JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is suing the Missouri Attorney General’s Office for allegedly violating open-records laws.

The  national group claims the office violated the Sunshine law when now-U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley was in charge.

The Democrats say the office withheld emails between Hawley’s official staff and political consultants during the Republican’s 2018 campaign.

He defeated former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in November.

Hawley’s Senate spokeswoman Kelli Ford called the lawsuit “a joke.”

A spokesman for current Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt says he’s dedicated to enforcing the Sunshine law and will review the lawsuit.