Missouri Attorney General Bailey Investigates Grain Belt Express Over History Of Lies And False Promises

July 2, 2025 10:43 am

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announces he has issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to Grain Belt Express, LLC (GBE) following widespread concerns over misleading claims and a track record of dishonesty surrounding its transmission line project. Simultaneously, Attorney General Bailey submitted a formal letter to the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), to offer the full force of his Office’s support in a reevaluation of GBE’s prior approval based on seemingly false assumptions and fraudulent data.

“Grain Belt Express has repeatedly lied to Missourians about the jobs it would create, the benefits it would deliver, and the land it seeks to take,” said Attorney General Bailey. “We will not allow a private corporation to trample property rights and mislead regulators for a bait and switch that serves out-of-state interests instead of Missourians.”

GBE is currently backed by a Biden Administration $4.9 billion conditional federal loan guarantee and has filed nearly 50 eminent domain lawsuits against Missouri landowners to seize property for a speculative project, which seem to increasingly serve out-of-state data centers, not Missouri families.

The New York Times calls Attorney General Bailey’s actions, “a major setback for Invenergy, the energy company that is behind the project…”

The demand issued by the Attorney General’s Office compels GBE to produce documents and communications related to its economic claims, promises of job creation, marketing tactics, environmental impacts, landowner outreach, and shifting project goals. These actions are taken under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which prohibits false promises, fraud, and deceptive practices in connection with business activities in the state.

Attorney General Bailey’s letter to the PSC also urges the Commission to reevaluate the Certificate of Convenience and Necessity previously granted to Grain Belt Express. The letter notes that GBE’s application relied on speculative and possibly fraudulent assumptions, including the existence of a carbon tax that was never enacted by Missouri or federal law and does not exist.

The Attorney General’s Office is calling on the PSC to exercise its full authority under Missouri law and recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Orders 1920, 1920-A, and 1920-B, which empower state utility commissions to demand updated long-term planning and revoke project approvals that are no longer in the public interest.

“Our mission is to stand up for Missouri’s farmers, families, and landowners, and that means stopping billion-dollar land grabs disguised as infrastructure,” concluded Attorney General Bailey. “We are launching this investigation to protect landowners and demand accountability from a project built on broken promises. We will not allow a private corporation to trample property rights and mislead regulators just to secure federal subsidies and political favor.”

The CID served on Grain Belt Express is available here.

The full letter to the Public Service Commission can be read here.