Former Soros-backed St. Louis prosecutor admits to misusing public funds
Kimberly Gardner admitted to directing her staff to cut a series of checks totaling over $5K to cover personal court costs and fees
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former George Soros-bankrolled St. Louis Circuit Court attorney Kimberly Gardner has admitted to misusing public funds to pay for personal court costs and fees while serving as the city’s lead prosecutor.
Gardner resigned from her post in June 2023 after receiving repeated bipartisan calls for her resignation from officials across the state for allegedly neglecting her duties and being soft on crime.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Gardner entered a pretrial diversion program with the U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Under the agreement, Gardner admitted to directing her employees to cut a series of checks to her totaling $5,004.33 from the Contingent Fund Account in her office. The money, she admitted, was to reimburse her for fees and costs she paid in 2022 in a case brought against her by the Missouri Supreme Court.
SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR MIRED IN SCANDAL RESIGNS FROM OFFICE
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner sits behind her attorneys in a courtroom April 18, 2023. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
In the case against her, the state's Supreme Court reprimanded Gardner and found she violated ethical rules during her office’s prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Under Missouri law, the Contingent Fund can only be used to pay necessary expenses related to prosecuting duties of the Circuit Attorney’s Office.
Instead, Gardner had the funds "deposited in her personal bank account and used for her personal expenses unrelated to her job duties and the operations of the Circuit Attorney’s Office," the agreement states. "Kimberly Gardner was not entitled under the law to that additional compensation."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The agreement defers prosecution against Gardner for 18 months, during which time she cannot violate any laws. Gardner is also required to report to a pretrial services officer, follow instructions given to her by the officer and repay the funds she received to the Circuit Attorney’s Office as restitution.
"The agreement follows a thorough investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, during which investigators interviewed all pertinent witnesses and reviewed all available evidence and financial records," U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming said.
"This is a just and fair outcome for a case involving a former official and the misuse of public funds that just met the minimum required under the pertinent federal criminal statute."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}YET ANOTHER MISSOURI OFFICIAL MAY TAKE SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR TO COURT AS MORE ASSISTANTS RESIGN
In a Jan. 13, 2020 file photo, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
Gardner's tenure was riddled with allegations of misconduct and mishandled cases long before her latest legal issues.
Gardner has been scrutinized for what critics describe as soft-on-crime policies.
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Gardner is one of the first progressive prosecutors whom Soros, a liberal billionaire and Democratic megadonor, bankrolled in 2016 and again for her re-election in 2020.
She was also St. Louis' first Black chief prosecutor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Aaron Kliegman contributed to this report.