ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Attorney General's office on Thursday withdrew a claim that Sheriff Alfred Montgomery hired his half-brother in the face of DNA evidence to the contrary, knocking out a key part of the state's bid to remove Montgomery from office.

In a brief court filing, lawyers for the attorney general's office said they had relied on a high-ranking deputy in the sheriff's office for the claim. They said the deputy told them Montgomery himself had said Malik Taylor — the deputy at the center of the allegation — was his relative.

The AG's office ultimately bowed to new evidence filed by Montgomery's attorneys Wednesday afternoon — a DNA test from a 2015 paternity suit.

A copy of a court order from the case — which lists a Malik D. Taylor with the same birth date as the deputy

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