Graves disclosed that he had been forced out by the Department of Justice, and had not departed on his own initiative. After resigning from his position as U.S. attorney, Graves formed the law firm of Graves Bartle & Marcus, LLC, which has evolved into the firm Graves Garrett LLC and is based in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

Years prior to U.S. Attorney service

Graves received an undergraduate degree in agricultural economics, with a minor in political science, from the

, and a law degree and a master's degree in public administration from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1991. Right out of law school, Graves was employed as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Missouri, and served that year as a staff assistant on the Governor's Commission on Crime. From 1992–1994, Graves was in private practice with the law firm of

Bryan Cave Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international law firm with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner me ...

. In 1994, he was elected as Platte County Prosecuting Attorney (at the time, he was the youngest full-time prosecuting attorney in Missouri), and re-elected in 1998, an office that he held until his U.S. Attorney appointment.Western District of Missouri: A Record of the United States Attorneys Office, 2001-2006
usdoj.gov; accessed April 24, 2015.

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

In January 2006, Graves was asked to step down from his job by Michael A. Battle (R), then director of the Justice department's

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) is the office within the Department of Justice that provides executive and administrative support for the 93 United States Attorneys located throughout the 50 states, District of Columbia, Gu ...

.Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen
"Number of Fired Prosecutors Grows: Dismissals Began Earlier Than Justice Dept. Has Said"
washingtonpost.com, May 10, 2007; accessed April 24, 2015/ Graves had clashed with the Department of Justice's civil rights division over a federal lawsuit involving Missouri's voter rolls. The department was pushing for a lawsuit against Missouri, accusing the state of failing to eliminate ineligible people from voter rolls. Graves refused to sign off on the lawsuit, which was subsequently authorized by Graves' successor,

Bradley Schlozman Bradley Joseph Schlozman (born February 6, 1971) is an American attorney who served as acting head of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. A member of the Republican Party, ...

(R). In April 2007, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. In October 2008, U.S. Senator (R-MO)

Kit Bond Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond (born March 6, 1939) is an American attorney, politician and former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett W ...

apologized to Graves, after a

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States ...

report cited Bond forcing Graves out over a disagreement with Representative

(R). Following the report, Attorney General

Michael Mukasey Michael Bernard Mukasey (; born July 28, 1941) is an American attorney and former federal judge who served as the 81st Attorney General of the United States from 2007 to 2009. Born in New York City in 1941, Mukasey attended Ramaz School, graduat ...

appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether former Attorney General

Alberto Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive governme ...

(R) and other officials involved in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys broke the law.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and nonpartisan U.S. government ethics and accountability watchdog organization.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 Founded ...

filed an

Ethics Committee An ethics committee is a body responsible for ensuring that medical experimentation and human subject research are carried out in an ethical manner in accordance with national and international law. Specific regions An ethics committee in the E ...

complaint against Bond over his role in ousting Graves.

Conservative Politics

Graves was unanimously elected to a two-year term as chairman of the Missouri Republican Party in January 2017. His firm is the registered agent of Cornerstone 1791 and Liberty Alliance USA, an organization described by its executive director, Chris Vas, as "formed in order to grow the conservative movement in Missouri now and for decades to come." Graves serves as President of the Board to the Stanley M. Herzog Foundation, which supports the advancement of Christian education through an endowment of nearly half a billion dollars. The foundation will carry on Stanley Herzog’s mission of supporting education that instills important values like commitment to God, family, and community. The foundation is headquartered in Smithville, Missouri at their 18,000 square foot state-of-the-art training and office facility completed in the summer of 2022.

References

Sources

* Talev, Margaret; Ron Hutcheson and Marisa Taylor (2007-04-27)
Administration considered firing 12 U.S. attorneys but cut list down"
realcities.com; accessed April 24, 2015. *

David Stout David Stout (May 13, 1942 – February 11, 2020) was a journalist and author of mystery novels, two of which have been turned into TV movies, and of non-fiction about violent crime. For his first novel, ''Carolina Skeletons'', he won the Edgar A ...

(May 10, 2007)
"House "Democrats Raise New Criticism of Gonzales"
''The New York Times''; retrieved May 10, 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Todd Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy Living people Missouri Republicans People from Tarkio, Missouri State political party chairs of Missouri United States Attorneys for the Western District of Missouri University of Missouri alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people)