Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, who was funded by George Soros, admitted to misusing public funds to pay personal legal costs and fees while serving as the city's chief prosecutor. .
Gardner resigned in June 2023 after repeated bipartisan calls for his resignation from state officials who accused him of neglecting his duties and tolerating crime.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced that Gardner had entered a pretrial diversion program with the U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
Under the agreement, Mr. Gardner admitted that he directed his employees to transfer checks to her totaling $5,004.33 from the office's contingency fund account. The money, she acknowledged, was to reimburse her for fees and costs in a lawsuit filed against her by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2022.
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St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner sits behind her attorney in the courtroom on April 18, 2023. (David Carson/St. Louis, via Post-Deployment AP)
In the case against her, the state Supreme Court reprimanded Gardner and found that she violated ethics rules during the office's prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
Under Missouri law, the emergency fund can only be used to pay necessary expenses related to the prosecution work of the Circuit Attorney's Office.
Instead, Gardner “had her deposit the funds into her personal bank account and use them for personal expenses unrelated to her duties or the work of the Circuit Attorney's Office,” the contract states. are. “Kimberly Gardner was not legally entitled to any additional compensation.”
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The agreement suspends charges 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 by that officer, and repay the funds received as restitution to the Circuit Attorney's Office.
“This agreement follows a thorough investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI, who interviewed all relevant witnesses and reviewed all available evidence and financial records,” said U.S. Attorney Saylor A. Fleming. We have carefully examined the.”
“This is a fair and just outcome for a case involving a former official and the minimum misappropriation of public funds required under related federal criminal law.”
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In this January 13, 2020 file photo, St. Louis Circuit Court Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
Gardner's tenure was rife with allegations of misconduct and mishandling of cases, long before she faced her latest legal troubles.
Gardner has come under scrutiny for what critics describe as crime-friendly policies.
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Gardner was one of the first progressive prosecutors that Soros, a liberal billionaire and Democratic mega-donor, funded in 2016 and bankrolled again for his 2020 re-election bid. It is.
She was also the first black chief prosecutor in St. Louis.
FOX News' Aaron Kriegman contributed to this report.
