A former Democratic state senator from St. Louis and Washington University political science instructor, Jeff Smith will be sentenced in federal court in St. Louis on Tuesday, after he pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and resigned from the Missouri Senate on Aug. 25.

In five years, Smith went on a roller coaster ride that took him from the classrooms and offices of Eliot Hall, to streets and coffee shops on the campaign trail, to the Missouri Senate floor, to the federal court where he pleaded guilty. It was a journey in which Smith, with the help of students, quickly went from a political long shot to a rising star, only to fall back down even quicker.

“I still support Jeff, I still like Jeff, and I think he made a silly mistake and will have to face severe consequences,” said 2004 graduate Michael Delman, a campaign volunteer. “But he had a lot of potential, and it’s sad to see his political career end this way.”

The matter that led to his resignation and guilty plea occurred in the very campaign that started his political career, his 2004 run for Congress. Smith built that campaign from scratch into a grassroots movement that became the subject of a documentary, “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?”

His main Democratic primary opponent, now-U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in late July 2004 alleging that Smith was involved in the production and distribution of thousands of anti-Carnahan postcards that failed to identify the parties responsible for their content—a violation of federal election law.

Smith initially denied involvement, and in 2007 the FEC cleared Smith and his campaign of wrongdoing. But when new evidence emerged, the FBI revisited the FEC investigation in the summer of 2009. The FBI found that Smith lied to the FEC in 2004 about his involvement and persuaded his campaign manager, Nick Adams, and then-state Rep. Steve Brown, D-Clayton, to do the same. Those two—both University graduates—also pleaded guilty to similar charges and will be sentenced on Tuesday.

When he pleaded guilty, Smith acknowledged the violations. He apologized to his supporters on his Web site later, writing, “This event has humbled me. I have done some significant introspection and that has been the hardest part: coming to terms with my own poor judgments and mistakes.”

More than five years after filing the complaint, Carnahan said in an interview on Tuesday that Smith’s guilty plea was “a sad day for our democratic system.”

“I think he and others were straightforward in terms of admitting what they had done and apologizing for what they had done,” Carnahan said. “We see that even though it’s years later, I think the system has worked, and we’ll expect to see the judge make a decision.”

It was a sad ending, Smith’s supporters said, to a highly promising political career for the 35-year-old.

“He definitely could have been U.S. congressman, run for senator, joined the White House in some capacity, there’s no telling what,” said Alexander Lurie, a field organizer for Smith’s 2004 campaign and a 2006 Northwestern University graduate. “But this guy is so capable, it’s a loss.”

A quick rise starting at WU

On the surface, Smith seemed like the unlikeliest candidate for national office in 2004. Although he had been involved in public service, founding charter schools in St. Louis in 2002, he had never held elected office.

Smith’s only political experience came from chairing Brown’s state legislative campaign and serving as the Iowa director of Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign in 2000.

But Smith’s supporters said he had two other crucial assets: his intelligence and his education in political science at the University.

“His political science background gave him the ability to speak really well on lots of different issues that affected him and the country,” Delman said.

Still, Smith had no name recognition and no resources. And he was up against nine opponents, including Carnahan, then a state representative, who came from a Missouri political family that had already produced two Missouri governors and a U.S. senator.

So Smith sought the help of students and alumni. He enlisted Adams as his treasurer and University graduate Clay Haynes as his campaign manager. Other students were inspired to volunteer and work for the campaign after taking Smith’s classes on campaigns and elections.

“What is so great about Jeff is that he was both a good teacher and a friend, and someone who spoke honestly about the political process, about what needed to get done,” said campaign volunteer Nicole Soussan, a 2006 graduate who took two classes with Smith and who was once president of the College Democrats. “He valued [students’] input on the campaign. He looked to us for advice or support.”

Instead of relying on TV advertisements, the campaign focused on going door to door, holding coffee events, and distributing flyers. The goal was to knock on “as many [doors] as possible,” Lurie said. Smith combined this approach with progressive stances on issues like health care, Iraq and education.

