As Attorney General, now-Senator Josh Hawley ran an office that knowingly and purposefully violated the Sunshine Law — and did so in ways that expressly benefited Hawley’s political ambitions and kept the public in the dark. That’s from a ruling issued today by Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem, who granted summary judgment to Hawley’s foes and ordered the AG’s office to pay the maximum under Missouri law: $12,000 in fines, with their opponents’ attorney’s fees on top of that. The AG’s opponents have 60 days to submit their legal fees to the court for repayment — a bill that will surely be much bigger than the fine.