Missourians have good reason to be concerned about the double-laundering of the single largest political donation made to a candidate in state history. The nearly $2 million donation in July to Republican gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens raises questions about who is trying to influence Greitens and why he refuses to disclose the donors' identities.

Voters know that candidates are beholden to big contributors. When a campaign strives to keep the donor's identity secret, it's impossible for voters to determine whom the candidate owes favors to or how they might wield their influence. Those details can reveal aspects of a candidate's position that he or she might not want to state openly, especially if it gives ammunition to the opposition.

But any candidate who chooses darkness over transparency is someone worthy of public scrutiny. If this is how Greitens behaves in his campaign, imagine how he would behave in office.

State and federal laws are as much at fault here as Greitens, who also has steadfastly refused to make his tax returns public. He is not legally required to do either. Federal campaign finance laws allow super PACs to remain anonymous and permit unlimited donations to committees that operate independently of official candidate committees.

Match that up with Missouri's law allowing unlimited campaign contributions for state or local politicians, and it's not too difficult to understand why a $1,975,000 check of mysterious origin found its way to Greitens.

Missouri voters can reduce the influence of money in politics on Tuesday by voting yes on Constitutional Amendment 2, which would set campaign contribution limits and require transparency regarding the source.

Greitens' donation came from SEALs for Truth, which did not provide details about the money's origin. His campaign said it came from Greitens' fellow Navy SEALs, but an analysis by the Post-Dispatch's Kevin McDermott found that the funds originated with an Ohio political operative known for dark-money dealings.

Dark money is the term for revenue given to nonprofit organizations that can spend it to influence elections but that cannot give it directly to a federal candidate. Greitens is not a federal candidate, making the donation legally acceptable.

The donation was disclosed as required under Missouri law, but because of the timing, the source could remain anonymous until Oct. 15, when the regular federal election filing would reveal who provided the money to the super PAC.

The Oct. 15 records showed that another group, American Policy Coalition Inc., had donated $2 million to SEALs for Truth the same day that group donated $1.975 million to Greitens.

As John Messmer, a political science professor at St. Louis Community College at Meramec and founder of Missourians for Government Reform, told McDermott: "When drug dealers do this, it's called money laundering."

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