It was this combination that put Smith on the map and garnered him extensive media coverage. He earned the endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, who had become known for grassroots organizing.

In the end, Smith fell just short, losing to Carnahan by 2 percent despite winning pluralities in St. Louis city and St. Louis County. But Smith and his supporters still considered the close defeat a victory for a campaign that many commentators had ruled out from the start.

A brief but accomplished Senate career

In 2006, Smith ran for Missouri Senate in the 4th District. Facing a crowded Democratic field and again using the same grassroots techniques, he won the primary and took the general election unopposed.

Smith brought his characteristic energy and pleasant demeanor to the Senate, and lawmakers praised his willingness to cross party lines. In a statement shortly after Smith’s plea, the Senate majority floor leader, Kevin Engler, said that Smith “was someone quite frankly that encouraged more bipartisan behavior between our parties.”

In his letter to his supporters, Smith pointed to his successful push to preserve a historic tax credit program for urban development as one of his biggest accomplishments. Smith was also responsible for the creation of a teaching fellows program and a green sales tax holiday.

State Sen. Jim Lembke, R-South St. Louis County, said Smith was “a uniter” and “very approachable” and said he often worked with Smith on important St. Louis issues.

“Although we didn’t always see eye to eye, we always tried to do what was best for city and region,” Lembke said.

Behind the façade

With all of Smith’s accomplishments and the bright future many people saw in him, the FBI investigation’s revelations painted an image of a man who, his supporters say, failed to practice what he preached.

Smith was among the panelists at a forum on campus in 2008 about journalism and government accountability. And his former students have said that in class, he emphasized the good of the people above politics, and frequently told stories about common dirty campaign tactics.

But during both investigations, Smith, Brown and Adams met and talked on the phone regularly to coordinate their efforts to lie to investigators and cover up their violations, according to court documents. They repeatedly acknowledged to one another that they had broken the law. They even discussed the idea of pinning the blame for the postcards on the 2004 campaign’s deceased spokesman, Artie Harris.

“I at least hope he did it for some reason, like he wouldn’t be able to continue to help his district,” said Erika Massow, a community organizer in Smith’s 2004 campaign. “You’re never going to know what’s going on within somebody’s mind.”

Smith appeared to expect that kind of reaction, as in his apology he told his supporters that “the real tragedy of my lapses would be if they discouraged people like you from civic engagement.”

Former state Sen. Jeff Smith speaks with reporters outside the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and resigning his state Senate seat. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Click here for updated coverage of the Jeff Smith scandal

Jeff Smith, a Missouri state senator who frequently taught at Washington University, resigned his Senate seat and pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, after weeks of speculation about a federal investigation into Smith and others who worked on his 2004 campaign.

The first count is for conspiring to obstruct a Federal Election Commission investigation into the St. Louis Democrat’s 2004 congressional run. The other count is for conspiring to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation this year revisiting the 2004 inquiry. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines of up $250,000.

Nicholas Adams, the campaign treasurer from 2004, also pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Another legislator connected to Smith’s case, state Rep. Steve Brown, D-Clayton, also appeared in court today and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Brown also announced his resignation today.

Sentencing in all of the cases has been set for Nov. 10.

The FBI this past summer was revisiting the 2004 FEC investigation, which centered on anonymous literature allegedly distributed by Smith’s campaign. The literature, in the form of postcards, attacked Smith’s main opponent in 2004, now-U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis.

The charges state Smith, Brown and Adams tried to “corruptly attempt to obstruct, influence, and impede” the investigation.

In mid-2004, Carnahan’s campaign filed a complaint with the FEC about the postcards, saying Smith had violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and regulations concerning the printing, production and distribution of negative advertisements.

Smith in an affidavit, which he acknowledged today as being false, denied any involvement. In late 2007, the FEC found there was not enough evidence to prove wrongdoing on the part of Smith and his committee.

