As all of Missouri awaits the results of an autopsy, speculation runs rampant in the unusual death of the state auditor, Tom Schwiech. Authorities called it a suicide, almost immediately, but there are few who are accepting that on face value, at least until some harder evidence/investigation proves otherwise.
Schweich was not the kind of man who left an impression of depression or instability. He had an illustrious political career right up until the time he announced his run for governor in 2016, just a few weeks ago on January 28. He was well respected as state auditor and very well liked among the grassroots conservative community.
The campaign started off with great enthusiasm. Perhaps the reason Schweich was so popular among grassroots conservatives was because he was a straight talker and not afraid to go after the established political players. In this youtube vid, (at the 25 minute mark) he calls out Missouri’s biggest political funding agent, billionaire, Rex Sinquefield, for buying political monopolies for personal gain. Sinquefield contributed $1 million to his Republican primary opponent, Catherine Hanaway. In addition to declaring all out war against the Hanaway/Sinquefield gubernatorial ticket, he outlined, in detail, Sinqufield’s history of buying politicians and initiatives in Missouri.
The establishment Republicans may have been gearing up for a contentious primary, as well. Just days after he took office as the Missouri GOP Chairman, John Hancock found himself in the middle of a controversy involving campaign smears against Schweich. People Magazine published a story, widely circulated in St. Louis, that Schweich was hiding a Jewish heritage, a supposed scandal that would be detrimental to his campaign and cast aspersions of anti-Semites in the Republican Party.
Timelines are important in this story. Just minutes before the alleged suicide, Schweich was placing telephone calls to local media, and leaving voicemails, to set a press conference for later the same afternoon. Speculation has it he intended to address the anti-Semite allegations. Timing of the events leading to the actual time of death is leaving just about everyone who followed his career to question the circumstances under which he left this world.
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