Court documents say an unnamed individual affiliated with the organization Voters for Truth approached Smith’s campaign committee in July 2004 to discuss the idea of making and distributing the postcards. Smith’s campaign committee introduced Brown, a “close and personal friend” of Smith and not yet a member of the state House of Representatives, to the unnamed individual.

At that time, Brown agreed to raise funds for making the ads. He raised “substantial” funds for Voters for Truth and personally gave the individual $5,000 in cash.

On July 23, 2004, the organization mailed 25,000 postcards to voters in Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District. Carnahan responded by filing the complaint against Friends of Jeff Smith.

Amid the proceeding and investigation, on Sept. 8, 2004, Smith submitted the falsely sworn affidavit to the FEC, stating that he had “no knowledge of who was responsible for the [postcard] referenced in the [FEC] complaint, nor who paid for the mailing.”

The FBI returned to the 2004 charges when new evidence emerged this year. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on how the new evidence was developed.

Court documents detail several conversations between Smith, Brown and Adams about their intention to mislead investigators in both the FEC investigation and the FBI investigation. Smith is quoted as saying to Brown last summer, “Don’t do anything stupid. Stupid would be telling them things that were happening in your brain.” Smith also told Brown that he himself would not be truthful to investigators, saying, “I’d be 90% honest.”

After the court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith characterized the charges as a “classic case of corruption.” John Gillies, special agent for the St. Louis FBI, agreed with Goldsmith.

“At the end of the day, for those of you in the courtroom, this is pure stupidity,” Gillies said. “You’ve got a Ph.D., a J.D. from Washington University, another guy with a master’s, and all of this for what at the end of the day? Just so they could get a little more power and feel a little bit better about themselves that they’re big shots of the town. We will not tolerate this kind of corruption.”

During his court appearance, Smith said, “I am guilty as charged.” When Smith left the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse with his lawyers, he was relaxed and smiling.

Click here to read State Sen. Smith’s letter of resignation

Gov. Jay Nixon released a statement today calling the resignations “necessary and appropriate” because both Smith and Brown had “violated the public’s trust.” Nixon also announced that both seats would be filled in a special election on Nov. 3.

After leaving the courthouse, Smith made several comments to reporters, including an apology to his constituents and family.

“This event has humbled me,” Smith said in a statement posted to his Web site. “I have done some significant introspection and that has been the hardest part: coming to terms with my own poor judgments and mistakes.”

In a press release, House Senate Majority Floor Leader Kevin Engler said: “Jeff has made some serious mistakes and will be held accountable for those mistakes, but that should not detract from his accomplishments in the Senate or his hard work on behalf of his community. Sen. Smith was always a very reasonable person in the capitol. He was someone quite frankly that encouraged more bipartisan behavior between our parties.”

Smith has previously taught courses on ethics in politics and campaigning at the University, but a spokeswoman announced last week that his scheduled class would be canceled.

The University released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying it would not comment on personnel issues.

Associate Professor of Political Science Andrew Rehfeld said he doesn’t think that Smith’s plea will adversely affect the political science department as a whole.

“We are and remain interested in being engaged with people who are involved in politics and be engaged with a wide variety of people and that means were going to encounter the real life problems and turmoil of human beings. I think what happened is sad, but it goes along with being experienced,” Rehfeld said.

Still, he is concerned that Smith’s actions may diminish the messages of his lessons. He said students likely attribute “some moral perfection” to a professor.

“I think for better or worse this will cause some of the students to question what he taught, and some of that questioning is justified and other of it is probably not,” Rehfeld said. “The lessons that we teach our students are not about us; they’re about a subject matter and on that score. As far as I can tell, especially in the smaller classes that he taught, he was a gifted teacher.”

Click here for Student Life’s previous coverage of the scandal surrounding Jeff Smith

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Kat Zhao and Michelle Merlin contributed to this report.